Baccarat Luchadores

Here's one I've been anxious to try all week; but I've put it off until I did my research— not into the cigar, but into its namesake card game, Baccarat. Mostly, I just wanted to get the photo right. Baccarat is a line of cigars made by Camacho, and I've (mostly) enjoyed Camacho cigars before, so let's see what this one shows us.

And, of course, it's less than $5 a stick!

Cigar: Baccarat Luchadores

Vitola: Lonsdale (6” x 43)

Price: $4.49/stick

Origin: Honduras

Wrapper: Honduran Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Mexican
Filler: Honduran
Body: Mild

Rating (out of 10): 9.2

Appearance:
The Baccarat features a beautiful golden brown Honduran Connecticut wrapper, which plays nicely with the red, gold, and pale yellow band, which features the name 'Baccarat,' with a gold laurel wreath around what's known as a “natural,” or the highest possible hand in the game (a face card equaling zero points and a nine, equaling nine points). Invisible seams, perfect cap, and a light sheen of oil all give this stick an elegant look and feel between the fingers.

Construction:
Construction is pretty spot-on; it's a little soft, but it's consistent, so we'll see how it holds up. The cap cuts perfectly under a narrow punch.

Aroma:
The stick itself smells earthy and grassy, with a bit of muskiness and berries at the foot.

First Third:
The cold draw is pretty open, but I'm not getting a very strong flavor before the light. Maybe a hint of grass, but not much. The tip is sweetened, and normally I try to avoid sweetened cigars. I'm really not a huge fan. But this one is only very lightly sweetened, so I should be able to deal with it for the purposes of this review.

I'm getting a bit of wheat and cedar up front,with a hint of cinnamon just before the sweet finish.

Definitely another mild-bodied flavor. I think you're going to find that the majority of the really inexpensive cigars out there are going to be milder, simply because the longer fermentation and aging process required to produce fuller-flavored smokes drives up the price.

The ash column is pretty loose, and a medium grey in color. The burn is at a slight angle, but otherwise even.

Second Third:
Mostly consistent progressing into the second third, still primarily cedar and wheat, with a hint of cinnamon.

The sweetened tip is barely noticeable. That's a big deal for me personally. If you prefer the artificially sweetened tips, this one might be a little bit disappointing to you. Not to me, though!

Final Third:
Okay, so... not so big on complexity. Which is fine, since the flavors are pretty enjoyable; but if you're looking to be “wowed,” or for flavor shifts and progressions, this stick probably won't impress you. Not that it's not enjoyable, it just maintains the same flavor profile.

Closing Thoughts:
Handful of surprises to this one; some pleasant, some less so. I personally hate artificially flavored or sweetened cigars, but this is one I would probably smoke again. The sweetened tip was not in any way overpowering, and was actually quite tolerable. The ash was looser than most, and it did require some extra attention to make sure it didn't drop on its own and make a mess. And, of course, preparing for the photo of this stick did lead me to learn to play Baccarat, the card game of choice of one James Bond, 007. It's definitely a stick I can appreciate, and I think many casual cigar smokers would appreciate it, as well.