Defiance Sentry by Xikar

I've been smoking for about 3 years now and in that time I've come across a few cigars that surprised me because they haven't been talked about too much but turned out to be surprisingly good. The first was the Fonseca Cubano Limitado. The next was the JFR. This morning I was again pleasantly surprised with the Xikar Defiance Sentry.

This is a cigar that seems to fly below the radar for me. I received a few of these about 4 months ago and put them in the bottom of my humi (70%) until about 2 weeks ago when I moved a couple into the top drawer. The drawer maintains about 65% - don't know why, that's just the way it works out, but I'm not gonna complain since I prefer smoking cigars a bit dryer than I like to store them. I have been dry boxing for a day or 2 recently and have found that it really makes a huge difference for the better, but this morning I just took it straight from the humi and lit it up.

This is a Nicaraguan 6X46 blended for Xikar by Jesus Fuego. Fuego was instrumental in the creation if the RP Vintage 90 and 92 and the OWR. He came out with his own line of J. Fuego cigars which I found to be very good but a bit pricey. Being the first offering by Xikar with 5% of all proceeds going to protect the rights of cigar smokers my expectations were that this was a gimmick cigar, so I wasn't really expecting much. But enough of the intro info.

It was a little windy out but the sun was shining and the breeze was warm, so I grabbed my morning coffee and took out one of the Sentrys. The wrapper was a beautiful Colorado, very smooth with a few veins but not at all ugly or intimidating. It had a medium sheen with a pigtail cap that could have been a bit more pronounced, but still acceptable. Looking at the foot I could see that it was well bunched and suggested a nice draw.

The cigar seemed to be very well rolled with no hard spots anywhere along the length. I clipped the cap with my Xikar (what else) and tested the draw. I prefer a slightly tighter draw and this was just about perfect for me. Pre-light aroma was sweet and pleasant. I toasted the foot and the light was easy and even. The ash was a very nice slate color. There was none of the bitterness or harshness that is common on the first draw or 2.

The burn had a few issues, but nothing that a quick touch-up here and there couldn't fix. The burn line wasn't great, but neither was it all over the place. The flavor was consistent throughout the cigar; a nice pepper that was not overpowering mixed with a burnt but sweet coffee flavor. The smoke consistency was creamy but not too thick. The finish was long and very pleasant.

The cigar required 2 or 3 touchups throughout, but never gave a hint of going out. When it got to about 2 1/2 inches it developed about a 3/4 inch split in the wrapper and binder, but never opened up enough to be an issue. I had expected to smoke this one down to a couple of inches since I had some running around to do, but every time I though about putting it down I just didn't want to. I ended up nubbing it (took about an hour and 15 min) and actually though about burning another one, but as I said, I had other things to do.

I think for the price (about 6 bucks retail) this is a cigar that is well worth trying. Add to that the fact that a portion of the price is going for cigar smokers advocacy (I don't know how the money is actually be allocated, but I'll try to find out) and I'd say this is a winner.

Oh yeah... the band says "Do Not Remove" on it. Of course when I did remove it, there was a little message about being defiant on the back. Kind of a nice touch.

Nice review Shelby. It's great finding really tasty cigars that you assume would be an average smoke.

Nice review Mark. I've had a couple of the robusto sized Defiances, and I agree it is a pleasant smoke. I picked mine up out of the bargain bin for $3 IIRC......don't know if its a $6-$7 smoke, though the $$ going to the cigar advocacy group is a plus.