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A special thanks to Shelby07 for gifting me this cigar on his trip through Memphis.
The Illusione m7 is a beautiful perfecto shaped cigar. It measures in at 6.5 inches by 58 r.g. The blend is Criollo 98 and Corojo 99 with a Rosado oscuro Corojo wrapper.
Pre-Smoke
The wrapper on this cigar is smooth, dark, and oily with a few small veins. It had a consistently firm feel to it. I clipped the head of the cigar about 3/8ths of an inch in to reveal a near perfect draw. Satisfied with the draw, I lit the foot with no problem and sat back to enjoy it.
Smoke
I paired this cigar with some Guinness Draught.
From the first couple of puffs I knew this was a cigar that I would enjoy. I immediately got hit in the back of the throat with some spice. This started out as a full bodied smoke that coated the palate and tongue with leather and spice.
About an inch into the cigar, I began to pick up a Cuban flavor profile. As the spice began to fade (or I got used to it) I started to pick up a caramel / burnt sugar flavor. These hints of caramel reminded me a lot of some Cuban brands.
This continued to be a fairly complex cigar that had different dominant flavors at times. The caramel flavor stayed through the first 2/3rds of the cigar with undertones of coffee and leather. The spice / pepper came and went and became quite dominant during the last third of the cigar.
This was a slow burning cigar that forced you to sit down and enjoy it. It lasted for over an hour and a half and I loved every minute of it. I sat this one down with about an inch left to it.
Overall, a great cigar that could only get better with age.
