Named after Quetzalcoatl, The Feathered Serpent is the 4th core line release from Apostate Cigars. This blend features a Dominican Corojo Candela wrapper. Candelas can be hit or miss for many consumers, however, I have been intrigued by this blend since its inception. Apostate has created some awesome blends and swears this one is no exception. Let’s see!
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Tabacalera Palma
Wrapper: Dominican Corojo Candela
Binder: Mexican San Andres
Filler: Dominican Republic
Vitola: 6 ½ x 46 Corona Gorda
Price: $13.50 MSRP
Link to Purchase: The Cigar Farm (Use code “Review” to save 10%!)
I’m always leery about Candelas, but I have been excited about this one in particular. The wrapper is definitely a darker shade of green and has a lot of character. As always with Apostate, I like the band artwork. The cigar smells only a touch grassy and has some cream as well. The cold draw has some faint hay and spice. First light reveals full flavors of sweet pepper, brown sugar, and slightly tannic wood. The retrohale is a bit herbal, peppery, and earthy. About an inch in there is plenty of smoke and the profile remains full. There’s less tannins and pepper, but there is still wood, a bit of brown sugar, and just a hint of candela-esque grassiness. The retrohale is creamy hay and pepper. The second third is seeing a slight uptick in the creamy grassiness, while maintaining a full flavored and bodied experience. The performance has been good so far. Moving into the final third there’s some nuttiness joining in now that plays nicely with the creamy grassiness. By the band point the pepper and earth are becoming primary. Coming to an end at about an hour and 15 minutes the profile has remained the same and I think there may be a little strength bump as well. The performance had been perfect throughout.
Overall Experience
Overall this was a very solid cigar. It was full of flavor throughout and had perfect construction and performance. Candela wrappers are kind of a love them/hate them thing, but this was a very different expression of candela compared to any others I have smoked. There was some of the classic candela-esque creamy grassiness, but this had a lot more to offer both in body and flavor. There was earth, pepper, brown sugar, and nuttiness throughout that all played very well with one another and the creamy grassiness. I think this blend is 100% worth a try if you’ve not been a fan of candelas in the past or if you’re looking for a full flavored, unique smoke.
Have you smoked this one? Let me know your thoughts!