Cigar Review: Curivari Reserva Limitada, Salty Peanuts It Is Not.

Thanks to the encouragement of the Edwards staff, I have recently become focused on Curivari’s line of cigars, in part because of their open enjoyment of these cigars, but also because of an odd criticism as well. Whether it was a genuine reaction or a comment made in spite, Pete Johnson’s tweet about the Curivari Reserva Limitada tasting like “salty peanuts” while smoking, intrigued the crap out of me, especially since I was getting great reviews from Randy and Armando of Edwards Pipe and Cigar! So, I gave one a chance last night to see if I would get the ballpark experience from this cigar.

I figured a great time to try this Nicaraguan puro cigar from Esteli was right after work; my brain was still fired up from doing a million things at once, but was really primed for some great downtime. Wasting no time when I get home, I attack my humidor--and my fridge for a Shocktop Wheat--and step right outside to my smoking chair! The weather was on the cusp of getting really bad, which is when I tend to enjoy it the most, and threatened to kill the pleasure of my cigar. Thankfully, it held off long enough for me to enjoy this puppy, and enjoy it I did.

So after cutting this pristine looking medium brown Colorado wrapped cigar, I test the draw pre-light and find it airy and inviting, but not annoyingly so. I get the scent of something that does remind me a bit of peanut butter: Hmmm… There is, however, another scent coming through that is very woody, but only subtly so. I toast the foot, bring it to my lips and I am pleasantly surprised by a brief rush of spice, not overwhelming, but most certainly there. It quickly subsides, and it takes me a minute to realize that, Randy wasn’t bs’ing me, it tasted like plain popcorn. Not buttered or salted, kettle or caramelized, just… popcorn. Truth be told, it was actually really unique and refreshing! There were also some woody undertones that I could detect periodically keeping the cigar from becoming too redundant. But overall, this cigar was relatively non-complex, light, and enjoyable and not the salty peanuts that Johnson had claimed, in my esteemed estimate. The only thing I would strongly recommend is to not enjoy this cigar with a Shocktop Wheat. For such a surprisingly light flavor, this cigar demands a darker ale or porter. It turned the flavor of the Shocktop Wheat almost soapy and was not too much fun to drink. Swing by tomorrow when I discuss another of the Curivari line, the Café! And why you WANT a cup of coffee with it!