DeSiena 312

A triple review by the Dojo Nation

As attempted only once before in Cigar Dojo history, the rare, “triple review” offers a compelling look into the profile of a certain cigar. In this case, we offered the newly released DeSiena 312 cigar to three of Cigar Dojo’s most engaged users, in hopes to offer a broad-range, all-encompassing review. We hope you enjoy.

DeSiena 312 cigar review by Jim King (aka StogieDude)

The DeSiena 312 Churchill.

This beautifully constructed Churchill, with a Viso Habano wrapper and Columbian, Nicaraguan, and Honduran fillers, comes from Doc James Cigars in Westchester, NY, via Alec Bradley. Adam DeSiena had been wanting for a long time to create his own smoke, and he found opportunity knocking when he discovered these at the Placencia factory in Danli, Honduras. The bundle was marked 312 and the man had a vision! March (3) and December (12) matched his kid’s birthday, thus the 312, so he thought maybe this was the right time to make his dream happen. After smoking a few, he teamed up with Alec Bradley to fine tune and market it.

The DeSiena is not only a beautiful looking stogie, with a mild oily sheen, and a gorgeous band showcasing Siena, Italy, but the taste will astound you. Especially if you’re a fan of espresso and/or other coffee drinks. I was drinking an iced tea when I delved into this one, but I kept wishing I had an iced coffee. This is a solid, medium-bodied smoke. The draw, however, was a bit snug, although it improved as the smoke progressed.  Coffee and nuts prevailed throughout, with cocoa, leather, and cedar peeking in for cameos. My only real letdown was the burn, it canoed around the first third, but worked its way out. However, it never affected the taste of the cigar.

Would I smoke this cigar again? You betcha! This one burned at 1:40 – which means you’ll get some bang for your buck. You’ll find these online for $7-8, a reasonable price for this cigar.

DeSiena 312 cigar review by Deford

The slightly oily, medium brown Viso Habano wrapper is smooth, veinless, and perfectly constructed. A pre-light smell of strong leather and barnyard brought to mind memories of my old saddle and cowboy boots. Closing my eyes, I could picture my old horse Jack (Mr. Daniels to you) trying his best to buck me off his back.

After cutting the stick with my favorite v-notch cutter, I found a slight resistance on the draw, just right! This pre-light draw of hay and cedar welcomed me back to my daydream of Jack and his bucking ways. Upon lighting, I received a satisfying mouthful of light grey smoke that left a slight tingling on the tongue. It had a creamy pungent feel to it, as if it coated the inside of my mouth, refusing to leave. It smelled like the classic tobacco of my grandfather’s time.

At the 1 1/2 inch mark, I was met with a green grass or mossy taste, like a pond or peat moss growing in the corner of a dark, dusty cellar. It was a pleasantly bitter taste, with the ash dropping by itself at two inches. In the second third, I was once again transported back to the barnyard, with a very woody taste and an ever so soft fermented fruit or raisin.

Would I smoke this cigar again? Certainly, the final third carried along the barnyard theme, adding a long finish of white pepper. This medium strength cigar paired perfectly with a Pepsi and should age well. I would definitely welcome it into my humidor.

DeSiena 312 cigar review by Michael Constantine (aka MC)

The DeSiena Churchill is an intimidating and fairly oily beast of a cigar, measuring at 7×54. The band really caught my eye and is visually quite appealing. The floral aroma was pleasant, and to be honest, (like my surgeon the minute I came into this world) I couldn’t wait to snip it!

I went with a v-cut, as that is my new preferred cut technique. When the pre-draw was too firm, I proceeded to cut with a straight cut, which didn’t change the firm draw. The pre-draw had hints of light spice and a muddled earthiness. Upon lighting, I realized that the firm pre-draw was a blessing in disguise, the draw was right up my alley. A little firm and tons, and I mean TONS of smoke output! This rarely happens, but my wife asked me to change spots with her on the patio because this bad boy was giving off so much smoke.

The first third started with a nice light cinnamon spice and hints of a light woodsy flavor, perhaps oak? The burn got pretty wavy but ended up correcting itself at the halfway point. Nearing the end of the first third and entering the second third, this cigar picks up some good strength going from low medium to medium plus. I was really digging the spice and woodsiness weaving in an out. It almost seemed as if with each draw I didn’t know what I was going to get. The last third of this cigar tames quite a bit, and settles into a low medium strength at most. It maintains a woodsy flavor without the spice, which unfortunatley is the flavor I enjoyed the most throughout this cigar.

Would I smoke this cigar again? Overall, I quite liked this cigar. I usually don’t smoke cigars this large, as I believe the flavors tend to fizzle near the end, which held true with the DeSiena. However, the outstanding first two thirds of this cigar were excellent and you can bet I would (no doubt) smoke it again. I would love to get my hands on the 4 1/2 x 52 format, where I believe the flavors would really shine through to the end. Thanks to Eric, Adam DeSiena, and the Cigar Dojo for giving me an opportunity to review this fine cigar.

The verdict is in: the DeSiena 312 gets three nods of approval by some of the Dojo’s best! Spice, wood, and leather seemed to be the general consensus, with a few minor draw and burn issues, but the DeSiena seemed to prevail to the end!

Let us know in the comments what you thought of the triple review style

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