Crux Passport

Following up the success of Crux Cigar’s first cigar releases—Ninfamaniac and Skeeterz, brand owners Jeff Haugen and Joel Rogers went all in with three new lines—Classic, Bull & Bear, and Passport. Great for them, but… which one to review? That was quite a head-scratcher, until the other day when we got our first snow in Minneapolis. Immediately I wanted to get away – go somewhere else. But with funds tight and work hammering me, that wasn’t happening. My answer? Crux Passport. As their website says, the Passport is “a one hour vacation—No Visa Required”.

This cigar comes in five sizes: 4″ x 42 Half Corona, 4.875″ x 47 No. 4 Marblehead, 5.5″ x 44 Corona, 6″ x 48 Toro Marblehead, and a 7″ x 40 Lancero. In each cigar, the Nicaraguan filler is held together with a Nicaraguan binder, covered with a reddish-brown Ecuadorian Habano wrapper.

Let’s take a closer look at the Crux Passport Corona

It’s a great looking cigar; fine veins splinter across a reddish-brown to oscuro mottled wrapper. The seams are barely noticeable and I love the solid yet lumpy roll of a hand produced cigar. Drooling already, boys and girls.

Initially the cigar has a really pleasant, sharp tobacco flavor across the palate. Interesting, the retrohale is smooth and clean with no sharpness. In my experience, this is opposite of how most cigars begin. I smoked four of these coronas for this review and each started this way. I love when a cigar surprises me and this was terrific! Plenty of pepper spice in the throat and clean through the sinuses.

Once the cigar heated up, the sharpness began to express itself in the retrohale – very creative. At this point, the flavors burst open up on my palate with notes of citrus and cherry. The pepper spice in the throat and retrohale remained a strong white pepper. What a great dichotomy of sweetness in the front of the palate, laid against the hot, white pepper spice in the back.

As the cigar progressed, the sharpness began to wane, making way for a delectable creaminess that held bits of molasses, followed by fresh leather notes. It seemed to me the sharpness was actually replaced by a saltiness in the back of my palate and throat. This transition most likely has more to do with the filler than the wrapper/binder.

Moving past the band, I get floral notes supporting a vanilla sweetness. At this point, the cigar smoked clean and smooth and was super light on the palate – a great way to end an exceptional stick.

Would I smoke this cigar again?

No question about it. As I said, I smoked four for this review – each one as good as the last. Not only is the Crux Passport “a plane ticket to Nicaragua” for the senses, but at the sub-$10 price point, it’s a vacation for your wallet too! I highly encourage everyone to search out this cigar and give it smoke – I think you’ll be pleased.

– So until next time… Dojo Mojo, Ya’ll!!

Short Link: