Bolivar Cofradia L&F Oscuro review by Don José
Hey team, Don José here back with another review.
Today we have the
Cofradia Lost and Found Oscuro
by Caldwell & STG
If this is your first time here, my reviews rate each cigar on 10 factors and each factor gets a rating out of 10 giving me an overall out of 100. The 10 factors are: Construction, Draw, Burn, Flavour, 1/3 overall, 2/3 overall, 3/3 overall, Journey (how well it flows), Complexity & Value for money.
Overview
The Bolivar Cofradia Lost & Found Oscuro is a part of the Caldwell Lost & Found project. It is a collaboration between Robert Caldwell of Caldwell Cigars and Justin Andrews of Scandinavian Tobacco Group (aka STG)
You would be forgiven for getting slightly confused at to what the name of this cigar is... Technically speaking, it is a Bolivar Cofradia Oscuro made in collab between the Bolivar line and Lost & Found lines from STG / Forged Cigars / Caldwell Cigars, yes there is a lot going on there.
Rumour has it, Caldwell and Andrews took a trip to Honduras in 2021. There, they had full access to the large reserve of tobacco in the HATSA factory in Danlí. One of the items they discovered was a reserve of burlap-wrapped bales containing 5-8 year old Ecuadoran Sumatra and Connecticut Broadleaf. These tobaccos are the basis for this cigar.
On paper this cigar is almost a perfect blend to me. A 5-8-year-aged Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, aged Ecuadoran Sumatra binder and Dominican, Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers... I am damn excited to fire this up.
Details:
Brand: Caldwell x STG
Size: Toro
Wrapper: Oscuro Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Ecuadoran Sumatra
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan and Honduran
Factory: STG Danlí
About the wrapper.
Connecticut Broadleaf is grown in the open sunlight, mostly in the Connecticut River Valley.
It grows as a short, bushy plant with very wide leaves, hence the name, and being grown fully exposed to the sun causes the leaf to grow thick and full of sugars.
After curing they get very dark so it is among the prized wrapper leaves used to make many maduro cigars.
The plants are stalk cut meaning the entire plant harvested at one time.
let's get into the review.
First thoughts
This is a great looking cigar, a nice dark, toothy oscuro wrapper, Classy band, that even manages to mention 2/3's of the names this stick is given.
Cold draw gives earth, leather and natural tobacco.
Construction
Good construction, a little 'rustic' and a few lifts in the leaf but overall nothing to complain about too much.
Burn & Draw Burn and draw are both great too, no touch ups needed and plenty of good thick smoke.
Flavour & Complexity Flavour wise - holy shit; vanilla, cinnamon, tobacco, chocolate, pepper + hints of caramel, and saltiness.. Yes, there is a lot going on, but they are all amazing things!
Strength 85% - Medium - full
Enjoyment / Journey This cigar is right up my alley so enjoyment level was high. But attempting to be impartial to the blend itself, there was good progression through the thirds, flavours are forward and varied and the burn was perfect so.. yeah, either way, a great smoking experience.
Overall What an outstanding cigar, and possibly the best L&F I've sampled to date. If you like bolder cigars and big flavours then you should very much try and track one of these down for yourself.
I rate this cigar 93 points!
A look at the numbers.
Construction -- 8/10
Burn -- 9/10
Draw -- 10/10
Flavour -- 10/10
Complexity -- 9/10
First 1/3 -- 9/10
Second 1/3 -- 10/10
Third 1/3 -- 10/10
Journey -- 10/10
Value -- 8/10
About the author
Joe Murdie aka Don José has been reviewing cigars in New Zealand for over 10 years now, originally as a writer for NZBlokes, a mens magazine.
Outside of Cigars Joe is an international award winning film-maker based in Wānaka, OTA.
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