CLE Prieto 660 Gordo

CLE Cigars is the brainchild of Honduran cigar legend Christian Eiroa who's family cut their teeth building the Camacho branding before Camacho was gobbled up by a larger cigar producer. The tradition of the Eiroa family is to use Honduran tobacco and leafs in constructing their cigars but the Prieto is a deviation from this path. 

The cigar is manufactured using Nicaraguan tobacco and wrapper which produced a top 20 cigar in 2017 with the 5" x 50 robusto version of this cigar. When I purchased the 660 gordo, the 550 robusto was difficult to find in 2018 because of its high rating from the prior year but it appears that 550 and 660 are equal in the ability to seek these days which is good because the 660 is the highest cost offering in this line and averages about $9-10 USD per stick.

This cigar was part of a simultaneous release with the CLE Chele which are related cigars with the Chele with both using Connecticut leaf wrappers but the Prieto being maduro. The names allude to that since both are slang for "white" and "dark" respectively. 

Wrapper: Nicaragua

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Nicaragua

Length: 6"

Ring Gauge: 60

Size: Gordo

The Smoke: This one was in my humidor since I purchased a 5-pack in 2018 and I finally put one in my travel humidor on one of the very rare work trips I am able to take during the dystopian nightmare that 2020 represents. I used a straight cutter to cut the cap off which of note, was easy to do.

The cold draw provided some notes of nut and leather. After toasting and lighting the cigar, notes of roasted coffee and chocolate dominated the flavor from beginning to end. The draw of the cigar along with its construction remained very good during the entire length of the smoke which lasted a bit over an hour.  The maduro wrapper is veiny and oily. The body of the cigar is medium to full. 

My overall impressions of this stick is that it is a very good cigar and is well constructed. I can not speak to how aging the cigar 2 additional years helped or hurt the smoke quality but I would certainly see my self picking up a few more of these as the count of smokes in my humidor dwindle.

The Score: Buy a 10 pack