Espinosa 601 Snakebite Gordo

I am not going to wax poetic for this review. It has been well documented the many changes of ownership groups and arrangements this brand has had over the years. The 601 brand had been wholly under the Espinosa roof for a few years now and the Snakebite was one of the later cigar lines to come out of that latest chance. The 601 Snakebite is almost a Nicaraguan puro... the non-Nicaraguan piece is the Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper leaf. The cigars are assembled in Espinosa's La Zona factory. The line has four sizes: Robusto, Toro, Churchill, and Gordo. These cigars can be found sub $6 USD but often retail slightly higher than that.

Wrapper: Ecuador

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Nicaragua

Length: 6"

Ring Gauge: 60

Size: Gordo

The Smoke: I had this cigar midafternoon on Christmas Eve and was paired just with some water. I had pulled this out of the humidor after a long time, maybe a few years. The first thing I notice on the cigar is the leaf. The leaf is mainly tan but has some dark splotches that seem somewhat unusual. You can seem them in the picture above. The cigar does seem well constructed. 

I used my Xikar V2 cutter to slice a wedge out of the head. The cold draw was good with no glaring issues. After toasting and lighting the draw remained good from start to finish. The flavor during the first third of the smoke features chocolate, cream, cedar, and caramel. The body at this point is light to medium and comes with some mild sweetness. As the cigar progresses, it becomes much for black pepper focused and that comes along with overwhelming the other notes.  Pepper bomb. The pepper fades during the last third and returns to the original notes but at this point, the palate is overwhelmed. The 601 Snakebite's body grows but never gets much past what I would consider medium strength. 

My total smoke took about an hour and fifteen minutes. The burn rate is even for about the first two thirds of the cigar but it begins to run into issues after that. Nothing that one solid corrective burn cannot handle, but certainly less than ideal.

 Besides the dark marks and the pepper, nothing really sticks out on this cigar.... good or bad. It's an okay cigar.... not sure that it really deserves the critical space it took up in my humidor over the last year or two. I find myself torn between not recommending any and recommending one. I think the flavor fluctuation may help novice smokers develop their palate, otherwise scroll past.

The Score: Scroll Past/Buy a Single

Espinosa Habano No. 4

I picked up a 5 pack of these a few months ago after reading the 2019 CA Top 20 cigars list. The Espinosa Habano No 4 is the flagship offering from Erik Espinosa and is made in the La Zona Cigar factory in Estelli, Nicaragua. 

The stick has Nicaraguan tobacco and is wrapped by an Ecuadorian Habano leaf. The size of the cigar is slightly unique in that the 5 1/2” by 50 is slightly longer than a typical 5 inch robusto but is shorter than the typical 6 inch Toro. 

Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Length: 5 1/2"
Ring Gauge: 50
Size: Robusto


The Smoke: The cold draw on this has some light notes of leather. Lighting the cigar builds off of that leather base with some cocoa and cream. Light wood adds complexity. The strength of this cigar is mild to medium. The cigar has an even burn rate and lasted about an hour and 15 minutes. My only disappointment was that one of the leaves began to unravel during the first quarter of the smoke. Other wise, this cigar lives up to its hype. It is a great smoke and a greater value. This one, to me, is one of the best cigar values as most of these should cost around $7 or 8 USD but it smokes like a $15 to 20 cigar. 

Score: Buy a box of 10