Smoked: Buena Vista Edicion Limitada Burberry 2024 LE

Smoked at: West Chester, Ohio

Buena Vista Edicion Limitada Burberry 2024 LE has an interesting name and wrapper. That’s where the interesting part starts and ends. The vitola is a perfecto with a nipple on the foot. I rarely have any success with this size and shape, but that’s what was in the sampler. The Buena Vista is Nicaraguan from an “undisclosed location.” My best data source claims it’s Habano. The wrapper is “interwoven” with Connecticut.

The wrapper looks like a checkerboard barberpole – like something MC Escher might design. After inspecting it for seams and different wrappers, I initially thought it appeared the wrapper was tattooed with this design. I’m surprised Pete Johnson hasn’t considered this. One way or another, it makes for an unusual looking wrapper. Midway one of the light color bands began to unravel so now I’m thinking it was actually rolled this way.

Very tight draw – one of the things that leads me away from perfectos – the draw made it difficult to get much enjoyment from the smoke, which by the way was very limited in output, the ash was flaky and the burn line was wavy.

My curiosity is piqued by clever designs and names. Burberry brings to mind Brooks Brothers clothing from the 1960s – always complete with Bass Weejun shoes. Back when Hathway meant powder blue button-down dress shirts and not one half of Warren Buffett’s holding company. Now if only the cigars tasted half as interesting as the names and designs.

Like other Raymond Pages cigars I have tried, the Buena Vista flavors never quite mesh, transition or develop. This isn’t even about complexity. The blends never produce enough flavor for a satisfying smoke.