Ixtelli by Karen Berger Toro (6×52)

best karen berger offering!

This Ixtelli is my favorite smoke by Karen Berger. It hits all the right notes. I caught some white pepper early on, mixed with a consistent sweetness, almost candy like. Also, I got floral notes toward the end, plus some burning cedar. It was consistently a great smoke throughout, and had a good burn. The ash didn’t last as long as I would like, but that’s ok. That’s a small gripe. Anyway, this is a go-to cigar for me. I like Karen Berger sticks. The Cameroon is a hidden gem as well, but this Xtelli really is my favorite of the bunch. The blend is unique, while not overtly strong. Good stuff!

Good clean burning cigar with a nice aroma. Light to medium strength and the flavor profile is spot on.

This was a very surprising cigar. I know nothing about the prior releases or iterations of the business. But I know a great Habano when I have one and I’ll definitely get more of these. I’m a critic for a good draw, and a sucker for a great one. This is both. Open draw with lots of mouth feel in a 1.5 hour smoke. No relights. Tons of white pepper and cedar on the first third welcomed me into the cigar and then it mellowed into more wood and buttercream. Last third finished a touch hot for my tastes, but it’s a minor quibble. Very surprising cigar. I don’t have to wonder what I will do when my Gran Habano Zulus finally run out. I’ve found my replacement for a Sunday staple. So well done!

The manufacturer claims that " the cigar itself is Karen Berger’s first Nicaraguan Puro, and features a velvety Nicaraguan Habano Criollo wrapper. The resulting experience is a medium strength creamy cigar with thick chewy smoke and notes of vanilla, cedar, earth, and sweetness" The flavors I got from the first third were a slight vanilla note with more predominant earthy and cedar wood notes that were very pleasing. Smoke output was thick, creamy with a nice mouthfeel. The final third carried on the earthy woody notes but I lost the vanilla note. The and stayed at medium strength with some pepper notes but they were not overpowering. I needed to relight 2x during but that was due to my slow pace and not being a construction issue. Total smoke time was 1 1/2 hours at a relaxed pace. Overall, I rate this a solid 91 on the Tim Scale making this a very enjoyable experience that definitely calls for additional purchases. I definitely recommend checking out this new cigar

Great Cigar I wish I was able to get a box