Asylum 13 Ogre Cigar Review

By Tony Casas | October 20, 2014

The Asylum 13 Ogre is one of the more interesting looking cigars in the Asylum portfolio. After battling a cold earlier this week, my palate has finally returned to normal and I can finally bring you another review. Sorry for the slackerness.

The Good Stuff:

Asylum 13 is another offering created by the masterful hands of Christian Eiroa. While that name is usually related to Honduran tobacco, the Asylum 13 blends are actually Nicaraguan based. While the filler and the binder tobaccos are a close-kept secret, we do know that they are of Nicaraguan origin, and the barber-poled wrapper carries a brilliant green Candela alongside a deep, dark Habano Maduro with a Habano Maduro cap, and a strip of Candela lining the foot. The Ogre comes in 4 different sizes, the 550 Robusto (5 x 50), the 660 Gordo (6 x 60), the 680 Gordo (6 x 80), and the 770 Gordo (7 x 70). The Ogre 550 and 660 come packaged in cabinets of 50, while the 680 and 770 come in boxes of 30. The Asylum 13 Ogre will run you $6.30 to $10.20 a sick. I purchased a handful of these over at Cigars International and they still have quite a few left in stock. You can also check out a recent review that Jeremy posted of the Asylum 13 99 Problems Lancero here.

Size: 5 x 50
Wrapper: Candela/Habano Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Full
Price: $6.30
Pairing: Odell Brewing Company Jaunt (American Pale Ale 7.60% ABV)

Prelight:

The obvious stand-out characteristic in the Asylum 13 Ogre is the wrapper. This is a barber pole style cigar meaning two wrappers of different shades/tobaccos are laid over each other seamlessly rotating to create a barber pole style effect. While this is pretty, it can also add some interesting flavor combinations to the experience. The green Candela wrapper used in the Ogre is very smooth, very silky, and very oily. It feels a bit delicate and is very thin to the tough. On the opposite end of the spectrum the Habano Maduro wrapper is incredibly dark brown, very toothy, very rough, and very dense. These are polar opposites in terms of wrapper leaf. The Ogre is finishing off with a round double cap using the Habano Maduro wrapper, along with a thin strip of Candela which is wrapped around the foot of the cigar. The Ogre carries the standard Asylum 13 band with a black, white, and red decoration covered in skulls.

The wrapper on the Asylum 13 Ogre gives off a whole ton of spice and pepper aromas while the foot of the cigar showcases some more natural tobacco and sweetness. The cap cut very clean and easy using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw produces a whole mess of black pepper, so much that it started making my lips tingle and I haven’t even lit the cigar up yet. Underneath the pepper is a bit of chocolate and lots of spice.

First Smoke:

Wow, this baby starts off with so much pepper. I seriously wouldn’t expect that much of a greeting from a cigar with Candela wrapped around it. The Asylum 13 Ogre is off to the races. It took a while, but the pepper finally began to fade about halfway through the first third. The backing flavors in the Ogre are that of dark chocolate, grassiness, tobacco, spice, and a bit of a citrus zest. The draw started it bit loose, but tightened up once it got going and now it’s perfect. Each little puff produced a massive cloud of thick, white smoke. The Burnline is razor sharp, but a bit wavy in some areas. The ash left behind is very nicely compact and white with light grey in color. The ash held on for about an inch before giving way. Even as I barely close out the first third of this cigar I can feel the nicotine starting to creep in.

Halfway There:

Into the second third of the Asylum 13 Ogre the flavors have become much deeper. The pepper is all but gone, and there is some great oakiness leading the flavor charge now. The backing flavors are some soft sweetness, spice, grassiness, and that interesting citrus zest. The spice and the pepper are still very evident in the retrohale making it tough to do very often. The burnline has corrected itself on and off but the cigar still burns a bit wildly at times. As long as it doesn’t require a whole lot of attention from my lighter we’ll be alright. I am feeling more and more nicotine as I continue smoking through this beast.

Finish:

A bit of the pepper has began to creep back into the Asylum 13 Ogre. Along with the pepper the spice has also really ramped up and it’s not backed by the once dominant cedar, sweetness, chocolate, and citrus. I’m impressed that the citrus is still hanging in there. Along with the ramp up in certain flavors, the strength has really taken off in the final third raising this cigar to the full-strength category. The nicotine is really starting to hit. I remember smoking the 770 and having the nicotine hit hard in the second third. While I like full-strength cigars, I’m happy with what the smaller ring gauge has to offer. The burnline was still a bit wavy, but the Ogre worked through it and I never once had to reach for my lighter. The Ogre took me about an hour and a half to take down. I experience no harshness, but the final strength was enough to leave me a little woozy.

Overview:

As with most Asylum cigars I have smoke, the Ogre is a solid stick. That being said, there wasn’t anything outside of the strength which really stood out to me. I did like the flavors, and the changeups, but I would probably reach for the standard Asylum 13 over the Ogre. This is a great cigar to have around in terms of presentation, and body/strength and the price point makes if very easy to keep a few of these on hand.

Pairing:

Jaunt is an interesting beer. I know you’ve seen a lot of Odell coming through on these reviews lately, but I’ve been on a Odell Brewing kick. Especially now that they are available in Texas. I used to have to drive across town to New Mexico to find them. Anywho, Jaunt is an American Pale Ale Brewed at the Odell Brewery in Colorado. The Beer is brewed with Riesling grape juice and aged on Oak Staves adding some interesting characteristics to the ale. First, the grape juice is very evident as it’s the first thing you taste when you lips meet the glass. Its sweet, yet tart and transitions great into some grapefruit, sweetness, and a bit of hoppiness. The mouthfeel is very light as Jaunt finishes with some sweet oakiness, and a lot of citrus. This is a great, light, summer/fall beer. It’s refreshing and the citrus and oak paired up so well with the flavors in the Ogre. The Ogre was a bit much for this beer, but it held its own. I’d probably recommend going with a spiced stout, bourbon, or even a badass hot chocolate.