Crux Limitada PB5

By Tony Casas | May 16, 2016

This week I take a look at the Crux Limitada PB5 paired with a bottle of Divine Reserve 16 from Saint Arnold.

The Good Stuff:

The Crux Limitada PB5 made it’s introduction last year at the IPCPR trade show. Crux had worked on finalizing the blend before finally releasing it to the public this month. The Crux Limitada PB5 showcases an exclusive Esteli grown wrapper called “Enganoso” which the Crux team was able to secure the rights of about 3 years ago. The cigar features a Connecticut Broadleaf binder with fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua making it the fullest body cigar in the Crux portfolio. The Crux Limitada PB5 comes in a single box-pressed 5 3/4 x 54 format, with only 500 numbered boxes of 10 cigars released at a price point of $11.99 per stick. Thanks goes out to the Crux team for sending a few of these our way.

Size: 5 3/4 x 54
Wrapper: Enganoso
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Dominican/Nicaraguan
Body: Full
Strength: Full
Price: $11.99
Pairing: Saint Arnold’s Divine Reserve 16 (Adambier 10% ABV)

Prelight:

The Crux Limitada PB5 starts out with a very consistent medium brown/orangish wrapper. It’s an interesting color as the orange really stands out. The wrapper’s texture is slightly toothy with a good amount of oil, and a few medium sized veins running through the cigar’s soft box-pressed body. The wrapper feels very dense and hard as the rest of the cigar is packed very tightly as it leads up to the cigar’s round, triple cap. The Crux Limitada PB5 is polished off with the standard Crux crest on a black band, with a silver “Limitada” band running across it. There is a secondary black back which simply sports the name “PB5”.

The wrapper of the cigar gives off a deep oak, musk, and strong tobacco aroma while the foot of the cigar smells much more light with some soft cedar, spice, and sweetness. The cap was a bit difficult to cut using my Xikar double bladed cutter, but clipped perfectly clean once I got it to cut through the thick wrapper. The cold draw produces a really oaty/grainy/floral mixture of flavors with spice and oak.

First Third:

The Crux Limitada PB5 starts out with a massive cayenne pepper boom which left my tongue and lips tingling. After a while the pepper begins to fade and the cigar left me with a bold oak, musk, and charred meat mixture with some light floral and spice notes. It’s early in but this cigar already starts out fuller than any Crux blend in my recent memory. The draw is absolutely perfect. Each tiny puff kicks out a huge cloud of thick white smoke while the soft box press is so comfortable both in the hand in mouth. The burn line is a bit wild, but not too concerning yet as it leaves behind a trail of lightly compacted black and dark gray ash which only held on for just under an inch before giving way.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Crux Limitada PB5 and the cigar is still going strong. The charred meat and oak lead the way in the flavor department backed by a ramp up in the musk, some great spice, floral flavors, and light sweetness. The retrohale coats my nasal passage with a ton of pepper and spice and I don’t find myself doing it too often as it’s a bit rough which is usually the case with these style cigars. The burn line is burning much more solid at this point while I’m feeling a tiny bit of a kick in the nicotine department.

Finish:

The final third of the Crux Limitada PB5 really showcased a much more full body, and full strength experience than expected. The flavors have creamed out a bit with the oak and charred meat leading the charge backed by a great bold sweetness, a bit of coffee, musk, and some subtle floral flavors. It took me an hour and a half to smoke this bad boy down to the nub and I enjoyed every second of it. By the time I finished the cigar was well into full in both strength and body while it left me with a decent little nicotine kick, no harshness, and not extra heat buildup.

Overview:

This was yet another great, solid release for Crux, and it fills a nice gap in the full/full area in their portfolio. The flavors are bold, the strength is bold, but the cigar never once felt overpowered by one or the other. The flavor profile was great. As much as that charred meat sounds a bit odd, it really made for a great foundation for the flavor profile. The price is a bit steep, but I wouldn’t mind paying it. This just wouldn’t be my go-to Crux cigar. It would fit in perfectly for those late nights, after a hearty meal.

Pairing:

The Divine Reserve series is on released each year by the Saint Arnold brewery, the oldest brewery in Texas. Each year the style changes, while this year’s in the almost extinct German style Adambier. This 10% ABV beer best resembles a smoked old ale. The Divine Reserve 16 leads with very a very heavy roasted malt and oat flavor with some soft caramel, light hop, and great sweetness with a very heavy mouthfeel before finishing just as heavy on the roasted malt/oat with even more sticky sweetness and some light apple. As the beer warms the sweetness and fruit really rise out. This pairing is wonderful as both the beer and cigar were very fully body, heavy on the roasted/charness and both balanced out with sweetness.