Illusione Group of Five RB

Pins in needles. I am on pins and needles waiting for my chance to finally fire up Illusione’s newest creation, the Group of Five. Let’s see how it goes!

The Good Stuff:

At this year’s PCA show Illusione gave the public a first glimpse at its latest release, The Group of Five. The Group of Five will be a five different vitola release with only the first one, the “RB” being released at this point. Created at the AGANORSA factory in Nicaragua the blend utilizes a high-priming viso tobacco that Dion Giolito, owner of Illusione states hasn’t been grown in Nicaragua until only recently. The cigar also contains Criollo 98 and Corona 99 however, the specifics of the blend and what portion uses what tobacco has not been released. On par with most Illusione releases there is a lot of mystery behind this blend and it’s all intentional. If you’re bored, look up the Group of Five. The “RB” comes in a single 5 x 52 format and is packaged in boxes of 15 running $16 per cigar. I purchased mine over from Small Batch Cigar.

• Size: 5 x 50
• Wrapper: Undisclosed
• Binder: Undisclosed
• Filler: Undisclosed
• Body: Full
• Strength: Medium
• Price: $16

Prelight:

The Illusione Group of Five starts out with a rustic looking wrapper with areas of light brown, dark brown, yellow tint and red scattered throughout. The wrapper’s texture is both very toothy and very oily. The wrapper itself is dense and thick which smaller veins running through the body of the cigar. This cigar is packed extremely tight and is very heavy. There are absolutely no soft spots leading up to the cigar’s round, triple-wrapped cap. The cigar is polished off with a very detailed black, gold and green band with the Illusione logo, “5”, and various of language that’s worth reading if you’re into the lore embossed across the front. There is also a small, elegant secondary band with the words “The Group of Five” in the front.

The wrapper on the Group of Five gives off a shockingly spicy aroma which overpowers almost anything else while the foot smells very earthy and grainy with tons of natural tobacco aromas. The cap cut clean and easily allow the cigar to release notes of grain, honey, and cashew on the cold draw.

First Third:

The Illusione Group of Five starts out with a massive cayenne pepper punch which left my mouth in a daze for a few seconds before it started to fade as the cigar released some great notes of spice and musk over bold oak and lighter notes of cashew and a nice earthy saltiness that transferred to my lips as I smoked. The draw is perfect despite how tightly this cigar is packed. Each puff kicks out a huge cloud of very thick, very dark smoke which really doesn’t want to go anywhere while the cigar releases a normal amount of stationary smoke while it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is solid and even while the ash left behind is tightly compacted and light gray in color. The ash held on for a little under an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Illusione Group of Five and the spice has finally settled down while the flavor profile is more centered around the oak and musk. There are lighter notes of vanilla and cashew now and this really interested mint on the aftertaste that really ties things together. This is a classic “Dion Special” with a touch of extra love and some excellent, high quality tobacco. The retrohale is way spicy so I didn’t want to do that too much. I close out the second third with no nicotine at all.

Finish:

The final third of the Illusione Group of Five had its own secrets. An awesome dark chocolate flavor has started to not only poke through the flavor profile, but take charge of it down the stretch backed by at on of musk and mild notes of sandalwood and cashew. The cigar finished complex and very earthy. It took me a little over an hour to smoke this down to the nub. I experienced no harshness, no extended heat, and really only a mild little nicotine kick.

Overview:

There are certain cigars you smoke and you’re like, “That’s Illusione”. Or there are Illusione cigars you purchase because you want a certain experience. The Group of Five is that cigar, except on a more exceptional level. I really feel like whatever tobacco Dion chose to use here really added a level of not only flavor but complexity that moves this cigar is a category of its own. Yes it’s pricey, but the experience is worth it. This is a box worthy purchase for sure and easily one of the best cigars I have smoked all year.