It has been five-years since Famous Smoke Shop released Inferno, a cigar developed in collaboration with Oliva Cigars and sold exclusively by Famous. Since its original release, the Inferno line has now grown to six blends with the latest additions of the Melt, Scorch, and Singe. These new cigars follow the Inferno Flashpoint and 3rd Degree. Over the next three weeks, I will be making my way through these new cigars, starting out with the Inferno Melt today.

This Nicaraguan puro is produced at Tabacalera Oliva S.A. in three vitolas: Robusto (5 by 50), Torpedo (6 1/2 by 52), and Churchill (7 by 50).  The Melt comes packaged in 20 count humi-jars. I have picked up a couple of these humi-jars over the last year and they are great for storing cigars, pipe tobacco, and coffee. A jar of Inferno Melt will run you between $90.99 to $99.99 or $7.95 to $8.75 per single stick.

Price: $7.95 per single | $90.99 per jar of 20
Vitola:Robusto
Size: 5 by 50
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sun Grown Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan Habano
Filler: Nicaraguan Ligero
Smoke Time: 1 Hour and 10 Minutes

PRE-LIGHT

The Inferno Melt is draped in a dark brown, mottled Nicaraguan Sun Grown Broadleaf wrapper. It is one rustic looking leaf with its many color variations, prominent veins and raised bumps. This box-pressed cigar is evenly filled from the foot to the band of the cigar, but near the band there is very squishy section of the cigar.

An aroma of straight-up barnyard is found on the wrapper and earth, chocolate, and barnyard are on the foot of the cigar. A double cap rounds out the cigar with nice straight lines. A quick cut with my Xikar cutter opens up a free draw allowing for a woodsy notes to move across my palate.

FIRST THIRD

Right off the bat, the flavors open up full, spicy and rich. I am noting leather, warm cedar, orange zest, and a natural tobacco sweetness. There is a significant amount of spice heat that lingers in the mouth, but there is not a clear flavor associated with the spice at this point. The ash is light in color and flaky as the Inferno Melt burns a bit jagged.

MIDDLE THIRD

As I move into the second third of the Inferno Melt, both the spice and overall flavors have tapered off but hang steadily in the medium/full range. For the most part, the earlier flavors remain and the smoke is now creamy in the mouth. As I pass the smoke through my nose, the smoke is creamy and a light pepper stands out that really adds to the experience. This may be the first time the texture of smoke is noticeable as I retro-hale.

FINAL THIRD

With the final third of the Inferno Melt underway, it seems like the cigar is progressing in the opposite direction than most cigars. The intensity of the flavors continue to be on the decline, along with the spice. The leather and orange zest are front and center as the cedar has dropped out of the profile and the  sweetness is playing far less of a role. The flavors are not as balanced as earlier as  a char flavor lingers on the finish of the smoke with only a handful of minutes remaining. 

WRAP-UP

“Collaborations” between major online retailers and well known manufactures don’t always play out well. Half the time, it seems like a band is thrown on the stuff that no one else wants. But that isn’t the case with the Inferno line. I took a liking to Inferno cigars after smoking through the Flashpoint and 3rd Degree in 2015. So when I received the news about three new cigars under the Inferno name, my interest was peaked. I absolutely loved the way the Inferno Melt kicked off with its full, spicy, and rich profile. And even though the smoke seemed to lose some of its intensity throughout, it was a cigar I really enjoyed. The cigar burned well, with no major issues, but the ash was abnormally flaky. The per stick price of almost $8.00 would be bit much to pay considering the competition out there, but for under $5.00 when purchased in the 20-count humi-jars, it makes this a great cigar for the price.