Sindicato Cigars – Hex Cigar Review

I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was excited to spark this cigar up. This week I bring you Sindicato’s HEX.

The Good Stuff: Haven’t heard of Sindicato? You will. Sindicato is a company formed by a group of high-profiled retailers from all across the US who decided to create their own cigars with Jim Colucci, former Executive V.P. of Sales & Marketing for Altadis USA  guiding them. Sindicato will be releasing 4 blends over the next year. The Hex, the Affinity, the Casa Bella, and one other TBA. Today, we will focus on the Hex.

The Hex starts out with a Select Dark Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, with a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan Fillers. The Hex will come in 5 sizes: Churchill (7 x 54), Perfecto (6 ¼ x 52), Toro (6 x 54), Robusto (5 x 52), and the Figurado (5 ¼ x 52). They will come in boxes of 21 and will run between $6.95 and $8.75 a stick. They should be hitting shelves in August and given the amount of retailers taking part, this should be a rather large release. These cigars were sent over to us courtesy of our great friend Abe Dababneh over at Smoke Inn who happens to be chairman of the board over at Sindicato and who is also coined as the “Brainchild” of the brand.

Size: 5 ¼ x 52
Wrapper: Select Dark Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan:
Filler: Nicaraguan:
Strength: Medium/Full
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $7.25
Pairing: Kona Brewing Wailua (American Pale Wheat Ale 5.4% ABV)

Prelight: The Sindicato Hex starts out with a familiar format this year, the figurado. I’ve seen more figurados in the past two years than any other. While I’m not a huge fan of the format, other people love them. One thing I do absolutely love is the crazy spiraled pig tail the Hex sports. Outside of the obvious characteristics the Hex sports a very dark, very oily, very toothy brown wrapper. The wrapper is pretty consistently dark brown with some almost black spots around the small veins. The wrapper feels really firm and the Hex feels as if it’s packed with tobacco. This cigar is heavy, and seriously feels like it is made of stone carrying absolutely no soft spots at all. The Hex is polished off with a simple, elegant, white and black band with the words “hex”, “Hecho a Mano” and the Sindicato logo on it. I dig this logo, but I have seen some people who were a bit curious about any religious meanings. I have no idea if that was the intention, but to me, it looks more like a Roman/Old School look and feel. I dig it.

The wrapper gives off just a ton of sweetness and cedar aromas while the foot has a bit more of a spice scent to it. The cap cut like butter using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw was a bit tight, producing lots of spice and pepper with some sweetness tossed in there.

First Smoke: The Hex starts out with a whole ton of sweetness and some really strong cedar/woodsy flavors. There was also some nice cherry flavor as well as some spice with just enough black pepper to tickle my tongue. I was scared the Hex would have a tight draw due to the firmness, and the cold draw but I am happy to report that the draw is perfect kicking out a thick cloud of white smoke with every little puff. Along with that, due to the amount of oil on this bad boy the Hex kicks out a ton of cedar-scented stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burnline was a bit wavy, but I have come to expect that with the start of most figurados. As long as it doesn’t require constant attention from my lighter, I am fine. The ash left behind was slightly flaky and a light and dark grey mixture holding on for about an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: A real nice cashew flavor began to sneak it’s way into the second third flavor profile of the Hex. It paired up nicely with the soft cherry, strong sweetness, and awesome woodsy flavors the hex was already producing. The burnline, as I suspected has completely corrected itself into this second third with absolutely no help from my lighter. It’s now razor shard and dread even. The retrohale actually kicks out a whole ton of spice that I’m not really picking up in the experience adding another dimension to the cigar. The body is bold, but the strength is not as I am not feeling anything in the nicotine department as I close out on the second third.

Finish: A lot of that spice that I mentioned in the retrohale became more evident in the experience as some of the sweetness started to fade out. The finish of this cigar was incredible with lots of spice, cherry, soft sweetness, and some nice chocolate notes. That cashew remained too, but it was only on the aftertaste. I really liked the switchups in this cigar and the amount of flavor throughout. I also liked that I didn’t have to touchup or relight the cigar the entire hour and a half it took me to smoke it down to the nub. The Hex had no harshness and left me with only a tiny bit of nicotine.

Overview: This is a great cigar. The Hex really serves are a great introduction to the world of Sindicato cigars. It’s the perfect example of a medium strength cigar with tons of flavor. You really don’t need the strength to create a bold experience and the Hex proves that. The construction on this cigar was flawless and that created a flawless smoking experience as well. The price is right on point with what I would expect. It seems that $7 – $9 range is my sweet spot.  And to think, Sindicato has a cigar in the unheard of $2 price range. Keep you eye on the site as that will be coming soon as well as a review on the third release.

To Sum It Up: This is a great cigar, as long as it’s easy to find I would recommend it as a box purchase. It’s a perfect Medium-Strength cigar with lots of complexities for the seasoned cigar smoker while not being over the top for the novice. This cigar will find it’s way into my regular rotation for sure.

Pairing: I decided to pair this cigar with one of my go-to Summer ales, Kona’s Wailua. Wailua is an American Pale Wheat Ale with a twist. Coming in at 5.4% ABV this ale adds some nice twang with some Passion Fruit. Passion fruit isn’t the sweetest of fruits so what it does to the beer is interesting adding a really zesty, almost bitterness to the strong wheat-based brew. You can pick up a ton of citrus and a bit of pine in there as well. I figured the cigar already had enough sweetness that it would be interesting to see what would happen if we threw some bitterness on there and the outcome was great. It helped really balance out the experience as well as add a component that the cigar did not already have. The Passion Fruit paired up nicely with the cherry flavor that the Hex carried as well.