For those of you that don’t know.

In July of 2002, the Eiroa family, owners of Camacho cigars, released a Honduran cigar to celebrate the freedom they had found in America. This specific cigar came to be known as the Camacho Liberty series. The original 2002 Liberty had a production run of only 25,000 cigars and included 5,000 cigars of each of these five vitolas: Corona, Rothschild, Toro, Torpedo, and Churchill. The original release in 2002 was the only year five different vitolas were released, and only one other year in the series had more than one vitola, the 2005 Liberty (which is what I am reviewing today).

Only 40,000 2005 Liberties (2000 boxes of 20) were released…(Note: There was more then one vitola released, but I can’t find the info on specific vitolas online, so if anyone knows for sure, leave a comment and I will update this page ~ed.). Each cigar is also individually enclosed in their own flag labeled coffin (and wrapped in tissue paper as well, but I had to take that off to shoot the photo so you all could see the actual cigar), and the cigar I smoked for this specific review was #14,222/40,00 according to the label. The coffins look like this:

The Camacho Liberty 2005 was rolled using only the top leaves (top primings) of the Corojo harvest, which are subjected to more stress and yield a more intense and full flavor. It also supposedly includes an unspecified amount of pre-embargo Cuban tobaccos cultivated in 1961. (NOTE: Whether this is true or not, and in what amount is impossible to know, and even more impossible to prove or disprove, so I will just leave it at that. ~ed.)

But enough about that, let’s get down to business!

• Cigar Reviewed: Camacho Liberty 2005 11/18
• Country of Origin: Honduras
• Factory: Rancho Jamastran
• Wrapper: Honduran Maduro
• Binder: Honduras
• Filler: Honduras
• Size: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: 11/18 (Perfecto)
• Est. Price (MSRP): $13.50
• Release Date: June 2005
• Number of Cigars Released: 2,000 Boxes of 20 Cigars (40,000 total cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 1

The cigar itself has an extremely dark brown smooth to the touch wrapper, not black, but pretty close. It is an impressive looking cigar (I have always loved the 11/18 vitola). The band is simple, but effective. It is extremely firm when squeezed, and the wrapper smells like chocolate, pepper and tobacco.

The First Third starts out with a small amount of spice and a very earthy profile. While the earth was dominant, there was some leather and a tiny flavor of tobacco present as well. A nice (albeit fairly mild) start.

The Second Third has almost an explosion of flavor, especially right after the “hump”, with notes of sweet coffee, leather and chocolate, with just a tad bit of spice thrown in. Even though I was waiting for it (as I said, I love the 11/18 vitola), I was still surprised by the about face that took place.

The Last Third was basically the same as the 2nd third (which is not a bad thing at all), with just a bit more spice on the tongue, and while it did get a bit hot at the end, it was still a great ending to the cigar.

Final Notes:

• It is generally accepted that the 2005 Liberty has (so far) been the best of the series in terms of taste and construction, and I agree with that sentiment, at least compared to the years I have smoked so far.
• There has been a Camacho Liberty released for the July 4th holiday every year since 2002, except for this year (2010). Rumors started early on that Camacho would not be releasing a Liberty for this year, (and in fact, as of this review, still has not), but the latest scuttlebutt is that there WILL be a 2010 Liberty release at an unknown date in the future.
• One of the reasons that I love the 11/18 vitola is the explosion of (typically different) flavors that I get after the “hump” of the cigar. It happens quite often, and I am still surprised every time when it does.
• The Burn was a bit off and I had to touch it up a few times until after the “hump”, where it evened out for the rest of the cigar. The Draw was perfect.
• The Final Smoking Time was 1 Hour and 40 Minutes.

The Bottom Line: I will be honest and say that I have not been impressed with quite a few of the cigars that Camacho produces (even some other years in the Liberty series), but this cigar was a keeper. It was Complex, easy to smoke, and the flavors kept changing over the course of the cigar. Just a wonderful, well constructed, nice looking, great tasting cigar.

Final Score: 90