Don Fernando’s cigarblog

Wotjes is a brand especially made for tobacconist W. Otten in Maastricht, a beautiful city in the south of The Netherlands and I heard a lot about those cigars that is a robusto size, which is an unusual vitola for a dry cigar and they are made with 5 different wrappers. Java, Sumatra, Brazil, Manila and Havana. They are sold in dress boxes of 25 and in samplers of 10, with 2 of each wrapper. I had to go to Maastricht for work last week and decided to treat myself to a sampler. This is the review of the Sumatra wrapper.

The wrapper is light colored with lots of small veins and smells a bit musty, like most dry cigars that I’ve smelled. The flavors that I get have a warm feeling to it and I can taste spices with something metallic on the background, but the metallic flavor fades away after about a centimeter. After about an inch I can taste some chocolate through the herbs/spices and the finale brings back some of the metallic flavor.

The cigar produces a lot of smoke and a nice aroma. I would call this mild to medium, but closer to the mild side. Flavor wise this is a typical dry cigar, with a reasonable burn and a fine draw.

Would I buy this cigar again? Probably not, for less money I can buy a Jose L Piedra petit cazadores, which I prefer over this cigar, although if you like dry cigars this Wotje is good.

Construction: 7 / 10
Draw: 7 / 10
Appearance: 6 / 10
Smoke & ash: 7 / 10
Burn: 7 / 10
Aroma (first part) 6 / 10
Aroma (middle part) 6 / 10
Aroma (last part) 6 / 10

This Philippians cigar made from Philippians and Brazilian filler, Philippians binder with a Sumatra wrapper is 140mm long and has a 44 ring. The wrapper is pretty and silky, the cigar feels tight but the predraw is fine. The aroma is very light which made me suspect that this is a light bodied cigar, and I was right.

The first flavor that is released after lighting is the flavor of dry hay, soon to be replaced with soft leather. The Brazilian tobacco creates a mild sweetness. After a third there is a little pepper which disappears soon and the cigar gives me a bit of a burning sensation for a while, with still the soft leather on the background. The burning sensation is replaced by a bit of a musty flavor. At the end the pepper returns.

The smoke is full and completely white, just as the ashes. The draw is fine, just as the burn.

Would I buy this cigar again? Perhaps, it is a nice light bodied cigar for during the day, maybe a nice replacement for the Jose L Piedra petit cazadores.

Construction: 16 / 20
Draw: 16 / 20
Appearance: 14 / 20
Smoke && ash: 7 / 10
Burn: 13 / 20
Aroma (foot) 7 / 10
Aroma (body) 6 / 10
Aroma (head) 5 / 10