Ezra Zion Tantrum
Ezra Zion has been in the cigar biz for a decent amount of time and has had some pretty good hits. They are a boutique brand of cigars with a handful of cigars with all different flavor profiles. With that being said, there is more than likely an Ezra Zion cigar that would meet your taste likings.
The Tantrum is a Nicaraguan puro in a petite corona size. That alone gets my mouth watering. They come in 28 count boxes with only 1500 boxes made. This cigar was released in the middle of last year, so there may be a few singles lingering around still.
 
Cigar Stats
Size: 4 11/25×44
Vitola: Petite Corona (Prensado Pequeño)
Wrapper: Cuban Seed 1999 Corojo
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Grade AA Nicaraguan aged 5 to 7 years.
Cost: $9.50*
 
First Looks
The Tantrum has a petite look and feel to it. Its not all that big of a cigar and has a light feel to it. There are a few minimal veins in the lightly box pressed blend. A nice set of silver and black bands adorn the head and foot. A deeply applied triple cap covers the head and that’s always a plus in my book. I like a cigar where the cap is applied deep enough that if you have to give it a second cut, there won’t be any issues. I don’t necessarily have to have a triple cap, but its a small plus.
The aroma of the foot is of a hefty amount of nutmeg, some wood and slight hints of cinnamon. The cold draw is a tad on the light side. I get hints of the nutmeg, and greem peanuts. The wrapper aroma is of an earthy profile. Kind of musty and dirty smelling, but I don’t think it will transition into the smoke.  Â
 
Construction
The foot toasted up fast and evenly with a single flame lighter. The draw was a tad bit thicker once lit and was spot on for me. The burn was pretty good, seeing it was coming from a box pressed cigar. The ashes were tapped off short between 1/2 and 3/4″ to avoid an ashy lap. Best was to describe the colors of the ash are “salt and pepper.” No relights, touch-ups or any other construction issues. Not being an issue with the cigar itself, but the band did pull of very easily. I like it when a band is pulled off easily and doesn’t tear any of the wrapper from too much glue. That type of attention is something a lot of companies should look into more and more.
Flavor
The first few draws I take I am not noticing the drawn flavors, yet more of the burning pine straw room note my nose detects. Its not overly pungent but definitely noticeable. I get a large amount of pepper and some espresso notes right of the bat in a pretty bold fashion. The finish has somewhat of a creamy sense to it that doesn’t last all that long. A bit into it, the pepper eases off nicely and lets a sweet and salty type of nutmeg flavor come into play. Around half way, a nice creamy licorice note comes into play that mingles in with the espresso and drowns out the nutmeg.
At the halfway point, I really start to notice how strong this cigar is as the ligero is showing itself nicely. Its not a super strong ligero kick, but you can tell its there and not showing any signs of slacking off. Now, the licorice is fading off and a nice rich earthy note comes into play with the espresso still hanging in in the background. I am really enjoying this cigar and have to keep reminding myself to take it slow to enjoy the smoke and not to rush the flavors or heat in this smaller cigar. At the band, I start to get some leathery flavors that are a nice addition to the flavors already in place. After this, I get some nice charred darker wood notes. More like a charred oak note than anything. At the end, a semi-creamy caramel note adorns my palate at the end of the smoke. It doesn’t linger long, but has a faint sweetness to it that I like. The smoke stays pretty consistent the rest of the cigar (about an inch or so).
Final Thoughts
This is one complex smoke that had me on my toes the whole time. Its almost to the point of being over complex to me. The over complexity did take away a bit fro the smoking. It seemed like once I got a flavor that I was digging, it was almost replaced with another. But the replacing flavor was just as good as its predecessor, so it wasn’t that big of a deal breaker to me. The only major draw back I see with this particular cigar is the length. Its perfect for a hot summer day when you don’t want to be outside for a long period of time. But with me enjoying this on a 75* spring afternoon, I was wanting more. I would love o see this blend in something like a Lonsdale or Rothschild size. No two ways about it, I really enjoyed this slightly lesser than full bodies cigar!!
*This cigar was provided to me, unsolicited, from Gary Griffith of Emilio Cigars (distributors for Nomad) for this review. Many thanks to him for the opportunity to review this cigar!
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