Gran Habano Persian King Natural Review
Recently I stumbled onto the Gran Habano Persian King; Gran Habano is a company that I’m very familiar with. For a time, the Corojo #5 was a major part of my normal rotation. I’m really not sure why it fell out to be honest, but I digress. This week I was at a local B&M and noticed a box of naked (un-cellophaned and unbanded) cigars sitting in the corner. I picked one up and noticed that the foot was wrapped, something that isn’t too common. I was intrigued and knelt down to look at the tag on the box, “Gran Habano Persian King,” it read. The cigar looked very nice and the uniqueness of it being un-banded, un-cellophaned, and having a wrapped foot had me sold. Now that I knew it was a Gran Habano cigar, there was no question that I had to try them. The price point was solid as well. At $5.99, that was a no brainer so I grabbed a few and now here we are. Enough with intro, let’s get into the review.
A quick note for transparency, the cigars smoked for this review were purchased by myself at a local brick and mortar.
The Gran Habno Persian King comes in two varieties: natural and maduro. It also comes in three sizes: the Rajah (6×50), King Tiger (6×60), and the Type Mod-60 Pyramid (6×60). For this review, I smoked the Natural Rajah as I don’t personally enjoy 60 ring gauge cigars. I could probably do the pyramid, but that wasn’t an option when I purchased.
Shape: Rajah (Toro)
Size: 6×50
Wrapper: Corojo
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
The cigar boasts a bit of a unique look being completely unbanded and having a wrapped foot. The cigar felt good, not too solid and not too soft. The wrapper had minimal veins with a nice oily sheen. The cold draw was basically pointless due to the wrapped foot. I clipped the cigar with my trusty Xikar and away we go.
The wrapper on the foot is thin and immediately burns away. I’m greeted with an initial burst of black pepper. The pepper isn’t over powering at all, it’s one of my favorite notes so I think it’s always the first thing I look for. Alongside the black pepper, there’s cedar and a toasted nuttiness. All play very nice together and make for a great way to start this cigar. Right away I’m pretty happy as this is hitting a number of things that I like a lot. There’s a generous amount of smoke coming off as I get into the first third. I’m smoking this with my son who likes to have a long ash so I had to point out that the ash seemed a bit loose. The ash wasn’t just falling away, but a slight bump would send it falling. The draw is near perfect for me and the burn line is pretty spot on, at least to start, and I’m not worrying about any canoeing or burn issues.
Getting deeper into the first third, the initial flavors deepen and the complexity picks up a bit. I’m noticing hints of leather, dark chocolate, and something that reminds me of a nice smooth espresso. My palate is really enjoying the complexity. It was nice to talk about this with Hunter (my son) and hear him picking out certain notes as well. It’s early, but the strength on this is definitely going to be in the medium+ range. Good thing we just had dinner!
As I start to get close to about the midway point, the flavors continued to evolve and I noticed a slight sweetness had made it’s way into the mix. It was reminiscent of dried fruit or raisins. These flavors mingle harmoniously, creating a delightful balance on the palate.
In the final third of the cigar, the flavors intensify, offering a slightly stronger and more robust experience. The cedar notes persist, accompanied by hints of black coffee, and a subtle spiciness that lingers on the tongue. The strength picks up and moves right up next to full. At this point, I’m starting to feel a slight kick from the vitamin N but nothing too much. I check on Hunter to make sure he’s not feeling an upset stomach or anything and he acknowledges that he’s feeling it just a bit, but not to the point of being sick so we continue on.
We ended up smoking the Gran Habano Persian King down to the point where is was burning our fingers before we finally decided to call it a night.
Overall, the Gran Habano Persian King Natural Rajah cigar delivers a medium-bodied smoke with a complex and well-balanced flavor profile. Its combination of cedar, toasted nuts, dark chocolate, and subtle spice makes it a pleasurable choice for enthusiasts seeking a refined and flavorful smoking experience.
Hunter gave the Gran Habano Persian King Natural Rajah a score of 7/10. I was in agreement, for me maybe 7.5/10. Definitely a cigar I will pick up again, I’m actually planning on picking up the maduro version as well next time. This was a really good cigar at a really good price! It’s getting harder and harder to find great cigars around the $5-$7 price point. My only qualm with this cigar would be that it only comes in 50 count boxes, but on the upside I can always pick up the individuals at a really good price. I’ve been a Gran Habano fan for a very long time now and I’m happy to say that I’ll continue to be fan.
