Illusione Haut 10 Churchill

📌 Brand: Illusione
📌 Line: Haut 10
📌 Size: Churchill (6 3/4 × 48)
📌 Weight: 16.5 g
📌 Age: 6 years
📌 Origin: Nicaragua

Tasting Notes

• Cedar – Refined woody backbone

• Cream – Smooth, balancing sweetness

• White Pepper – Clean, sharp spice on the retrohale

• Earth & Cocoa – Rounded depth with bittersweet finish

First Impressions

The Illusione Haut 10 presents an elegant Corojo wrapper with a silky texture and minimal veins. Pre-light aromas give cedar, cream, and cocoa. Cold draw shows perfect resistance, promising balance and nuance.

Smoking Experience

• First Third – Opens with cedar and cream, joined by subtle white pepper. Profile is refined and balanced.

• Second Third – Earth and cocoa notes develop, adding richness. Flavors build intensity but stay harmonious.

• Final Third – Pepper sharpens and cedar grows stronger. The finish turns slightly harsh, though still flavorful.

Pairings

• Alcohol – Hine Rare VSOP Cognac, with elegant fruit, vanilla, and spice to balance the cedar and cream while softening the cigar’s edge.

• Tea – Taiwanese Dong Ding Oolong, roasted and floral, echoing the balance of wood and cocoa in the profile.

Music Pairing.

“Stairway to Heaven” – Led Zeppelin,

gradual build and intensity, mirroring the cigar’s evolution.

Final Thoughts

The Illusione Haut 10 delivers elegance, complexity, and balance, with cedar, cream, and cocoa driving the profile. A bit of harshness in the final third prevents perfection, but it remains an outstanding cigar.

Final Score: 9/10
Why not a 10?
Slight harshness at the end takes away from an otherwise refined and balanced experience.

Only cigars that deliver flawless draw, balance, flavour evolution, construction and satisfaction get a 10.