Illusione MJ-12

Haven't written a review in a while, so here it goes! A friend I always seem to hook up at my local cigar club gave me an Illusione MJ-12 in return. I never heard of the brand but he raves about them. This guy has great taste in cigars - he's usually smoking San Lotano maduro's or LP #9's. At first I thought the cigar was a novelty because it comes wrapped in silver paper. I peeled off the paper and was greeted by a flawlessly-constructed cigar. Beautiful dark wrapper leaf, no soft spots, and a pretty understated band. I clipped it with my Xi2 and lit it up. I was treated to nearly 1 hour and 45 minutes of pure smoking pleasure. I love Nicaraguan puros and this is about as good as any I've had. Got great notes of rich tobacco and earthiness. If I had my buddy's budget I'd buy more of these. I will definitely be keeping a few on hand for special occasions. He said he has a couple of the 88's and wants to give me one to try so I'll write that up when I get it and try it. I also had no idea that CCOM sold these until I looked on the brands list. Seriously - give this brand a look.