When Kevin Keithan joined Juan Cancel at Protocol Cigars, he not only brought a vast amount of energy and drive to the growing cigar brand, he also brought a wealth of experience in cyber security. As a way to integrate Kevin’s technology background into the law enforcement theme of the Protocol series, the company released the Cyber Crimes Unit. The neon-green design fits nicely into the Protocol series of the original Protocol Blue, the Probable Cause Red, and the Themis Yellow (or as Garret likes to call it, the M-I-5). Here is Matt’s review of this cigar.
At the time of publishing this review, the Protocol Cyber Crimes Unit is only available in this size.
Protocol Cyber Crimes Unit Churchill BP
MSRP: $10.50
Size: 6.5 x 48
Origin: La Zona – Esteli, Nicaragua
Wrapper: Habano Rosado (Nicaragua)
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Prologue
The cigar has a bright and colorful, almost Matrix look to it. The wrapper is mostly an even reddish-orange color, but does have some spots and mottling. The cigar does feel a bit light and has a slightly soft feel. The wrapper is a bit dry and has no discernable oil sheen on the surface, but does have a sandy tooth to the texture. There is a slight grassy and leathery aroma to the wrapper, and the foot has more of that dry grass with a little pepper and a musty quality. The cold draw is more of those musty notes and some tannic hints of tea.
Act I
Flavors start out with some black pepper and leather. As it warms up there are some fresh bread and cereal notes. The smoke is a bit thin but does still have flavor and aroma to it. Some cedar and spice aromas are present, augmented by more of the bready and toasty flavor notes. The retrohale is clean and has a frontal kind of white pepper and charred wood quality.
Act II
As I continue to smoke through the cigar, the flavors are there but they seem to be slow to present themselves. The bread notes are joined by some mild coffee and roasted nuts. Just a hint of leather is on the back of my palate, along with those tannic-tea notes from the cold draw. On the retrohale, there is a very interesting dried fruit sweetness and mild pepper.
Act III
The final part of the cigar is definitely bolder, and comes on with some more richness. The coffee on the palate and in the nose is more toward the front. Also, the bread notes have intensified into an almost brewer’s yeast kind of earthiness, with just a tiny bit of raisin-like sweetness. The pepper notes are there as well, but without the bite. The retrohale is toasted wood and mild spice.
Epilogue
After smoking the first cigar for this review, I came back to it a couple days later, and then a couple days after that again. I noticed that it has to be tended to rather closely. If I smoke it too quickly it heats up too much and becomes very soft. On the flip-side, it needed a relight if left for a relatively short amount of time. Overall, the flavors were very nice and had some variety.
Protocol Cyber Crimes Unit Churchill BP – How Bout That Cigar?
Rating: How Bout A 5er?
Overall Score: 90
PAD: +0.0 (What is PAD?)
Flavor Summary: Toasted Bread, Tea, Mild Coffee, Raisin, Spice, Wood
Strength Assessment: Medium
Source: Cigars for this review were provided by Protocol