Nas and the rebirth of Escobar

For the ageing hip-hop head, such as myself, Nasir “Nas” Jones will forever be a legend for his classic debut album, Illmatic, released in 1994. And, over the subsequent decades, he has continued to release albums, with his most recent, Magic, released in 2021.

Going beyond the stereotypical image of a rapper Nas has invested in many early-stage technology companies, through QueensBridge Venture Partners (QBVP), the venture capital firm he founded in 2014 with partners. Queensbridge is the housing projects where he grew up in New York. QBVP have invested in more than 100 companies, in the technology, financial, entertainment and talent management sectors including Dropbox, Lyft and Coinbase.

You may be wondering what hip-hop and venture capital investments are doing in a cigar column. It’s context for one of Nas’s newer investments in 2021, namely co-owner and equity partner in Escobar Cigars by Puros Privados, established in 2018. This makes sense considering Nas is known to be a big cigar enthusiast and, also, one of his monikers over the years has been Nas Escobar or Esco with the first reference being on Mobb Deep’s 1995 track An Eye For An Eye. It seems, with this partnership, Nas is probably going to be a bit more hands-on, with a focus on branding and marketing, and, hopefully, the actual production and blending of tobaccos. But we shall see.

It is interesting how a Colombian drug lord has captured the imagination of many over the years, fuelled in more recent times, by the Netflix series Narcos, but that’s a conversation for another day and another place.

Escobar Cigars currently has two distinct lines, the Maduro and the Natural with a Robusto (5 x 50), Churchill (7 x 50), Double Toro Gordo (6 x 56), Distinguidos Romeo (5.5 x 52) and Double Corona (5.5 x 4) ensuring that there is a preferred length and ring gauge for every type of smoker.

There isn’t much information on the tobacco on their site other than to say that “it is a blend of three vintage sun-grown and aged Habano tobaccos grown specifically in the rich volcanic soil of Nicaragua.” Elsewhere, on Luxury Cigar Club, it is stated that the Maduro has a Mexican San Andres wrapper, an Indonesian binder and Nicaraguan fillers, while the Natural has an Ecuadorean Habano wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and fillers. Escobar Cigars is also said to have its own factory in Esteli, Nicaragua, where the cigars are made.

On a mission to work my way through their complete offering, I selected the Maduro Robusto as my first taste, so to speak, which is my preferred vitola. It has a lovely dark leaf wrapper, with a decent draw. The most distinct flavour for me was dark pepper, which comes to the fore at the end of first third/start of second and carries right through the second third before mellowing in the last third. It also manifested as a spicy tangy at the back of the palate as it grew stronger in flavour. I paired it with chamomile tea and a dash of honey which, in some instances, softened the spiciness.

In the last third, there is a sweet aftertaste that lingers without overpowering or becoming bitter and also a chocolatey smoothness that was faint, which I quite enjoyed. While it is a maduro, it was more of a medium-bodied smoke.

I like the simplicity of the logo, which looks good on their accessories, including T-shirts, lighters and ashtrays, as well as on the gold band with black text and the black box with gold text. It is a small thing but the band also comes off quite easily.

Overall, a nice smoke and, considering the prices of cigars these days, especially Cubans, great value for money. And definitely a cigar I will enjoy more of, once I have figured out which I prefer out of the two lines and the various vitolas.