Sancho Panza Non Plus: An unassuming cigar and unexpected treat

Nonplus is a turn of phrase here in the UK that means confused or surprised. When I lifted the Sancho Panza Non Plus cigar out of my humidor I wondered if it would be as scattershot a smoke as its name might suggest. Having tidied up and re-organised my humidors earlier that morning, I had been hankering after a cigar for most of the day. This one had remained in the front of my mind as it looked a rather well travelled.

The wrapper had quite a few knobbly veins wrapping around it and in places there were small cracks at various points on this Petit Corona. The foot of the cigar looked a little on the tired side but this didn’t put me off nor made it look unsmokable. I had to get in very close to the Sancho Panza in order to pick up subtle but tempting aromas of cedar.

I was worried that all the micro cracks in the chocolatey wrapper meant that the Non Plus had dried out and would go up like a tinder box. Given that it had been in my humidors at 68-70% humidity for the last six months I hoped that this wasn’t going to be the case. Two enjoyable hours after lighting up my fears had well and truly been laid to rest.

Whilst there was little flavour on the cold draw, the first mouthfuls after toasting the foot of the Sancho Panza were full of Horlicks. I remember my mum making me this hot, creamy malted milk drink before bed as a girl to help me sleep, but the cigar and company were anything but soporific. It didn’t take many draws before the flavour started to gain notes of weak tea. This was accompanied by plentiful mouthfuls of smoke that were rich, sweet and light, reminiscent of white marshmallows.

Towards the middle of the cigar the mild creaminess in the flavour had remained, but I was getting notes of smooth hazelnuts and toasted brioche. Unusually the wrapper seemed to leave a slightly oily powder on my fingers. As I looked the Sancho Panza Non Plus over thoroughly I didn’t see anything untoward and was very pleased that none of the little cracks in the wrapper showed any signs of becoming anything more and spoiling my enjoyment of the cigar.

With about a third of the cigar left to go and a slightly untidy pile of ash in my ash tray, I noticed that the nutty flavours had changed once more. This time it was a distinct pistachio taste. From beginning to end this had been a smooth and easy smoking cigar. At no point had there been any bitterness. Nor were there any issues with the wrapper despite it looking as though it had been tossed around from pillar to post. I can’t say that this was an exciting cigar, but I did enjoy the time that I spent with it.

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Sancho Panza Non Plus Cigar Details