If there is one cigar brand on the market that embraces controversy it’s Illusione. Their latest offering in 2024 is Group of Five.
The Original Document series was shrouded in controversy back when I began smoking due to the late great Gary J. Artz. Gary who I considered to be a mentor and friend pushed a conspiracy theory that actually put the brand on my radar. While the cigars had their own explanation Gary believed it was a cover up. I won’t get into details about the absurd links he made in the names since brand owner Dion Giolitto denies it and it has become yesterday’s news that I don’t think anyone remembers in great detail. I do however love the creativity that Gary put into his conspiracy.
The Group of Five which was released in 2024 in one size; RB with four other sizesthat are expected to be released in the future. Dion hasn’t said what The Group of 5 refers to but some feel it could have ties to the New World Order. Following the great wall street crash of 1929, Robert Baird (1883 – 1969) was tapped to help create legislation that basically helped stabilize the securities investment business. Today, Robert Baird & Co. group manages over $350 billion in investments.
Could this be the person the initials RB refers to? Perhaps when the other four sizes are released their initials will help the big picture come into focus.
Cigar Review: Illusione Group of Five
Size: 5 x 52 (RB aka Robusto)
Wrapper: Undisclosed
Binder: Undisclosed
Fillers: Undisclosed
Factory: Aganorsa
Release Date: June 2024
Box Count: 15
The Cigars: First let’s’ address the cello of which has some browning to it which you would expect from an old cigar. The foot of the cello that gets folded over is clear, so I wonder if these cigars were cello’d while they were still wet. The band is black and gold with nuances of white and power blue. The logo is a scarab beetle with butterflies around it and n English and Latin it denotes, “whispering tongues are treachery”. As far at the cigar goes there are a nice amount of oils present with with some subtle veins on the wrapper.
The Taste: The cold draw of the cigar serves up rye spice, prunes and cedar while the aroma from the foot is loaded with cedar. The cold draw also has a interesting creaminess to it the longer you let it sit out before you light it. Such was the case of one of the samples, as I let it sit on my laptop as I did some tweaking of this review and based on that I recommend dry boxing these before smoking them. It’s not that the cigars are wet, I found there were more flavors at a lower humidity.
After we toast the foot our initial pulls reveal notes of black pepper and kola nut before we settle into the first third. Notes of earth create a canvas on which the Illusione Group of Five builds. The first third sees notes of almonds with an occasional wisp of vanilla. As the first third comes to a close some graham cracker sweetness develops while the retrohale as a delicious brown sugar and rye spice.
The second third sees notes of almonds become the driving force of the flavory profile with red pepper and cedar. To be truly enjoyed this cigar I highly recommend you retrohale (I know not everyone does). In addition to cayenne pepper the retrohale sees pecans, cream and a lot of cedar. As the second third comes to a close the cigar begins to feels corojo heavy in terms of the blend due to the spices present but there is also a developing cocoa.
Sadly the cocoa never develops in the final third that sees the return of rye over a canvas of earth. There are hints of vanilla and brown sugar with cedar and the remnants of almonds as well. The retrohale enhances the spice although its more cayenne in nature with additional elements of cedar on a big long finish.
The Conclusion: When I began smoking cigars there wasn’t a lot of boutique cigar makers out there. However, Dion Giolito can probably be considered one of the founding fathers of the boutique movement alongside Pete Johnson and Jonathan Drew. Today, the latter two aren’t really boutique as they have transcended into the mainstream. Illusione never reached the same status as those two and I wonder if it is by design because on paper there is really no reason he shouldn’t be enjoying the same level of success.
The Illusione Group of Five is a cigar that is a must try. For whatever reason over the years I drifted away from Illusione but it now time to revisit the original document line.
Score: 92
Price: $16.00 (Before any local or state taxes)
You can find the Illusione Group of Five at Small Batch Cigar and if you use the coupon code BARRELBURNER you can save 10%.
