My first review on this site was a Kristoff.  I have been a fan of Kristoff cigars for years....Even bought a box of the criollo maduro a few years back and loved every one I smoked.  I know that a lot of people have discounted Glen Case's cigars in recent years, and that is a shame.  Kristoff puts out some truly unique and high quality cigars that are always worth smoking.  Glen's newest line is the Galerones series.  I was handed a sample of the Intensivo, which the Kristoff site names their strongest blend.  On a ridiculously balmy December evening, I find myself on the porch with said cigar in hand.  Let's see how it is, shall we?

Construction: The Galerones Intensivo is a hard edged box press.  I mean razor sharp hard edges.  I don''t mind the occasional box press but this one is....well...intense.  The wrapper leaf is a nice red-brown with no real veins or blemishes.

Pre-light Aroma and Draw: Shocking amounts of rich tobacco, red pepper, and manure (it's a good thing with cigars) bombard the nose once you get this beauty out of the cellophane.  From the foot, I get a earthy aroma added to the mix with a touch of sweetness.

Light and Burn: The burn is a little wonky as the cigar progresses - one of the things I dislike about box pressed cigars, as this tends to be an issue often with that shaping process.  I only had a couple of mild retouches so no points off there.

Tasting: The start hits me with something delicious.  I get a sweet cinnamon and brown sugar flavor that says holidays to me.  I am also experiencing a very unusual hissing sputter from the cigar.  Weird....

The first third starts the intensity with red pepper, black pepper, cinnamon, and earth.  There are still notes of that cinnamon-sugar sweet flavor.  It honestly reminds me of mulling spice only less sweet than that thankfully.  It does hit hard.  Full tilt body all the way. This is one of the mightiest cigars I have had in recent memory.

The middle third somehow manages to step up even more.  The smoke is deliciously aromatic and dense.  The flavors remain the spicy and earthy core with some caramel and those amazing brown sugar and mulling spice flavors. If I didn't know better I would swear this was a flavored cigar. Wow.

@#$%&!  The final third doesn't let up.  The flavors are just terrific.  The blend is not super complex in terms of shifting flavor profiles but it does  deliver some fantastic tastes that are so unusual that I am in a bit of palate shock.  There are some added notes of white pepper, salt. and very rich nutmeg.  Just superb.

Value: At about $10, the Intensivo is well priced for such a unique experience.

Final Thoughts: Newbies beware,  This is a block of C4,  no joke.  Fortunately I have the constitution of a vending machine when it comes to cigars, but were I a little less Ron Swanson, I would be dizzy as hell.  This is a fine cigar from top to bottom, as all of the Kristoff line are, but this one is a game changer from their core products.  Eat a big fat steak and a baked potato, and another steak, some scotch, and one of these.  You can't go wrong.  Highly recommended!

Wrapper: Brazilian Arapiraca
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan, Honduran, Dominican

Strength: Very full

Size: 5 x 52

Here we have a block of high explosives in cigar form.  You can see that hard box press too.

The band is very wine bottle looking.  Quite different than the rest of Kristoff's designs.