The Bombone is the smallest vitola in Dion Giolito’s Illusione line, but looks can be deceiving!
I decided to partake in this little treasure while laboring away at the rituals of fall. Wisconsin is seeing the last days of warmth, and with that comes leaves and yard-work. The day was relatively warm and sunny, with temperatures in the 50’s, but my hedge trimmer was even hotter! While raking and trimming I decided to find a smoke that would be quick and wouldn’t require too much attention. The Illusione 68 fit the bill. Here’s my take…

Prelight: A sweet tobacco smell that is reminiscent of Illusione, prelight draw was great with that same sweet tobacco flavor. Construction appeared good for a vitola of this stature, with no visible imperfections and a beautiful Cafe Colorado wrapper. Let us torch it!

1/3: Initially this little puppy packed a punch, with handfuls of spice coupled with a slight sweetness. I equate it to getting smacked around a bit, but not too hard…tough love. The full bodied flavor sticks out right away, but the smoke is smooth and plentiful. The burn is razor sharp, and draw is perfect. The olfactory sweetness that is Illusione is very predominate in this stick…a distinct floral sweetness.

2/3: Ash is holding on about 1/2″…the burn and draw is still perfect! So far this seems like a very well constructed cigar. The sweet flavors have come on top of the spiciness now, with smooth smoke and full body. I love the sweet smell of the smoke, and it’s changed a bit to a caramel sweetness.

3/3: The spice came back in full force, and the sweetness took a back seat. The smoke was a little bitter, but that didn’t last too long. Burn is great and the draw is still perfect. In the final minutes of this cigar the sweetness came back a bit, the spice subsided, the flavor has turn to hints of leather, and the bitterness disappeared. Aroma is still playing the right tunes with my nose.

Appearance: 4.5/5 Cigars
The Bombone has that distinct Illusione look, with a beautiful Colorado wrapper and simple trademark band. This was a very good looking cigar with beautiful color, trendy retro band, and perfect wrapper. The only reason I gave this 4.5 Sticks…it looks really tiny…like a cigarillo, and I like larger vitolas.

Construction: 5/5 Cigars
This is a perfectly constructed cigar. There were no burn issues…a perfect burn! No relights, even though I was busy with yard-work, and my attention was divided. The draw remained perfect throughout, though it’s length prevents the possibility to tar up like longer cigars. I gave this 5/5 because a cigar this size is tough to roll and maintain these types of qualities.

Flavor: 4/5 Cigars
Despite it’s tiny size, it is a full bodied cigar, with plenty of strength and flavor. The complexity was there as it progressed through different levels of Corojo and Criollo, but remained true to the Illusione line. However, there was more peppery spice to this stick than the 2 or 4/2g from the same line. This stick had much flavor and strength coming from the ligero within.

Value: 3.5/5 Cigars
This cigar has good value compared to some cigars. However, a smoke of this size and duration should be priced a little lower IMHO. Somewhere around the $4 mark. The Illusione 68 ‘Bombone’ only takes 30-45 minutes to smoke so $5-6 box price is a little much. Larger formats, taking 3X longer to smoke, are only 2X the price. With that said…this is a great smoke if you only have 30-45 minutes, and probably worth $5 to most.

Overall: 4/5 Cigars
The Illusione 68 is a great little cigar, if pressed for time. The flavor and complexity was great, paralleling other Illusione cigars, and the aroma was gorgeous! Though if you have the time to smoke a larger format, I would go with the HL or 4/2g, which are much like this smoke but provide better value. In fact, if this cigar was in the $4-5 range, rather than the $5-6 range, it would be a regular stocked item in my humidor, instead of the occasional smoke. However, if you got the dime and you don’t have the time, this is a great smoke!