Macanudo Vintage Maduro 1997 Toro (6x54)

The fact that this was a maduro, a Macanudo, and the really sweet looking metal band made this a "had to get" cigar for me. I picked up a few of these while placing an online order a few months back. I am now down to 2 so I figured it was time to post my review. There is just something about a sweet maduro wrapper that hits home with me like good comfort food. The elegant metal band is certainly eye catching and serves as a nice holding point to smoke this cigar.  The oily wrapper is a dark brown Dominican Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro with minimal veins and no soft spots that I could find. The binder is from Honduras and the filler hails from Brazil, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. The wrapper had a lightly sweet cocoa smell and the foot smelled of cocoa, hay and a mild fruit-like sweetness. I clipped the cap with cigar scissors and removed the band at the foot. The pre-draw was near perfect with notes of slightly sweet cocoa and spice. I used one of my single flame torches to get it toasted and lit with ease. The initial third opened with notes of raisin, molasses, and a roasted nut note. The aroma of the resting smoke was mildly sweet and very pleasant. Very creamy on the palate with a bit of spice and maduro sweetness on the retrohale. The first third was more of a medium-full in  body and full flavor. The Second third brought notes of dark chocolate and a cocoa powder type note. The second third brought a bit more to the body bringing it to full and still full flavor. The final third was more of the first two thirds but different, if that makes sense. Although no new flavor notes joined the mix, each puff seamed to bring my attention to a different one of those flavors. The finish throughout the burn maintained a roasted nuttiness with a mild sweetness and a slightly bitter sensation. The ash held tight for about 2 inches at a time and was a medium gray color. Burn was a bit wavy but nothing to warrant a correction. This was an excellent smoke and is Macanudo's first maduro offering in their vintage series. It is a limited production cigar and should be grabbed up while they are available. It has been in my top 10 smokes since I had my first one, and is my favorite of the Macanudo offerings. At the time of this review the best price I have found is at www.stogieboys.com. The Toro can be had at 8.09 per stick and the box price for a box of 12 is an incredible 69.95 for this size. I may regret posting that price when I get ready to reorder and they are sold out at stogieboys. If you have not yet tried the Vintage Maduro 1997 and love that sweet maduro wrapper and a complex flavorful cigar, then this one is worth grabbing while you can. The link to the Macanudo Vintage Maduro 1997 at stogieboys is HERE   

www.macanudo.com

www.cigarworld.com (General Cigar)

www.stogieboys.com

 

 

 

 

Hoyo De Monterrey Reposado en Cedros Sueno (5.25x54)

The Hoyo De Monterrey Reposado en Cedros from General Cigar caught my eye with the very attractive presentation. It has a band near the cap, as well as a band on both ends of the cedar sleeve that covers about a quarter of the body. The Inmersion™ process used to create these is very interesting to me. The acrylic case in the pictures is a model created to showcase how the inmersion™ process works. After rolling, the cigars are placed on cedar planks and covered with shavings of fragrant cedar and left to rest and mature. Now lets get to the part you're really here for, how did it smoke. The wrapper is a  yellowish-brown Ecuadorean Sumatra; the binder is Connecticut broadleaf; and the filler is Honduran, Nicaraguan, and Dominican. The veins are small and the wrapper has a oily sheen to it. The body smelled of cedar, which is no surprise considering the Inmersion™ process and the cedar sleeve. The foot smelled of earth and cedar. I used my cigar punch and found a perfect draw that had a earthy spice to it. The first third brought notes of sweet cedar and an earthiness, a bit of spice on the retrohale, and a mildly sweet woody finish. Going into the second third the sweet cedar stayed the most prominent flavor as the smoke took on a more creamy texture. The spice on the retrohale is beginning to take on more of a black pepper as I progressed through the cigar. In the second half there was a hint of what resembled either onion or garlic but at this point was not pronounced enough to really get a handle on. The ash held into the second third and finally fell at close to two inches. Burn so far has required no corrections. The final third brought a slight increase to the black pepper and the before mentioned unidentifiable flavor became more of a garlic flavor. It was not akin to chewing a clove of garlic, it was very subtle and not a bad addition to the flavors at all. There was a somewhat floral tone that came in in the final third that I would have missed if not paying very close attention. The Inmersion™ process is unique to this cigar and creates a very unique flavor. The flavor profile is dominated by the sweet cedar and earth but has just enough going on in the background to keep your attention. The Burn required no touch-ups If you like a creamy, cedary, mudium body cigar this one is right up your alley. More Information on Hoyo De Monterrey can be found at www.hoyodemonterreycigar.com