I reviewed the Ortega Serie D Maduro back in June and of the ones I have smoked the No. 6 was my favorite in that line. I found the same to be true of the natural, as it seems to be the perfect size for me. I was really looking forward to the natural after trying the maduro. I won a sampler pack of these by using the Cigar Dojo mobile app. The milk chocolate brown Ecuador Habano Rosado wrapper had minimal veins and near invisible seams. The binder is Nicaraguan and the filler is a blend of Nicaraguan tobaccos from Jalapa and Esteli. The wrapper offers the aroma of barnyard and hay, while the foot offers notes of barnyard and a mild molasses sweetness. It is firm with very little give and there were no soft spots or imperfections that I could find. I went with a V cut on the triple cap and found a perfect draw with notes of sweet field grass. It was an easy task for the single flame torch to get the foot toasted and smoke flowing.
The initial third opens with notes of cedar and an almond nuttiness. There are a few occasional notes of cocoa and a very light natural sweetness in the first third. There is a fair amount of peppery spice on the retrohale but not quite as much as I remember from the maduro version. The finish is long and nutty, with a flavors resembling amaretto. The peppery spice on the retrohale is calming down a bit. There are notes of graham and some light coffee notes that emerge in the second third. Going into the final third the coffee notes gain more depth as the cocoa notes seem to come in more often. The almond and cedary notes are still present and the flavors are really working well together. Most of the graham notes faded away shortly after starting the final third. The final verdict is... This is another awesome stick from Eddie Ortega! I cannot pick a favorite between the natural and maduro, both are excellent. The construction was superb with the ash holding to just over an inch at a time with a nice salt and pepper color. If you are a fan of the maduro and haven't tried the natural, you are cheating yourself. The price point on these is around 6.50 per stick in the No.6 size and are available at cigarstix.com. They are available in boxes of 10 and boxes of 20 and the link to this size on cigarstix can be found HERE You an find more information on Ortega Cigars at www.ortegacigars.com and you can find Eddie on twitter at http://twitter.com/eddieor. You should give him a follow, he is a super nice guy and quite a character.
