Cigar Review: Cesar Cigars Maduro
This review is of the second offering by Cesar Cigars and is of the Cesar Cigars Mauro. Also new to the northeast market and mostly comprised of Dominican tobaccos made in the Dominican Republic via Doral, Florida.
Blend Specifics
Vitola: Robusto 5.5” x 52
Wrapper: San Andreas Maduro
Binder: Dominican Corojo
Filler: Dominican and U.S.
Appearance and Construction
The Cesar Cigars Maduro has a dark chocolate appearance with even coloring throughout. The wrapper is slightly oily, very toothy with a paper dry feeling. It has tight invisible seams with minimal veins and a really nicely applied triple cap. There’s an even sponginess throughout the cigar and at the foot one can see how densely packed the bunching is. The construction on these cigars is very much noteworthy.
Cold Aromas
The wrapper’s aroma is earthy, dark chocolate, espresso and sweet cedar. The foot gives off black pepper, earth, cedar, a slight sweetness, dark chocolate and a touch of leather. The cold draw shows there’s a good amount of tension in the bunching, it’s not too loose or too tight and tastes of a tobacco core with cocoa, leather, a small amount of white pepper, some earthiness and cedar.
Flavor & Smoke Characteristics
First Third: Right off the bat, there’s lots of cocoa, leather, earthiness, a little barnyard, white pepper, thought not heavy with some saltiness. Complimenting the saltiness is a Marie tea biscuit note as the cigar progresses. The cigar burns evenly to a light grey ash with spots of dark deposits. The wrapper burns with small white flecks that bubble up and this is usually noticeable on rich maduro wrapper leaves grown in Mexico and Nicaragua. The burn line is near razor sharp and burns nicely. At this point there are notes of white pepper with a strong tobacco core lasting through the finish. Also, there are some notes of bitter espresso and saltiness. A black licorice on the draw also becomes apparent but only sticks around for a minute or two. Rounding out the first third, the cigar is met with dark chocolate lasting through the finish, a smooth sweet pepper like green or yellow peppers on the retro hale with sweet tobacco and leather as the dominant flavors. The cigar is medium in strength, medium body, and medium to full in flavor.
Second Third: Starting the second third, the licorice come up more to the front, with a medium cocoa and cedar in the mix. Leather and salt are also lingering around and a white pepper begins to coat the tongue more noticeably. The ash lasted 1.5 inches before I decided to tap it off and the ash fell of in one solid chunk, continuing to hold it’s razor sharp burn line. Blasts of cocoa come right up with the leather moving back and still continuing through with a solid tobacco core. White pepper, sweet pepper and espresso are noticeable on the retro hale with salt and a touch of earthiness holding on through the finish. Also new in the fold are notes of fruit and nut adding to the chocolate, the fruit is of raisins and the nut is of almonds but these notes aren’t too strong and they don’t stick around for too long. Finishing off the second third, the cigar is still holding at medium in strength, medium in body and medium to full in flavor. This cigar also burns very cool.
Final Third:Transitioning into the final third, the saltiness comes to front more, still mixing with a nice tobacco and leather core. The cocoa has dropped off a bit but the espresso is still hanging around. The pepper in the nose has also dropped off a bit but is still noticeable on the tongue. As the cigar gets warmer, nuttiness comes more into play still along the lines of almond with a slight pepper tingle on the lips. The body and strength start to pick up a bit and the flavors start melding together more with a buttery nutty tobacco, earth, leather core, with a hint of white and red pepper spice on the draw and finish. The cigar still burns cool and one that can be easily nubbed if desired. Right at the very end a touch of nutmeg comes into the smoke but is also short lived and this cigar ends with a solid tobacco core with the hints of earth and leather. Ending at a medium to full in strength, medium to full in body and medium to full in flavor.
Final Thoughts
While there are similarities between both offerings by Cesar Cigars, there are many differences as well. Both are enjoyable down to the nub and stay fairly cool while doing so. The maduro shows a bit more complexity, though the notes that make it more complex don’t stick around for all that long. The main notes that comprise this cigar are deep notes of dark chocolate with a light espresso running over the top, slightly musky leather and a hefty amount of earth. Some salt, but this cigar is generally on the sweeter side of the spectrum. The white pepper spice sticks around on the finish for much of the smoke.
The extraordinary complex notes that come into the fold, and are nice when they do so, are black licorice, Marie tea biscuits, a bit of raisin and almond shown together, and a hint of sweet green pepper here and there and finishing off with a bit of nutmeg at the end. A tobacco core is dominant in this cigar throughout the smoke and is complimented with the chocolate and leather for the duration. The cigar ends at a medium to full in strength, medium to full in flavor, and medium to full in body, which kicks up to a syrupy thick smoke. Burn is consistent throughout and holds it’s light and ash well the whole time. This cigar is another that shouldn’t be rushed and rather sipped to catch its nuances.
Similar cigars would be the Original Release Don Pepin version
of La Sirena, Hispaniola Tres Carabelas, Arturo Fuente Gran Reserva Maduro, Quesada Oktoberfest Original Release, and La Reloba Seleccion Mexican.
Smoking time was 1 hour and 45 minutes.
