Cubao Maduro
I am a big fan of the original Cubao. When I heard that a maduro wrapped version was out, I had to try it. I found these in Tampa and naturally picked a few up for review. The quick story on this cigar is… Don Pepin Garcia blended and makes this cigar for United Tobacco. Chances are, if Pepin has his hands in it, I’ll like it. Let’s see if this holds true for the Cubao Maduro.
Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: Robusto Extra 6 1/8 x 50
Price: Around $7.00
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The dark brown maduro wrapper looked great, with only a few small to medium veins and no major flaws. The wrapper had almost no odor at all. I could only detect a slight sweet smell. The foot had more of a sweet spicy smell to it. Overall the cigar was evenly packed and had a good draw. The pre-smoke draw was a dark sweet flavor, similar to dark chocolate bitterness.
Flavor:
The first few puffs of the first third were smooth earthiness. It didn’t take long for a nice sweet peppery spice to kick in. The earthiness took a back seat, and allowed the sweetness to stand out. As I progressed further along, a coffee or espresso type of flavor joined in. The sweetness took on more of a cocoa tinge. Meanwhile, the smoke feel became thick and creamy.
As I dug into the second third, the pepper calmed down a bit but kept a lot of bite. The smoke feel remained thick and somewhat creamy. The cocoa sweetness dominated the flavor profile. Coffee was next, along with a slight woodiness.
The last third increased in strength. The spicy pepper remained smooth but kept that familiar zing. At times the coffee was stronger then the cocoa, and at other times it was the opposite. Woody notes were still in the distant background. The smoke was dense, but lost a lot of it’s creaminess.
Conclusion:
This was a damn good full bodied cigar. There really isn’t anything more I can say. I will be smoking more of these. Give the Cubao Maduro a try!
