Quesada Oktoberfest
Quesada – The makers of the Tributo, which was my favorite cigar of 2010. About the Tributo… I don’t know what happened, but it has seemed to have gone to shit. Many, like 7 out of 10, have tight draws. With some work I’ve been able to repair most of them to smokeable condition. I’ve tried various storage conditions, even dry boxing. But no, the issue is simply a cigar that is too tightly rolled. Quality control has gone to shit with the Tributo lately. What a shame for such a great cigar. Pisses me off. Anyway…
When Ed got some of these in stock, I had to pick some up. It’s namesake is obvious. If you don’t know about Oktoberfest, do a quick Google search. This cigar is of limited quantities, and is obviously meant to be smoked with beer. Since I can’t stand beer, I went with water.
Wrapper: Dominican
Binder & Filler: Dominican
Size: Bavarian 5.5 x 52
Price: Around $7.95
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The dark oily wrapper looked great, with no visible flaws. The smell off of the wrapper and foot was a rich tobacco, cedar, and sweet spice. The pre-light draw was perfect, and had a rich flavor much like the smell of the cigar.
The burn required one minor correction, and the ash held for over an inch.
Flavor:
The first third started off with an interesting burnt wood flavor. It didn’t take long before black coffee joined in. Wood and pepper were up there and made you take notice. When retrohaling, the peppery spice had a nice zing. Next up was dark chocolate. It had that unmistakable bitter sweetness on the aftertaste. This third basically punched me in the face with flavor, but it was good flavor.
The second third became sweeter. That rich dark chocolate dominated the flavor profile. Wood was up next, but it wasn’t your standard cedar. Through the nose, the peppery spice kept that nice zing. Be careful when passing smoke through the nose on this one. The lingering aftertaste was dark and sweet, with a tinge of bitterness. Not a bad bitterness mind you.
The last third settled into a nice dark, heavy dark chocolate much like in the second third. It just seemed more dominant that before. Black coffee was behind it, and wood behind that. Basically it kept the same core flavors throughout, but the delivery changed up from third to third.
Conclusion:
This was a damn good full bodied cigar. The flavors were great, the strength was great, the body was great, and the burn was great. This cigar hit the spot for me. I also tried the larger 6 x 65 version and found it equally enjoyable. Too bad the Oktoberfest is in limited quantities. I could easily see this as a frequently smoked cigar. I say get these while you can.
