Cigar: Cuevas Reserva Maduro
Size: 5×52 Robusto
Wrapper: Mexican San Andres
Binder: Dominican, Piloto Cubano
Filler: Nicaraguan (Ometepe)
MSRP: Around $10.00 per cigar
Samples provided by the manufacturer.
Four generations of the Cuevas family have worked in the tobacco business. Today, their factory in the Dominican Republic continues the family legacy of tobacco around the United States, Puerto Rico and New Zealand. Being unfamiliar to me, I was more than happy to find these waiting on me after work recently. A big thank you to Casa Cuevas for the opportunity to try their cigars. I opted for the Reserva Maduro to try first.
No construction issues found on the second of two sent. The pre-light aromas brought about strong wood and spice notes while the cold draw was much of the same: lighter wood around the palette with spice hitting the tip of the tongue. The light took a few attempts with the breeze going through the deck but once managed, I found a balanced draw with minimal resistance on the pull with opening flavors of wood, earth, something like cocoa and spice on the aftertaste. It’s a medium to full bodied start to the cigar and judging the balance of flavors, starting strength and seeing the tobacco origin, I know it is only going to increase. 11 minutes into the cigar, the spice notes mellowed some on the palette. However, throughout the rest of its smoking time, the strength of the cigar and the intensity of the wood and the Dominican tobacco notes began rising steadily. By the end of its life, the cigar reached full bodied with final notes of strong wood and earth with finishes of that cocoa to finalize a short smoking time of 0:49. The short smoking time is likely due to the colder temperatures at time of review.
A couple of minor burn corrections around 30 minutes into the cigar. Otherwise, the cigar smoked fine.
By-The-Numbers
Pre-light: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
To recap the Cuevas Reserva Maduro:
- If you are a fan of full bodied Dominican cigars, you should probably give this one a go. Lots of flavor and a gradual push to full bodied.
- This cigar is strong enough to where the last half may scare off those who prefer milder fare.
- $10 per cigar is exactly where I would want to purchase this cigar at.
- I’ll be looking for more of these for my humidor when the weather warms up. These definitely need more time to be enjoyed.
Thank you once again to Casa Cuevas for the chance to smoke the Cuevas Reserva Maduro. And thank you so much for reading. I look forward to the next time I can share my thoughts with you.
