Cigar Review: Camacho Corojo Maduro

Vitola: Robusto
Size: 5” x 50 ring gauge
Price $7.49
Purchased at Burns Tobacconist

Background

I will not pretend to know the origin of the Corojo Maduro blend. Before the re-branding, I had not heard of it (of course, not a huge leap there, since my home shop did not carry Camacho before the re-branding process), but I did find one or two references to it in Google searches before mid-2013…but only one or two. I find that interesting…if this cigar was a regular production item prior to the re-branding, it certainly wasn’t at the top of everyone’s list. According to the story that came out with the re-branding campaign, this blend was changed in the process, so I am going to treat it like a new item…and since it was re-blended, it pretty much is.

This is part of what is on the company’s website:

The Corojo Maduro utilizes our proprietary fifth priming authentic Corojo leaf, which receives a minimum 18 months of extra sleep. The result is a wrapper rich in color, deep in flavor and with a texture of raw leather. Sweet, dark and packed with unique spice.

As with our flagship Authentic Corojo, the Corojo Maduro is built on the same base components in the binder and filler. The three primings of Corojo fillers help ramp up the complexity and deliver a spice and sweetness that kicks up the flavors of the Maduro wrapper leaf.

The way “Authentic” is thrown around on the website, it wouldn’t surprise me if “Authentic Corojo” was required to be followed by a “Registered” or “Trademarked” symbol. They are proud of their Corojo…and honestly, they should be, since the brand’s modern reputation was practically built on it. This cigar is not just a Honduran puro, but a Corojo puro, featuring 3 different primings of Corojo for the filler, a Corojo wrapper, and a 5th priming Corojo Maduro wrapper leaf. The website seems to indicate that filler and binder are the same as the “regular” Camacho Corojo, with just a different wrapper. I have had the original Corojo line and the re-vamped version, but this is this review is the first time I’ve ever had the Maduro version. I purchased a single stick for this review at Burns.

Prelight

The banding on this Camacho line is a deep magenta. It is what it is…some people hate it…I’m fine with it, except I wish the bands were a bit smaller. The wrapper underneath the band was milk chocolate brown with a bit of darker mottling and a nice oily touch. I got mostly rich, fertile earthiness from the wrapper and more of the same on the foot. Since all the leaf was the same varietal, grown in pretty much the same area, I guess that’s not all that unusual.

After clipping the head, I got a great draw that had flavors of earth, chocolate and cinnamon.

Flavor

The Camacho Corojo Maduro started off with a rush of sweet and savory flavors. I picked up dark chocolate, cedar, hickory, cinnamon, and earth almost immediately on the palate, along with a red pepper that seared my nose pretty well. The pepper was also felt on the palate in short order. Soon the cedar became a more prominent flavor and I got a bit of saltiness, as well. I found the smoke to be quite full-bodied and very complex so far.

As I cruised into the second third, I got more cedar, more semi-sweet chocolate, and some almost meaty flavors. Truly, this cigar surprised me with its flavor profile and complexity. The last third was meaty and earthy, and still sweet enough to truly be called a Maduro.

Construction

I had to touch up the wrapper a few times because of uneven burning, but nothing out of the ordinary, and no canoeing. The draw was superb and the ash was solid.

Value

Like the other cigars in the re-vamped Camacho line-up, the price on these is very reasonable. When they deliver flavor like this one did, I would say the value is very high.

Conclusions

So…yeah…two perfect 10s in one week. Both from Camacho. Both relying very heavily on Honduran leaf, of which I am normally not a fan. But this cigar was great, beginning to end and shows just what can be accomplished with the right Honduran leaf in the hands of the right blender. This was a full-bodied smoke and not for beginners, but it did not trade flavor for strength and was one of the best full-bodied cigars I’ve had in a long time.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 10/10