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Image courtesy Caoba Cigars
Vitola: Torpedo
- 5.75” x 54 ring gauge
- ~$13
- Sample provided by Caoba & Modi Cigar
Background
I have come to my final review of the Caoba Cigar series. Before really getting started, I would like to thank Adam Zuber of Modi Cigar again for giving me this opportunity. Modi Cigar is Caoba’s US distributor. If you are own or work at a store and want to know more about these sticks, check out his website.
Today I’m looking at Don Manuel, a Mexican-Maduro-wrapped Dominican blend that apparently comes just in one size, although others with similar banding and names come in other sizes: Don Juan, Don Julio, Don Mario. Don Julio was the foundersof the brand but there is no mention on the company’s website of the other three names.
As with all the sticks in this series, I had one chance to smoke and review the cigar. Modi Cigar Distribution provided the samples.
Prelight
This orange and gold foil band had a slightly better look than the majority of other bands used by Caoba, but I think it was mostly just color selection. A band around the foot of the cigar had the same colors and read “Selección Especial Limitada 2010.” I don’t know if that’s indication that the tobacco was from 2010 or it was rolled in 2010…I’m guessing the first option. Correction: when I got out into sunlight it became apparent that the main band and foot band were not the same colors. The main band is more orange-red, while the foot band had more dark pink in it. I also forgot to take photos before cutting the cigar…oops.
The wrapper leaf was a dark chocolate brown color with a decent amount of oiliness and a smooth feel under my fingertips. Lifting the cigar to my nose, I got notes of earth and coffee beans and leather on the wrapper, while the foot had earth and bread mostly, with a touch of grassiness.
After cutting, the prelight draw was a little snug, but it seemed like it would be workable. I got cold flavors of dark chocolate and cedar.
Flavor
Once lit, I got Dominican earthiness and hay, overlayed with strong coffee bean and leather notes. There was a touch of pepper spice on the palate, as well as a similar amount of baking spice notes. The retrohale had more earth and leather. As I smoked through the first third, I had to struggle a bit with the draw, but I did get enough smoke out of the cigar. Mostly I got flavors of cedar and earth.
The second third was mainly a continuation of the medium-full bodied flavor profile I had already tasted in the first third. I got more earth, coffee and leather, a bit of dark fruit sweetness from the Maduro wrapper, and a very small amount of pepper spice.
The Don Manuel got earthier in the final third, with more leather and a slight increase in pepper. The sweetness ebbed away.
Construction
The draw was tight on this one; not unsmokeable but if I had access to more than one stick, I probably would have tossed it. The burn line was decently even and the ash was solid.
Value
This is one that I felt didn’t really justify the price tag. Once you get beyond the $10 average price point, more is expected, but I just didn’t get that from the Don Manuel.
Conclusions
The too-tight draw on the Don Manuel was a big influence on how much I could enjoy this cigar, but what I did get was unfortunately just not brilliant. I got plenty of earth and leather, along with a little spice and sweetness, wrapped up in a medium-full smoke. It was good, but not as good as some of the other blends from the company, at least not for me.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: .5/1
Total: 7.5/10
