Vitola: Robusto
Size: 4.75″ x 54 ring gauge
Price: $11.00
Purchased from The Maldonado Dynasty
Background
Today I will be reviewing the cigar that The Maldonado Dynasty announced via their press release here. I enjoyed the first release of this cigar (review here) so I was very much looking forward to giving the new one a try, especially with the good stuff coming from the La Aurora factory where this new cigar is being made. What are they made up of? Heck if I know. I’ve tried to get Paul to at least give me the countries of origin, but he wants to keep the info secret. They come packed in 20 count boxes. I was able to smoke one of these prior to this review cigar.
Prelight
If you just went by the band you wouldn’t be able to tell there was anything new. The band is exactly the same as the old one. That isn’t a bad thing as it is a good looking band. The wrapper is a medium dark chocolate brown in color with a slight amount of darker mottling to it. The wrapper also exhibited a small amount of tooth and oils as well. As I gave the cigar a squeeze I wasn’t able to detect any soft spots and it was fairly firm to the touch. Putting my nose to the wrapper I was able to get the aroma of leather and barnyard with just barnyard coming from the foot. After clipping and taking a cold draw on it I got a good draw with notes of dry cocoa powder.
Flavor
The cigar starts off with a good amount of spice, a lot more than I remember on the old blend. After a few more puffs I start to get notes of cocoa, coffee, earth, cinnamon and some wood. The cigar starts off in the upper end of medium in strength. The spice did die down quite a bit by the end of the first third. I really didn’t notice much of a change in flavors as I moved into the second third with the exception of the slightly sweet finish that started to come through. I did get start to get a slight nicotine hit from the cigar during this third as well. The final third finished off with lots of coffee, cocoa, and earth without the sweet finish. The spice did start to come back and the cigar progressed info the full strength area.
Construction
Construction was perfect throughout. The cigar drew great and produced a large volume of smoke. The burn line was straight in spite of the slight guts of winds I was experiencing.
Value
I do think that the cigar is slightly overpriced. However it is a very small production and it makes sense that the price is higher. Also with the company being based here in CA (a state not known to be business friendly) that probably adds to part of it. I’ll give it a pass on the price then.
Conclusions
Overall I definitely enjoyed this more than the first blend. It had a lot more of the flavors I really enjoy and the increased strength was a good move in my opinion. I do think that these will age well so I will be putting a couple down to see how my hypothesis turns out. If you are interested in picking up the cigar there aren’t many places to get them so I’d suggest their website as a starting spot.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
Wondering if the first blend also came out of La Aurora I have had their first blend, and I’m also wondering what makes this different? hmmmm..
Hi Czerbe,
Thank you for your comment. I’m glad you were able to try our first version of “The Mogul.” I can personally assure you, the first was not made by La Aurora-we have a Great value for integrity. Our original vision was to work with La Aurora and when that opportunity presented itself we decided to relaunch “The Mogul,” with the superior craftsmanship of La Aurora. We wanted to stay true to the core of first blend but improve on it and Mr. Leon helped us do just that. There is a different tobacco added for a little more kick but it’s still Smooth, Rich, and Complex – just more refined now.
Don’t be shy, give them a try… Feel free to reach out to me anytime: [email protected]
Respectfully,
Paul Maldonado