Kensington Chateau Maduro

[wolfandwhisky]

As usual, photos are with the original post, text is below:

The Kensington label is a house brand made by Alec Bradley for BestCigarPrices.com.

On to the notes.

Construction: This 5.5×42 cigar features a very dark Honduran wrapper that is relatively oily. There is a slight box press that left the foot of the stick I tried a little crumpled. The cigar had a large number of soft spots, and a couple of noticeable veins.

Upon lighting, there was a large amount of grey smoke that billowed with each draw. The burn was relatively straight. Every now and then, one segment would take off, probably caused by the soft spots. These runs were self-correcting, probably at least in part thanks to the smaller ring gauge.

The ash would not stay on. With delicate handling, I could keep up to about a half of an inch on at a given time, if that much. It would fall off on it’s own and scatter. While that doesn’t impact the smoking experience too much from a flavor standpoint, it can cause burn issues and it indicates that the stick is not packed very tight (which is also evidenced by the soft spots).

Initial Flavors: Right off the bat the Kensington Maduro introduces itself as a chocolate stick, with bitter bakers chocolate. There are also definable notes of burnt nuts – not roasted, burnt. Upon approaching the first third, notes of burnt coffee come into play, complemented by a small bit of cream. When I say burnt coffee, I’m not referring to the stereotypical Starbucks joke – I mean someone fell asleep while roasting the beans.

Continuing Flavors: At about the halfway point, the bitter bakers chocolate is gone, leaving behind the coffee notes, and a small amount of pepper on the smoke. The bitterness in general has left with the chocolate, but the whole flavor profile is still a nit burnt.

After making it a bit further past the halfway point, there is a hint of toffee. It’s actually more of a toffee-ette, but the small bit of chocolate that really makes the toffee turn into almond roca is again bitter. It makes me wonder if the chocolate flavor left simply due to the way the stick was rolled.

With Whisky: N/A – only water.

This stick is labeled as medium-bodied. Perhaps that is true, but I found it to be much more mild. Maybe that is due in part to the smaller ring gauge.

One thing that really bothered me about this stick was the odor the wrapper left on my fingers. I can see why some people say bands were invented for holding. It was just bad.

In general, this review reads pretty negatively, which is to some degree unfair. If you can work past the bitter and burnt notes, there really are some great flavors in this cigar. The bakers chocolate, mixed nuts, toffee, and coffee are all flavors that work well together. Really, for a house brand the profile is impressive.

If you are a high volume smoker, or if you want a maduro yard gar, this stick may very well be for you. If you’re a recreational smoker, though, there are so many good sticks out there for $4.00 that I’d be tempted to leave elsewhere.

Rating: 7.0, in part due to the flavor profile, but partially looking past the burnt flavors and bitterness
Regret the Purchase: No.
Buy Again: No.
Buy a Box: No.

[kelmac07]

Nice review Matt...thanks for sharing. Always looking for a new value maduro.