Quesada 40th Anniversary Toro

[Don Fernando]

This cigar, a 6×49 toro, was created to celebrate the 40th year of Manuel Quesada in the cigar business. Now some of you might think “why did I only hear the name Quesada the last few years?” and the answer to that is that before you probably smoked cigars from their Matasa factory before but none of those cigars carried the Quesada name, I think they were most famous for the Dominican Fonseca brand.

I met Patricia and Raquel Quesada at the intertabac trade show, and in the following week after in Amsterdam where we partied with Rocky Patel and a few others and at the trade show Raquel gave me a sampler with four Quesada cigars to review. The Quesada 40th Anniversary is the first in the series. The cigar has Nicaraguan and Dominican ligero filler, a Habano ligero binder and a beautiful Mexican San Andres wrapper.

This cigar is a looker, a dark, almost black, oily wrapper with beautiful veins and a soft leather touch. The ring fits the cigar, the black and gold ring with the gold and silver tobacco leaf in a Q shape that is the Quesada logo and a shiny black ring with a golden 40. The construction feels good, the shape of the cigar is good, the triple cap is good and there are bonus points for the closed foot, something I like in a cigar. The cigar has a strong manure and barnyard aroma.

I cut the cigar, I used my doubly guillotine cutter. The cold draw has a decent resistance and the flavor is quite peppery on my lips. After lighting I taste coffee and chocolate. Soon the flavors change to earthy flavors and herbs. There is still a little sweetness too. After an inch I taste pepper and wood with a minty aftertaste. Slowly the cigar is getting more peppery, with a dry wood and a little raw carrot. The aftertaste is a fresh, minty chocolate. Halfway I taste a lot of pepper with a little wood. This cigar has Nicaraguan tobacco and it shows in the pepper. The final third is wood, a lot of pepper and a little mint.

The draw is perfect. The burn needed a little correction. The frayed ash is gray and black. The ash is firm though. The burn is razor sharp. The smoke is medium in thickness and volume. I would call this cigar medium plus bodied and full flavored. The smoke time is two full and enjoyable hours.

Would I buy this cigar again? I hope this cigar is released in the Netherlands soon.

Score: 91


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