Nestor Reserve Maduro - approx. 3 yrs old

[borndead1]

The first couple of bundles I got of these were amazing cigars. I would rave about them to whoever would listen. Amazing flavor and aroma, good construction, good burn, etc.

Then...something happened to them. I got 2 bundles in a row that were just awful cigars. Horrible chemical taste, lousy burn. I gave up on them.

Fast forward to today. Digging around in the humis I found what I believe is my last NRM. Gonna fire it up and do a play by play review.

Construction seems good. The cigar is heavy in the hand with no soft spots. Pre-light draw is just right.

First few draws are grassy and earthy. Not a BAD flavor, but more of a ’meh’ flavor. After 3-4 draws the flavor starts improving, but not by much.

About 1" in, the flavor has settled into a medium "strength" straight tobacco flavor with a bit of tartness on the finish. Not bad. Burn is not perfect but doesn’t require any touchups at this point.

*SIDE NOTE* I got a boxed version of this cigar and it was completely different than the bundled version. Bigger cigar, wrapper wasn’t "enhanced". The strange thing is that when the box was fresh they were damn good smokes. The longer they sat in the humi, the worse they got. *Shrug*...back to the cigar at hand.

As I type with the cigar between my teeth, the aroma coming from the foot is very nice. Very woodsy aroma, completely different from the actual flavor, which has become a bit creamier, but still maintaining the straight tobacco flavor with the tart finish. Not bad so far.

About 2" in...minor touchup to the burn. The flavor is gaining a little bit of kick. The nose exhale is pretty nice...it has become woodsy and a bit spicy with a slight taste of unsweetened cocoa. Enjoying it so far. This cigar reminds of the "good" ones I used to get.

About 3" in...really starting to open up. Nice flavors, the unsweetened cocoa is coming on stronger.

About halfway...Wow, nice flavor changes going on. The cocoa has gotten stronger, but now there is a nice floral flavor on the finish. I am really digging this cigar.

Final 1/3...still nice. The floral and cocoa flavors are strong. Let the cigar die at about 2".

Final thoughts...this was a really nice cigar. I am even tempted to snag another bundle and give them another shot.

[dyieldin]

That happened to me too. Got a fiver from CI and thought they were great, got a 5er from Cbid and they were crap. Sometimes it is a crap-shoot.

[dannysguitar]

I smoked 1 SRduggins gave me and it was really good. I'm concerned if I order more they just wont be the same... Thanks for the review!

[Starscream]

I'm with you on the fact that these used to be good. They've gone downhill over the past year or two.