|
03-23-2012, 06:40 PM | #1 |
Guest
Posts: n/a
|
Flashback Friday: Camacho Triple Maduro 50/4.5 Review
Cigar: Camacho Triple Maduro 50/4.5
Size: 4.5in x 50rg Filler: Honduran Maduro Binder: Honduran Maduro Wrapper: Honduran Maduro Price: $180 per box of 21 / $8.75 each Individual Weight: 13.75g Pre-Light: The Camacho Triple Maduro is a cigar that commands respect. From the intricate banding to the eloquent wrapper, this cigar screams “Ultra-Premium”. It is a cigar that most people would find overkill. The majority of cigar smokers will never reach for this cigar. A triple maduro is too much for them by most accounts. Some say it is an abomination that someone would dare use 5 different leaves, all maduro in nature, on a single stick. A few even said it couldn’t be done. What Camacho did was grow all the leaf on their property in Jamastran and aged it in house. The result is nothing short of spectacular in appearance, pre-light aroma, and solid construction. A quick twirl in the fingers displays an enormous amount of glittery sparkle across the dark brown wrapper. A pre-light draw provides ample flavors of honeydew, hay, and blackstrap molasses. 1/3rd: The first puffs after toasting and lighting at already at full bore when it comes to strength and spice. A warm and bready flavor mixes in with notes of and cocoa and nuttiness to provide a nutty fudge brownie type of aftertaste. It is extremely pleasing. The cigar lit very easily and is providing what looks to be a nearly white ash, speckled by flecks of charcoal grey. The retro-hale provides a fair bit of spice on the sinuses, but doesn’t burn or make your eyes water. The chocolate flavors continue to build with a very nice espresso undertone that is rounded out by a nuttiness that makes me think of Kinder Chocolate from Europe. The ash is starting to split at the foot, but I’m unsure that is the quality of roll that is causing the mishap. While taking photographs of the cigar prior to lighting, it rolled off the table twice landing on its foot end both times, leaving a half inch crack at the foot. So far the cigar is burning completely even and hasn’t showed any signs of going out. ½ Way: The flavors have stayed pretty consistent throughout the cigar, but the spice has given way for the development of the fragrant coffee and chocolate tones that dominated the flavor profile at this point. The ash has not become flakey since the very beginning of the smoke, and it seems to enjoy a good minute of rest between draws for the best flavors. At nearly the exact halfway point I start to notice the beads of sweat on my nose that are typically associated with me starting to feel the effects of a heavily loaded nicotine bomb. Final 3rd: As the flavors develop more, the heavy but sweet flavor of Latakia comes through on an exhale through the nose slightly. The burn starts to get a bit off of the even mark as we enter the final third of this cigar. It has showed no signs of slowing down now, and is getting extremely heavy in both mouth feel and body. What is surprising me is how heavy this cigar can become in flavor without a hint of bitterness or acidity. It still tastes as fresh as when it was lit! A slightly caramelized sugar taste come in that is reminiscent of the hard candy coating found on top of a Crème Brule. Heavy coffee flavors and sharp cocoa peppers the tongue nearing the end of the cigar. Final Thoughts: This cigar is a full bodied cigar smokers dream. It has much heavier flavors and strength than most cigars in the same price range, but lacks a bit of complexity that would be expected from a cigar made of 5 leaves. It seems that in the search for strength, Camacho might have overlooked what many maduro smokers relish, a deep and complex flavor that lingers on the palette. This cigar leaves a very clean aftertaste with slight coffee and chocolate notes behind on the tongue, and while very pleasing, it leaves a maduro “whore” like myself wanting a bit more. While this cigar has a few issues concerning a flakey ash or a slightly uneven burn, I would consider this to be the exception and not the rule for this stogie. I have had lots of Camacho Triple Maduro in the past, and this is the first one to show any signs of defect. I say this because I will be scoring this based upon the 3 50/4.5 Camacho’s I’ve had in the past two weeks to review this blend, and not just this individual stick. I would hate to allow my error of letting it fall off of my desk to blemish what I would call a top-tier cigar. Any true maduro fan will have already heard of this cigar by now, and I would have to assume that most of them have already picked this one up and probably have smoked several of these bad boys by now. I highly recommend this cigar to any smoker who thinks they’ve seen it all when it comes to strong cigars, as this one can be completely over the top for some people in the nicotine department. For me, it is still a very pleasing cigar with loads of character and elegance. The Triple Maduro is a wonderful offering by Camacho by any standard you might judge it by. For the Final Score and Pictures, Click Here |