Cohiba Secretos Maduro 5

[northernmoris]

After smoking 2 of these I bought a box of 10. I sold five off, gifted one or two, and have whats left in my cooleridor. By now it's been 2 years since I smoked one. Previously I loved this smoke, I reviewed two of them which you can find HERE. Here's a short background on Cohiba:

"The Cohiba brand is a relative newcomer as it was introduced in 1968, initially developed as a cigar for presentation only by officials of the Cuban government. In 1982 it became available for the world to appreciate. This brand could be quite rightly called the flagship of the Cuban style of cigar. Only the best leaves from 10 farms of the Vuelta Abajo region supply Cohiba, the only brand to employ three fermentations! This cigar is very expensive, but until you have tried "the Cohiba" you will not understand the multi-layered, velvety nuances of flavour that are possible. Aromatic, rich but never overpowering."

Cohiba
Secretos Maduro 5

Origin: Cuba
Wrapper: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Place of purchase: Box of 10

Smoking Results

SIZE: Length: 4 3/8" Ring: 40 Weight: 7,4 gr.
APPEARANCE: The appearance was a nice, dark chocolate color
CONSTRUCTION: Very rough, ugly, toothy
Cut: Punched cap, then cut with my Xicar x3
DRAW: Predraw felt a little tight
BURN: Was ok through first half, filler burned faster
FLAVOR: Bleh. No flavor found.
STRENGTH: Was a medium to full
SMOKING TIME: About 30 mins.
General Impression: I will let the review speak for itself this time.

Lay out: I had a solid hour to kill before family came over.. After digging through my singles I stumbled across 2 of these. The wrapper was ugly and very toothy. I punched the cap Only to find the draw was too tight. Even so the flavors that came from the pre-draw were fantastic. It was very mellow and creamy, sweet with a touch of cedar.. I was looking forward to this smoke.

1/3 I torched the foot and started with a nice even draw. After a couple puffs we were ready to go. Even with the tight draw I was able to get a decent amount of smoke. The smoke tasted like dark chocolate cherries.. Check that, there is actually no flavor coming through. After another pull still no flavor.. I worked on this smoke for 30 minutes and not once could I pick up the slightest hint of flavor.

2/3 Screw it, I'm done.. Its getting no where and I feel like I'm wasting my time..

3/3 Yeah right, not even close..

It's sad because I clearly remember how much I loved this smoke. I have one more so I'm not going to give up yet..

 

[BlindedByScience]

Nice review but.....ouch. I feel you pain.....

Got to say, the inconsistency of smokes from the island have finally very much turned me off. I've had too many plugs, too many duds, too many horribly constructed smokes. I'm over it. There are too many outstanding smokes coming out of Nicaragua and the DR to put up with expensive, risky smokes.

 

[NASTY]

What are you doing reviewing one of those on your 30th birthday? Shouldn't you be smoking that BBMF maddie right now?

 

[MadMonk]

Probably would get some flavor back in after another year.

 

[northernmoris]

What are you doing reviewing one of those on your 30th birthday? Shouldn't you be smoking that BBMF maddie right now?

I was waiting to bomb you with that one. :sign: Unfortunately my daughter ended up with a fever and it ended up raining all day. So my second smoke of the day got taken a notch down..

 

[Backslide]

What was the box code? I bet it was just to young and needed a few more years. People have to remember that CC's don't come pre aged.

 

[vortex]

Nice review of a not-so-nice cigar.

<br />What was the box code? I bet it was just to young and needed a few more years. People have to remember that CC's don't come pre aged.<br />

<br /><br /><br />
But I've smoked young Secretos that were very flavorful.

Sometimes it's spooky how many different (sometimes drastic) changes can occur to a cigar over time, though.

 

[northernmoris]

Off the top of my head, I know its late '08..

 

[:Monty:]

I love the distinct flavor of these little smokes. It's too bad 2 out of the last five I've had in my humi were impossible to smoke.

 

[Wurm]

I've smoked a few of these, both fresh and with a bit of age, and I'm honestly not a fan.

Siglo II is still my favorite Cohiba.

 

[kann]

My wife just got me a box of these. She really had no idea what she was doing or getting, just wanted to get me some Cuban cigars, because she is pretty cool (and I imagine it was one of the cheaper Cohiba boxes there). Oh well...

I smoked one immediately tonight. My experience is on par with most of those above. Quite possibly one of the tightest draws on a cigar I've ever had. I'm keeping two or three out, then going to forget about the rest inside my almost-completed frigidor.

 

[northernmoris]

Read my previous review, I smoked two and loved them.. Hit or miss?

 

[investandprosper]

I've had a few dud Secretos, but most were some of the creamiest smokes I've ever had. It was probably just in a sick period. Some of mine did have tight draws, but it could have been from them being too wet at the time. You mentioned that the filler burned faster than the wrapper, so it sounds like yours may have been too wet. That could also account for some of the flavor loss (YMMV). I've been thinking about picking up another box of these to revisit. They are absolutely fantastic with a cup of coffee in the morning, or at the poker tables in Vegas!

 

[Wurm]

My wife just got me a box of these. She really had no idea what she was doing or getting, just wanted to get me some Cuban cigars, because she is pretty cool (and I imagine it was one of the cheaper Cohiba boxes there). Oh well...

I smoked one immediately tonight. My experience is on par with most of those above. Quite possibly one of the tightest draws on a cigar I've ever had. I'm keeping two or three out, then going to forget about the rest inside my almost-completed frigidor.

No Cohibas are "cheap". In fact the Maduro 5 are on the expensive side of the Cohiba range, considering the Genios goes for close to 35 dollars a cigar and the Secretos goes for around 15.

And in my experience with them, you need to dry box them for at least one day, they always seem too moist especially when coming from the typical 70/70 humidor environments in German B&Ms.

I don't know what you keep your humidor at, but I'd suggest finding a lower Rh% for these.

 

[ironpeddler]

My wife just got me a box of these. She really had no idea what she was doing or getting, just wanted to get me some Cuban cigars, because she is pretty cool (and I imagine it was one of the cheaper Cohiba boxes there). Oh well...

I smoked one immediately tonight. My experience is on par with most of those above. Quite possibly one of the tightest draws on a cigar I've ever had. I'm keeping two or three out, then going to forget about the rest inside my almost-completed frigidor.

And in my experience with them, you need to dry box them for at least one day....

I don't know what you keep your humidor at, but I'd suggest finding a lower Rh% for these.

Good advice for most CC. While I do age them at 70-72%, I have learned over the years that smoking after a day or so in a dry box does help smooth them out.

This is not an exact science as we all have different tastes...experimenting is half the fun!

 

[northernmoris]

My wife just got me a box of these. She really had no idea what she was doing or getting, just wanted to get me some Cuban cigars, because she is pretty cool (and I imagine it was one of the cheaper Cohiba boxes there). Oh well...

I smoked one immediately tonight. My experience is on par with most of those above. Quite possibly one of the tightest draws on a cigar I've ever had. I'm keeping two or three out, then going to forget about the rest inside my almost-completed frigidor.

No Cohibas are "cheap". In fact the Maduro 5 are on the expensive side of the Cohiba range, considering the Genios goes for close to 35 dollars a cigar and the Secretos goes for around 15.

And in my experience with them, you need to dry box them for at least one day, they always seem too moist especially when coming from the typical 70/70 humidor environments in German B&Ms.

I don't know what you keep your humidor at, but I'd suggest finding a lower Rh% for these.

I keep mine at 65%, I think I will smoke another this week after dry boxing it.. Will update.

 

[haistin]

nice review, but I guess you got a cigar of not so good quality...
I smoked it one time and this cigar was wonderful. Beautiful maduro wrapper, dark chocolaty aroma and hints of cocoa on pre-light draw. Flavour was consistent all the way down to the nub. A very sweet tasting cigar, with dark cocoa, coffee and cedar flavours.

 

[Anthem]

Mike,

Sorry for the burn on the Cohiba, but it sure as hell is good to see you back on the boards.

 

[MadMonk]

I love these little smokes. I have one left, and if I could, I would smoke these everyday. I don't think anybody makes better corona and smaller sized cigars than the Cubans.
I tend to smoke most of mine fresh, and then throw 5 or 10 into deep hibernation. Experience has taught me that you just have to be patient, and refrain from harsh or final
judgements until you really have smoked a lot of any particular marca, under a full host of conditions.