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CuAvana Maduro

Marco-Polo

Go Irish Go!
Joined
Feb 24, 2008
Messages
724
Cigar: CuAvana Maduro
Size: Robusto, 5x50

Exec Summary: Competently executed maduro. Nothing wrong with it at all - a testament to exceedingly good construction and a veteran roller - but not a stellar performer. It's the Japanese subcompact car of cigars, a good choice for a beginner or an infrequent smoker. 7/10.

Background: CuAvana is Manuel Quesada (MATASA)'s "value" line. Manufactured in the Dominican Republic, the Maduro version is a line extension to the CT shade, which I believe was launched first. Widely available (cigar.com, ci, cbid, etc etc). Bought on CBid at $7 or 9 for the 5 pack.

First Impression: Milk-chocolate CT broadleaf wrapper, definitely lighter than yesterday's AB Ovation Maduro. Extremely smooth with a little plume coming out. Band is a reddish purple with gold accents, a departure from the standard shield-and-curlicues-blah-blah-blah model. Nice looking smoke.

Prelight: Smells of leather. Cut was slightly uneven, probably operator error (ie, my fault) more than the cigar's. Some resistance in the draw.

Construction/Burn: Lit cleanly and quickly with a wooden match. Burn is absolutely straight. Ash is dark grey to black, comes off easily about every 1/2 inch with cool little razor cuts along the circumference. Tightish draw throughout - not sucking through a straw tight, but full cigar tight. Smoke is on the thin side, possibly related to the draw, and slow burning, possibly also related to the draw.

Flavor/Aroma: Very smooth all in all. Leathery aroma and taste to it, with a little maduro-like sweetness in the mouth. Mild. The CuAvana natural has a distinctive lemony flavor note; this one has some kind of citrus, on the nose rather than in the mouth, but it's buried under the leather-tobacco-cedar monolith. A little bitterness at the end, but no spice or pepper whatsoever, at any point.

I can't help but compare it to yesterday's AB Ovation Maduro. The AB had a few hiccups in construction - this one is absolutely rock solid. The AB's taste was rich, full, complicated. This one is underwhelming. It's not a matter of my taste buds being totally jaded from a diet of Rocky Patels, DPGs and Opus X's (ha! I'll build segmentation models and marketing briefs for food.) but a matter of the cigar reaching for, and achieving, a very modest goal.

Time elapsed: smoked (nearly) to the band in 50 minutes.
 
Thanks for another thoughtful review. I've had several unexemplary value cigars with the words Cuba and Havana in the name (as well as some rather high price ones too), so I would have totally glossed over this one. Seems like an interesting smoke for under $2. Good going :thumbs:
 
I picked up a box just last week, smoked one and it was okay. The reason I bought was because I had recieve some in a newbie sampler, not sure how much age they had on them, but for the price point they were great.

Put flame to leaf today July 2nd, and did not disappoint. Draw was a little tight, but burn was even and had a good spicy. No bad for a stick that can be had for under 2 bucks.
 
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