Casa Magna
My friend gave me a robusto to try last night. Started off with a little spice and as the cigar burned on, I thought I caught flavors of burnt molasses/caramel, which was fitting with the clear cold night. My palatte is nowhere near developed so I can't tell you if there was any sort of complexity. The burn was great in the first half, with an inch and a quarter of ash before I encouraged it to fall. After the first ash I had occasional burn problems that I had to correct.
From the beginning, the cigar had a rather tight draw. I didn't mind this at first but as I progressed through the cigar, the draw got tighter until I had to use my punch to get some airflow going. In addition, there was a small bit of tar that started to build up in the second half, which really affect the flavors and increased my chances of tongue cancer. I finally got tired of fighting it and toss it with about two inches left.
Overall, the experience was medicore due to what happened in the second half, but I enjoyed the first half so much that I am willing to try this stick again.
I did some research afterwards and it looks like this brand is from Manuel Queseda and Nestor Plasencia. I tried to find this stick online and it seems like no one carries it. Has anyone else tried this? If so, please let me know what your experience with it was like.
Comments
Do you have any recommendations? Always down to try out new cigars.
So I took Puro's advice and picked up some Ambos Mundos (Habano and Sumatra) at the local B&M. I have to say, it's a very good smoke. The Habano was very sweet and creamy with some cedar. The Sumatra was more nutty/woody, but still creamy. Both sticks were superbly constructed with straight burns and a solid ash.
Both sticks came out at $5.99/ea (not including sales tax). Washington state has a ridiculous tobacco tax rate. Even so, I think it's a great value.