Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Looks Aren't Everything: The El Cobre Maduro Story

Torped0, 6 1/2" X 52, Maduro

Handmade in: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Connecticut, USA
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Extra Info: It is not uncommon for cigar makers to reserve select portions of their crop to roll specially blended cigars in limited quantities that are designated for family use only. Such was the case with the El Cobre blend, from Oliva, until now. Named after an old mining town in Cuba, the El Cobre embodies Cuba’s rich heritage in appearance as well as flavor. In fact, this cigar may very well require a warning label. It is one of the fullest bodied and fullest flavored cigars made in Central America. El Cobre’s dark and oily wrapper makes way for an exceptionally spicy cigar with a long, earthy, and robust finish.

Appearance: Heh. I am not going to beat around the bush. This cigar looked kind of rough. It was dark and rustic looking and toothy, reminiscent of the Partagas Black Label. It also seemed to share the Patrtagas thick, dark wrapper (which had me concerned about the burn problems I had in the past with Partagas Black Labels). This torpedo was packed tight and was a very solid feeling cigar.

Pre-Light: While this cigar clipped okay it took a bid of a push from my razor sharp Palio to geth through it. Man this is packed tight. Pre Light draws were very dry and earthy, and some dark roasted coffee.

Burn/Draw: This was the one of the great surprises of this stick. The burn and draw on this sick was great! No issues at all, burn was relatively straight and self correcting. Also, despite the firm pack of this cigar, the draw was quite forgiving. It produced a fair amount of cool, fragrant smoke. The ash was almost completely white and firm and held until I wanted it to hold no more.

Flavors: This cigar was a revelation. I have to admit, that this cigar was buried in the bottom of my humidor for quite a while. When I first received it, I looked at the band I did not recognize, and the rustic appearance and kind of brushed it off until just recently. Well I am glad I finally burned it. This is also on full powered cigar. Yep Strong. I have since heard this cigar referred to as the "Lobotomizer", and while I wouldn't go THAT far, it is not a cigar for the newly initiated, nor for those on an empty stomach. That said it is flavorful, and the flavors are pretty dry. There is just a tiny note of sweet tobacco undertone than balances it enough to keep it from being bad. Other than that it is big, bold flavors of Earthiness, Roasted Coffee, Black Pepper, and very Smoky Wood. This cigar will keep your palate on a roller coaster ride the whole time. This cigar exceeded every one of my expectations. It is hard to find, but relatively inexpensive. If you like BIG BAD Stogies, hunt this one down. Recommended.

TomC