Today we will be taking a look at a cigar that I have been very much anticipating, the Quesada Oktoberfest Über! We reviewed the wonderful Quesada Selección España Corona, the España Short Robusto and the new Casa Magna Dominus a few weeks ago and frankly all three completely knocked our socks off, this has given me great anticipation towards the Oktoberfest cigar and I am really excited to finally be reviewing it. The term Oktoberfest brings up one thing and one thing only in our minds… BEER. This is exactly what Manuel “Manolo” Quesada Jr. was going for in fact it’s meant to be paired with a hearty beer often accompanied with Oktoberfest and the cigar itself was blended to these specifications. The cigar is quite a sight to see, it is a dark, oily looking Dominican puro that will only be available in two sizes, a 5 ½ x 52 Double Robusto called The Bavarian and a monstrous 6 x 65 called appropriately The Über. The cigar will be available in limited quantities of 500 boxes of 20 per vitola and will be shipped to stores in a couple weeks just in time for Oktoberfest. The idea is that you will pair this with your favorite Oktoberfest beer, unfortunately I don’t drink so I will not be pairing this with anything however I can imagine the flavors will only be enhanced by pairing it with beer.

Here are some photos of the box taken by Brooks at this year’s 2011 IPCPR:

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Let’s get to it!

• Cigar Reviewed: Quesada Oktoberfest The Über
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Q Factory
• Wrapper: Dominican Cibao Valley
• Binder: Dominican Republic
• Filler: Dominican Cuban Seed Criollo, Olor Viso & Ligero
• Size: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 65
• Vitola: Über
• MSRP: $8.95 (Boxes of 20, $143.00)
• Release Date: Late September/Early October 2011
• Number of Cigars Released: 500 Boxes of 20 Cigars (10,000 Total Cigars)*
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 2

*500 boxes of each size, the Oktoberfest release is 20,000 cigars in total.

Looking at this cigar for the first time is quite a thing to see, it’s probably the biggest cigar, ring gauge wise, that I have smoked to date. It’s a whopping 65 ring gauge that looks even bigger than it sounds. It has a beautiful, oily, dark chocolate wrapper with an almost rosado shade to it. There are a few veins here and there but it’s an ultra smooth cigar with a tight pack and seamless wrap. The cigar smells of sweet tobacco, cedar and leather. The draw is mellow but flavorful with notes of cocoa, cedar and a dense earthy tobacco.

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Starting off in the First Third I am hit with a nice spice and pepper kick, initial flavors are woody with some coffee bean and leather. As the cigar progresses the spice and pepper fades a touch but is definitely still there, the flavors evolve a bit and start to get a dark semi sweet chocolate as well as a very woody, dark chocolate and coffee finish. To my surprise this cigar is a solid medium body and it puts of massive amounts of smoke, the aroma is very rich in sweet chocolate which contrasts nicely with the more semi sweet flavor.

Coming into the Second Third I experience a little more complexity in flavors, the wood, dark chocolate, and leather are still in the forefront, but I am now getting a slight nuttiness on the finish; it’s a very raw, nutty flavor with a touch of sweetness, like cashew. There are a lot of deep, rich flavors going on with the cigar bordering on bitter here and there but I think that would be masked while drinking a hearty Oktoberfest beer.

Finishing up in the Final Third the cigar changes up very nicely and gets creamy, I am detecting a more sweet chocolate in place of the semi sweet and there is a return of spice and pepper, especially through the nose. The finish is long and flavorful with a woody, creamy, leathery mix. The construction was spot on as well with a good draw and burn throughout the whole smoke.

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Final Notes:

• I smoked both of the vitolas and surprisingly, flavor wise, I enjoyed the larger 65 ring gauge (The Über) more so than the 52 ring gauge (The Bavarian). I am not a fan of anything over 56 ring gauge but I felt that The Über had more flavor as well as a much cooler smoke, the 52 gauge got a little warm on me and it forced the flavors more towards the bitter side. In my experience I find the smaller cigar have more complexity but for whatever reason I found the Larger one in this case to be more complex.
• I was expecting a more medium to full/full cigar, but for me both samples stayed at a solid medium body and were about a medium in strength, but make no mistake these are definitely full-flavored. I imagine these are going to taste wonderful with a nice cold, hearty beer.
• These will be shipping out to retailers in about two weeks so be on the lookout for them sometime around the end of September, first of October!
• Final Smoking time was 1 hour 35 minutes.

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The Bottom Line: Manuel Quesada has always been a force to reckon with and this is proof that he will continue to be, he has put out three incredible cigars this year and I haven’t spoken to anyone that hasn’t liked his cigars. I am personally not a huge fan of Dominican puros, with the exception of Litto’s stuff and Opus (happy now MB? lol), but he certainly created something very cool and unique in this blend. I really like the idea of creating a cigar with the direct intention of it being paired with a certain kind of alcohol. There are a lot of people out there that take their libations (especially beer!) seriously and I think they are going to love this cigar and have a great time pairing it. For those who don’t drink? Don’t worry because this is a great cigar on its own…

Final Score: 90