Nice review, I agree with your flavor analysis. It didnt seem to change at all, and was the same for the entire smoke.
Review: Casa Magna Robusto
Ok, so I am just a bit late (ahem) with this review, since the controversy has died down (somewhat), but as my father always told me, “Anything worth doing is worth doing well.” (Of course, he was also fond of telling me “Son, don’t even THINK about eating that yellow snow”, but that is a story for another post.)
For the four people left in this world who do not know the story, Cigar Aficionado Magazine released it’s annual “Top 25 Cigars of the Year” choices, and an almost totally unknown cigar from Casa Magna got the top spot; beating out Padróns, Opus, Tatuajes, and, well, pretty much everyone else (which is what #1 means). One of the main reasons given for CA giving the Casa Magna the top spot was the price of the stick (about $5.25 each) and that did not sit well with a lot of people (including me) who wanted to know what the best TASTING cigar is, not the best tasting cigar under $6.
The cigars are made by Manuel Quesada (with help from Nestor Plasencia) and are composed of Nicaraguan tobacco from the Estelí and Jalapa regions of the country.
So, let’s get to it, shall we?
- Cigar Reviewed: Casa Magna Robusto
- Country of Origin: Nicaragua
- Factory: Segovia
- Wrapper: Nicaragua
- Binder: Nicaragua
- Filler: Nicaragua
- Size: 5 1/2 Inches
- Ring Gauge: 52
- Vitola: Robusto
- MSRP: $5.25 (Boxes of 27, $xx)
The wrapper is a very nice looking reddish brown (what they call “Colorado”) and has a nice faint tobacco smell and a little tooth to it. The cigar is obviously very well made; it just feels good in your hands and is quite firm to the touch. Honestly, it was a joy to hold. The band is very high quality as well.
After cutting the cigar, I tasted some chocolate and pepper on the prelight draw. The cigar lit fairly easily and after the first few puffs I got a nice taste of the aforementioned flavors, only stronger.
This is where we change things up a little bit: normally when I review a cigar, I go through it in thirds, because I have found that the tastes of a typical cigar will change in roughly that amount of time. However, this cigar was one of the most one dimensional smokes I have had, in that the flavors did not change AT ALL.
Not for the entire stick.
So, I am just going to tell you that the dominant flavors were some pepper, cedar, strong leather, faint sweet chocolate and just a touch of citrus (orange?). It also got a little harsh at the end, but not so much that I could not nub it.
Now, the above comment does not mean it was a BAD smoke, quite the opposite actually. In my (very humble) opinion, there are a few cigars that have so many flavors it becomes overwhelming to actually smoke, since you are always trying to place them. To me, it is just fine to have a cigar where the flavors do not vary much, as long as it is a high quality smoke and the flavors meld together nicely. This was one of those cigars, and if you can find one, I recommend trying it.
Final Notes:
- I have read reports that there is a HUGE difference in taste and burn on these sticks right out of the store. Some reports have said that because of the huge demand after the CA rating, the (small-ish) production started shipping the cigars “wet”, and that could be the reason…if you get one of these to smoke, I would make sure that you leave it in your humidor for AT LEAST a week to stabilize, if not two weeks.
- As mentioned in the review, the smoke from this cigar is nice and billowy, WHEN you can get some…this stick does not produce a large (or even a medium) amount of smoke, that is for sure.
- Final smoking time was 1 hour and 23 minutes.
- You may have some trouble (and by “some”, I mean “alot”) finding these cigars online. The reason is that the internet retailers supposedly cannot advertise them online (due to a contract with the manufacturer), but they do carry them. So, I would just call up your favorite online retailer and ask if they have them in stock (FWIW, I got mine at Jack Schwartz).
The Bottom Line: I enjoyed this cigar. It is a high quality smoke, and I bought more then five, but it is nowhere NEAR the Best cigar of the year, not by a long shot! Having said that, I do believe it is one of the best cigars you can buy in its price range, as long as it is stored properly.
Final Score: 87
[...] companies products are made by the Quesada family in their Dominican Republic factory, where as the Casa Magna line is made by Nestor Plasencia in Nicaragua.All Quesada banded products will remain the same, [...]