Aquitaine Pestera Muierilor

At the 2015 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, RoMa Craft Tobac released its fourth El Catador sampler which the company named El Catador de las Petite Coronas. Each of the 10-count samplers included two samples of each of the company’s five core cigar lines, all in a 4 x 46 petit corona size: Aquitaine Pestera Muierilor, CroMagnon Pestera Muierilor, Intemperance BA XXI Intrigue, Intemperance EC XVIII Charity and Neanderthal HoxD.

As with the rest of the Aquitaine line, the blend of the Pestera Muierilor features an Ecuadorian habano wrapper covering a Cameroon binder and filler tobaccos from Condega, Estelí and Pueblo Nuevo in Nicaragua. The cigars were rolled at the Fabrica de Tabacos NicaSueño S.A. factory in Esteli, Nicaragua and there were only 600 samplers produced with an MSRP of $62.50 each.

Here is what I said in my original review:

I had been wanting a petit corona in the Aquitaine blend for a while, and the Pestera Muierilor gave me exactly what I was looking for: intense flavor and wonderful balance in a smaller ring gauge. While the intense floral sweetness in the first third of each sample was a bit shocking, it worked well with the rest of the profile, and increased the complexity of the overall profile quite a bit. In fact, about the only negative I can think of when it comes to this cigar is something I almost never say: the vitola is almost too short, as I enjoyed each sample down to the nub and wished there was more every time. An excellent addition to the Aquitaine family for when you are short on time.

• Cigar Reviewed: Aquitaine Pestera Muierilor
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Fabrica de Tabacos NicaSueño S.A.
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Ligero
• Binder: Cameroon
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 46
• Vitola: Petit Corona
• MSRP: $6.25 (Samplers of 2, $62.50)
• Release Date: Aug. 19, 2015
• Number of Cigars Released: 600 Samplers of 2 Cigars (1,200 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 1

Visually, the Aquitaine Pestera Muierilor is covered in a dark mocha brown wrapper that features both some noticeable oil as well as a slight amount of tooth to it. The cigar is just short of being rock hard when squeezed and there are a number of significant veins running up and down the length. Aroma from the wrapper is a combination of espresso beans, manure, hay, bakers spices and dark cocoa while the cold draw brings flavors of dark fruit, milk chocolate, hay, anise, creamy oak and a touch of pepper.

Starting out, the Aquitaine Pestera Muierilor exhibits the same sweet fruit note on the palate that was present on the cold draw, followed by flavors of dark chocolate, creamy oak, lemongrass, leather and toast. There is a very obvious espresso bean bitterness on the finish that really sets off the sweetness that is present in the profile, along with a great amount of black pepper on the retrohale. I am picking up some slight spice on my tongue, but it is not very strong, and does not stick around long enough to even come close to affecting the profile in any major way. The second half of the Pestera Muierilor continues the sweet and creamy trend from the first half, but adds a very distinct creamy almond note on the finish that combines wonderfully with some black pepper that is still present on the retrohale.

Construction-wise, the Aquitaine Pestera Muierilor features an excellent draw and plenty of smoke production, and although the burn is far from razor sharp, it never gets bad enough to have to be corrected. The overall strength hits the medium mark about halfway through, but never really threatens to go any further, and I get the nub down to about half and inch before putting it down after 48 minutes of smoking time.