Epic Maduro Reserva Robusto (Prerelease)

In a few weeks, Epic Cigars will launch with two releases. One is the Epic Reserva Corojo, the other is the Epic Reserva Maduro.

The brand is the creation of Dean Parsons and in a slightly abnormal manner, Parsons actually thought of the name before the blending of the cigar. He described the origins to halfwheel via e-mail:

Back in 2010 while in the DR I began to research .com’s and trademark names related to cigars.  Although there were alot (sic) of cigar related .com’s available, upon researching the names trademark I found that many of the names had been registered.  I would sit on the beach for hours and purchase different .com’s.
One afternoon I was with a friend from Miami enjoying a cigar on the beach of the North Coast.  As I was watching kite boarders race across the water I though of a friend of mine “Dimitri” who owns Epic Kiteboarding.  I immediately searched on Go Daddy for the name using my iphone and it was available.  The next day I bought 20-30 other related .com’s for Epic Cigars.  A few weeks later I began the process of trademarking Epic cigars in the USA.  I believed then as I do now that it was a name of Epic proportions.  The easy part was done.  Now it was time to start creating cigar blends.

That would of course become relevant because in 2012, Altadis USA released the Montecristo Epic and then Epic No. 2 Premium Selection. Parsons and Altadis USA would eventually settle after Parsons sent a cease and desist letter. According to Parsons, Altadis USA will be prevented from using the Epic name in any new product unless Parsons consents.

The Maduro Reserva line shares the same internal blend as the Corojo Reserva—Dominican olor binder and Dominican fillers—but features a Brazilian ariparaca wrapper.

It will be sold in three sizes:

• Epic Corojo Reserva Maduro Robusto (5 x 52) — $7.00 (Boxes of 20, $140.00)
• Epic Corojo Reserva Maduro Double Corona (6 x 54) — $7.50 (Boxes of 20, $150.00)
• Epic Corojo Reserva Maduro Gordo (6 x 60) — $8.00 (Boxes of 20, $160.00)

Like the Corojo Reserva, the cigars will largely be sold in 20-count boxes, although five and 10-count boxes are being produced for special purposes.

• Cigar Reviewed: Epic Maduro Reserva Robusto
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Charles Fairmorn Factory
• Wrapper: Brazilian Arapiraca
• Binder: Dominican Olor
• Filler: Dominican Piloto Cubano, Seco & Ligero
• Size: 5 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Robusto
• MSRP: $7.00 (Boxes of 20, $140.00)
• Release Date: March 2014
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 5

There is a pretty large variance when it comes to the filling of the Epic Maduros, ranging from squishy to properly filled. The Brazilian wrapper is dark with typical discoloration and noticeable veins. I get some cherry wood notes from the wrapper and that’s about it. Most the samples featured a great cold draw: oatmeal with some chocolate. One had an interesting cranberry note with some leather.

Of the five cigars I smoked, none were identical. There were some similarities in various parts, which is largely what these tasting notes are based off of. As for the start, there was varying amounts of the cedar note I get from most piloto cubano tobaccos with nuttiness, cocoa and toasted notes accompanying it in various cigars. Across the board, there’s little pepper to be found, which is okay. On two cigars the piloto cubano cedar stuck around for the entire first third alongside a saltiness, on others, a peppery cedar with lemon grass and sour citrus. The draws were similar to the filling, wide open to great, but across the board the burn was as good as any cigar, a barely visible burn line that rarely wavers for the first inch and half.

Toasty notes emerge in the second third, some more pleasant than others. All five cigars show less Dominican cedar in the second third than they do the first third, although it’s still around in a few samples. There’s some sweet nuttiness to be head, a bourbon note in one cigar and a grassy finish on four of the five samples. On each sample the draw gets more towards center in the second third and the construction remains fantastic. Flavor and body are varying levels of medium-full while the strength is almost non-existent.

It’s hard to really tell until I start waiting for the final third to hit, but the cigar really slows down around the halfway point. The final third of the Epic Reserva Maduro is slow and simple: linear cocoa notes with cedar in the background or a rich toasty note with some vanilla and pepper. None are bad, but they are hardly exciting. Construction is once again fantastic, although the burn rate could be faster for my preferences.

Final Notes:

• I enjoyed the Epic Corojo Reserva much more.
• Strength was very mild throughout the cigar.
• It really was if I smoked three or four different cigars, they all tasted quite differently.
• Charles Fairmon is best known for the production of Kristoff, although some other smaller brands are made there.
• It’s really difficult to get excited about these boxes when you compare them to the 10-count boxes, which are really nice.
• Cigars for this review were provided by Epic Cigars.
• Final smoking time was between one hour and 30 minutes and one hour and 50 minutes.  To be clear, it took about 30 minutes to get through the first half, but the second half slowed down dramatically.