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 1/2 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.

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  • 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: Gordo Extra
  • 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. The Über 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.

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.

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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.

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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-full to 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.
  • The final smoking time was one hour 35 minutes.
90 Overall Score

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 Gomez's stuff and OpusX, 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 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.

Steve Valle

Steve Valle wrote for Smoking Stogie, a precursor to halfwheel, from 2010-2011.