RoMa Craft Tobac is no stranger to samplers, having released four different versions, each in a different sizes. The first in the series was the El Catador de Los Perfectos, which was released in 2013 and featured two of each of its four brands at the time in a perfecto vitola. The second sampler was the El Catador de Las Panetelas released in 2014 that featured the same four core lines in a 5 1/2 x 37 panatela format while the third version was the El Catador de Los Gran Robusto that featured two of each of the same four core lines in a 5 x 56 Gran Robusto size, along with two bonus Fomorian, which is a candela version of the CroMagnon EMH.

There is also the upcoming El Catador de Los Petite Robustos, which will be released on Oct. 24 at the Big Damn Jamboree & Wingding in Houston, Texas and includes two each of the Neanderthal GDs, Aquitaine Knuckle Dragger (4 x 52), CroMagnon Knuckle Dragger (4 x 52), Intemperance BA XXI The Avarice (4 1/2 x 52) and Intemperance EC XVIII The Virtue (4 1/2 x 52.)

The fourth incarnation of the El Catador sampler is known as the El Catador de las Petite Coronas, a 10-count sampler of the company’s five core lines that was released at the 2015 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show Convention in August.  Included in this version are two each of the Aquitaine Pestera Muierilor, CroMagnon Pestera Muierilor, Intemperance BA XXI Intrigue, Intemperance EC XVIII Charity and Neanderthal HoxD, all in a 4 x 46 petit corona vitolas. There were only 600 samplers produced with an MSRP of $62.50 each, and retailers were limited to purchasing 10 samplers per storefront.

El Catador de las Petite Coronas 1

El Catador de las Petite Coronas 2

El Catador de las Petite Coronas 3

Blend-wise, the Aquitaine Pestera Muierilor incorporates the same Cameroon binder and filler tobaccos from Condega, Estelí and Pueblo Nuevo in Nicaragua that are in the CroMagnon line, but replaces the Connecticut broadleaf wrapper with an Ecuadorian habano ligero leaf. Like the rest of RoMo Craft Tobac’s offerings, the Aquitaine Pestera Muierilor is rolled at the Fabrica de Tabacos NicaSueño S.A. factory in Esteli, Nicaragua.

With the addition of the Pestera Muierilor, there are now 12 different vitolas in the Aquitaine line.

  • Aquitaine The Knuckle Dragger (4 x 52) — $6.50 (Boxes of 24, $156)
  • Aquitaine The Mandible (4 1/2 x 60) — $7.25 (Boxes of 24, $174)
  • Aquitaine The EMH (5 x 56) — $7.75 (Boxes of 24, $180)
  • Aquitaine The Anthropology (5 3/4 x 46) — $8 (Boxes of 24, $192)
  • Aquitaine The Cranium (6 x 54) — $8.50 (Boxes of 24, $204)
  • Aquitaine Blockhead (6 x 54) — $9 (Boxes of 10, $90)
  • Aquitaine Atlatl (7 x 38) — $9.50
  • Aquitaine Mode 5 (5 x 50) — $6.50
  • Aquitaine Breuil (5 /12 x 37) — $7.00 (Boxes of 2, $54)
  • Aquitaine Venus (6 1/2 x 56) — $10 (Boxes of 10, $100)
  • Aquitaine Epoch (7 x 49) — $10.50 (Boxes of 10, $105)
  • Aquitaine Pestera Muierilor (4 x 46) — $6.25 (Samplers of 2, $62.50)

The El Catador de las Petite Coronas includes two each of the company’s blends in 4 x 46.

El Catador de las Petite Coronas vitolas

Aquitaine Pestera Muierilor 1

  • Cigar Reviewed: Aquitaine Pestera Muierilor
  • Country of Origin: Nicaragua
  • Factory: Fabrica de Tabacos NicaSueño S.A.
  • Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Ligero
  • Binder: Cameroon
  • Filler: Nicaragua (Condega, Estelí & Pueblo Nuevo)
  • Size: 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: 4

Like all Aquitaine releases, the Aquitaine Pestera Muierilor is covered in a dark mocha brown wrapper that is fairly smooth to the touch as well as some noticeable oil. The wrapper also features some sparkles and there are some significant veins running up and down the length. Aroma from the wrapper is a combination of strong dark cocoa, coffee beans, manure, grass and spices while the cold draw brings flavors of fragrant chocolate, hay, sweet fruit, tree bark and a touch of pepper.

Starting out, the Aquitaine Pestera Muierilor features a dominant combination of creamy oak, anise, barnyard, leather, earth, yeast and plums. There is a significant amount of floral sweetness on the finish, along with some black pepper on the retrohale, but I am also picking up a touch of harshness in my throat that comes and goes. The draw is excellent so far, and the burn is quite good, while the smoke production is well above normal. The overall strength is not a major factor at this point, and ends the first third halfway between the mild and medium marks, although I can tell it is still increasing.

Aquitaine Pestera Muierilor 2

Right after the start of the second third of the Aquitaine Pestera Muierilor, the floral sweetness that was so prevalent in the profile shifts gears, morphing into a maple sweetness that is strong enough to remain one of the dominant flavors in the profile. A creamy oak and leather combination are also on top of the heap, followed by other flavors of anise, coffee beans, dark chocolate, toast, and hay. There is still some significant pepper on the retrohale, and a touch of spice on my lips becomes noticeable every once in a while. Both the burn and draw are excellent, and the smoke production remains quite high, easily above average. Strength-wise, the cigar has had trouble getting to the medium mark, but comes very close by the end of the second third.

Aquitaine Pestera Muierilor 3

The final third of the Aquitaine Pestera Muierilor features less of the maple sweetness overall, although it is still strong enough to be a major player in the profile. Other notes of almonds, hay, espresso beans, creamy oak and dried tea leaves flit in and out, while the black pepper that was present in the retrohale has receded noticeably, becoming more of a background note. Construction-wise, the Pestera Muierilor’ draw is still wonderful, and while I had to touch up the burn once to stop it from getting out of control, it was never a major issue. The smoke production does not let up, and the strength finally hits a solid medium by the time I put the nub down with about a half inch left.

Aquitaine Pestera Muierilor 4

Final Notes

  • The Aquitaine, CroMagnon and Neanderthal vitolas in this collection have never been released before and are exclusive to the sampler.
  • For the longest time, co-owner Skip Martin was against the idea of bands on their cigars, but finally relented in 2013. Just recently, he announced that the company was redoing the band on both the CroMagnon and Aquitaine cigars to help the embossing stand out more.
  • Pestera Muierilor is a cave in Romania — the name literally translates to The Woman’s Cave — where a female Cro-Magnon skull was found in 1952.
  • Construction on each of the four samples was consistently excellent, and the nub did not get hot at the end, even when I got down to less than half an inch.
  • This is a really good cigar to smoke on a brisk morning with a cup of coffee.
  • Three of the cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel, while another one was given to halfwheel by RoMo Craft Tobac.
  • I smoke slowly, but the final smoking time for all four samples averaged 45 minutes.
  • Site sponsors Cigar Hustler, Lone Star State Cigar Co. (972.424.7272), Serious Cigars and STOGIES World Class Cigars (713.783.5100) are all RoMa Craft Tobac retailers. At this moment, they all appear to be sold out, but it is possible another shipment will arrive from RoMa Craft Tobac in the future.
90 Overall Score

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.

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Brooks Whittington

I have been smoking cigars for over eight years. A documentary wedding photographer by trade, I spent seven years as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. I started the cigar blog SmokingStogie in 2008 after realizing that there was a need for a cigar blog with better photographs and more in-depth information about each release. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars. I am a co-founder of halfwheel and now serve as an editor for halfwheel.