Pre-light Experience

The wrapper is dark brown with a couple of medium sized veins and a patchwork of fine veins. The seams are only visible due to some slight shade changes in the wrapper. The triple cap is applied well. The band is a somewhat standard Cohiba format but in mostly shiny silver with black lettering and also displaying the Macassar name. I would expect something a little more extravagant for a cigar at this price. The aroma from the wrapper is a very faint hay. The foot aroma is a pretty sweet hay. The pre-light draw is just a very mild leather along with a slight spicy tingle on my lips.

Pre-light Experience

The Cohiba Macassar Toro Grande has a thick and rustic maduro wrapper. Cigar feels veiny and lumpy with a decent amount of oil content. Bunching and rolling feels well executed as there is a nice uniformed give throughout the entire cigar. The head is finished off with a sloppy double cap. Nosing the wrapper gives flowers, barnyard and cedar. Nosing the foot tells subtle black pepper, sweet and creamy nuttiness and cedar. Cold draw tells faint aged cedar, lip warming white pepper zing and dry cardboard.

First Third

Initial draws are wood along with a sensation that I think should translate into cinnamon but comes across as almost an intense artificial sweetness like Sweet ‘N Low. It’s not necessarily sweet, but has the sharp bite that product does if you put it directly on your tongue. At half an inch in, that sharpness settles down into a mild sweetness to go along with the wood. The retrohale is just wood without the sweetness. At an inch and a quarter, I start getting random moments of that sharpness I spoke of earlier or slight bitterness on alternating draws. As the third comes to a close, the profile has settled into primarily wood with a hit of sweetness and finishing with the slight bitterness. The strength in this third was medium.

First Third

First third delivers a faint and subtle flavor experience. The profile is dominant with dirt and char. Secondary flavors provide an airy creamy bread and intermittent ripe cherries. Through the nose, an easy going faint black pepper, char and airy bread. The finish is also faint with char, slight metallic notes and bread. In terms of body and strength, medium.

Second Third

As this third begins, the bitterness is increasing and pushes the wood to the background while the slight sweetness has gone away. At an inch in, the bitterness is still up front with the wood in the background. The retrohale is a pretty dry wood. As the third comes to a close, the bitterness increases even more while there is a substantial char that has joined in with the wood. The strength in this third was slightly above medium.

Second Third

Although the second thirds intensity in black pepper increases (and is now realized especially on the lips), the profile is still overall subtle. Still notes of airy bread and faint char. At times, there is a metallic note, almost reminiscent of gasoline. Through the nose, elevated black pepper, char and bread. The finish is soft with dry oak and slight wood bitterness. Body and strength continues to be medium.

Final Third

As this third begins, the intense bitterness continues along with the highly charred wood. Three quarters of an inch in, the same intense bitterness is there. The char has dropped a little bit and the wood is now very hard to detect as there is such a long bitter finish. The cigar maintained this profile the rest of the way. The strength in this third was medium-full.

Final Third

The cigar finally hits its stride. Tasty notes of creamed cherry candy, creamy wood and pastry like bread notes. Wrapping around the cream notes, black pepper on the lips and wood bitterness. Through the nose, taffy like creamed cherry, subtle wood bitterness, creamy bread and easy going black pepper spice. The finish is the same as the second third, still providing soft dry oak and slight wood bitterness. Body and strength continues to be medium.

Burn

Burn was perfect through the first two thirds and then got a bit wavy in the final third. Ash held on in inch and a half segments.

Burn

Burn was very good. Total smoking time reached a little over two hours. Burn line was slightly wavy but all leaves burned in unison with no issues. Ashes were sturdy, averaging one inch increments.

Draw

The draw was perfect through the first two thirds and then tightened up a bit in the final third.

Overall

This was a very lackluster experience. There were some decent flavors in the first third, but then bitterness entered and really took over the profile starting in the second third. My understanding is that this is a toned down version of the Comador, but I never smoked that cigar, so can’t really say what the difference was like. The cigar had good performance, but that didn’t make up for the flavor issues. I have another sample that I will try, but if it’s anything like this, I can’t see revisiting this. This cigar was pretty disappointing regardless of the price point.

Draw

Draw was perfect. Cutting the cigar at the bottom of the cap yielded just the right amount of resistance.

Overall

I wish the entire cigar tasted like the last third with its over the top creamy goodness and subtle spice. But overall, the flavor profile was too subtle and did not meld well. Further, the metallic and at times gasoline like notes were undesirable. Not that price factors into our scoring system, but given its high price tag of $22 MSRP, I expect a fantastic cigar. This one did not quite live up to it with its subtleties.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

3.67

Cost/Point

$6.00

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

6.20

Cost/Point

$3.55

Scoring System