Pre-light Experience

The wrapper on the Diplomáticos Norteños Edición Regional Canadá 2018 is light brown and there are a few slightly raised and knotty veins present. The seams are easily visible as they are slightly raised, but the triple cap is applied exquisitely. The cigar has two bands with the primary being the traditional bright yellow band with red and gold artwork and black text. The secondary band is the traditional ER band and denotes Canada. The aroma from the wrapper is a light, dry wood. The foot brings the same but adds a bit of spice. The pre-light draw is quite tight and provides a light cedar.

Pre-light Experience

The Diplomáticos Norteños Edición Regional Canadá 2018 is finished with a great triple cap and a beautiful Colorado wrapper. It has this lovely roja coloring and a great shine. It has medium sized veins that are scattered throughout and it is smooth in texture. Firm throughout, I get notes of salted wood, earth, tobacco, spices and leather on the foot. The wrapper is slightly similar, and I am getting some wood and leather notes.

Pre-light Experience

The Diplomáticos Norteños Edición Regional Canadá 2018 is doubled banded like all regional edition Cuban cigars, indicating ‘Exclusivo Canada’. The wrapper has a somewhat lumpy and uneven appearance to it. The wrapper has aromas of leather, baking spices and light hay. From the foot, there is barnyard and light hay.

First Third

The cigar begins with aged cedar along with light baking spice and mustiness. At three quarters of an inch in, the aged cedar and baking spice are mingling together while the mustiness remains in the background. The retrohale is a mix of the aged cedar and a slightly fuller baking spice. At an inch and a quarter, the mustiness picks up and all components are even. The strength in this third was mild-medium.

First Third

The first third begins by delivering some soft Asian spice notes and I am picking up on cinnamon, anise and touches of red pepper. There are some graham cracker notes present as well and with that is some sugar and wood notes. There are faint grass qualities also, and the finish has some creamy aspects. I would classify the cigar as being medium, and that is for strength, body and flavors.

First Third

Bread and cream to open, with light cedar and hay to finish each draw. That Cuban tobacco twang comes through in the first few puffs. Baking spices join the retrohale with a lingering spice on the post draw that sits on my lips. As the first third starts to settle in, mild post draw peanuts and mild sweetness and citrus on the retrohale are added. That sweetness ends up defining the retrohale. By the halfway point, the post draw has a lingering wood join. That wood slowly takes over the profile as it progresses in the bottom half.

Second Third

As the second third begins, the aged cedar loses some pop and it becomes a bit stale. At a half inch in, the aged cedar takes on a bit of it’s previous form again. There is still some lighter baking spice and mustiness paired up with it. The retrohale is now musty aged cedar. At an inch and a quarter, the baking spice has left as a light char has joined the cedar and mustiness remains in the background. The third finishes with the char attached to the cedar slightly increasing and the mustiness in the background. The strength in this third bumped up to slightly below medium.

Second Third

The second third delivers sweet cream notes and they are paired with cinnamon and nutmeg. I am picking up some leather and wood notes as well, and the finish has qualities of dry earth and the graham cracker flavors from before. Like before, I would classify the cigar as being medium in strength and body, and the flavors are right there as well.

Second Third

Wood and light hay make up the flavor profile moving into the second third. Mild sweet bread on the retrohale. As the cigar progresses, wood takes up the middle of the profile, with some earth along with post draw earth shortly after. That post draw earth begins to build up to medium strength, lingering on the tip of my tongue. By the halfway point, the earth has fallen back to light plus strength.

Final Third

As the final third begins, the cedar heads back to a stale profile as the char has left. At a half inch in, the char returns at a pretty high level while the mustiness remains in the background. The retrohale is musty and slightly charred cedar. As the cigar comes to a close, the profile remains cedar with a fair amount of char and mustiness in the background. The strength remained at slightly below medium.

Final Third

The final third delivers those graham cracker and sweet cream notes, and it is paired with some smoked wood and leather flavors. The spice notes are still present, the red pepper qualities leading the way, and the finish is that of honey, cream, wood and grass. I would say the cigar is just above a medium at this point, but just below medium-full. That is for strength, body and flavors.

Final Third

Moving into the last third, the flavor profile consists of minerality and earth, followed by creamy bread and toasted earth on the post draw. After the re-light, the bread pushes back on the earth. Some bitterness arrives and the cigar begins to heat up in the bottom half.

Burn

The burn line was wavy at times and the second third required a touch-up when half of the wrapper didn’t want to burn. The cigar also went out in the final third, requiring a re-light. The ash held on in just over one inch increments.

Burn

The burn was spectacular from start to finish.

Burn

I rated the burn overall as good. It was uneven at points in the second third, requiring a touch-up, and the cigar went out in the last third requiring a re-light. Cigars were stored at 67% humidity for almost 6 months.

Draw

The draw was quite snug and a draw tool provided no relief. The tight draw was a bit tiring by the halfway point.

Overall

The cigar began with aged cedar along with light baking spice and mustiness. The second third saw the baking spice leave and some char join in. The final third saw the char drop out for a bit and then return at an even fuller level. Construction was a struggle with a tight draw and some burn issues. Strength was slightly below medium most of the way. The Diplomáticos Norteños Edición Regional Canadá 2018 had a nice start with a good combination of flavors, but as the second third started with the cedar becoming a bit stale and the char joining it knocked things down a bit and the heavy char in the final third knocked things down even more. The really tight draw and burn issues just compounded things. I’m curious to see if the others had better construction and what the flavor profile looked like if they did. For me, not something I’d return to to try to see if I could pick the well constructed one from the box.

Draw

The draw was perfect from beginning to end.

Overall

The Diplomáticos Norteños Edición Regional Canadá 2018 was a great release under the brand and a terrific regional for Canada. I am typically not one to go crazy over regional releases, but I will never pass on smoking one. Sometimes they are bad, but a majority of them are solid. With that being said, sometimes they are incredible and worth buying a box or two to smoke and age. They don’t always smoke like the brand they are attached to, but that is okay. I believe that is the purpose of the regionals. Introduce something that is new and requested with a brand that is low key. I would definitely buy a box of these, smoking some now and aging the rest. I loved the flavor profile, it was always balanced and the flavors played off of one another perfectly. With that, the body and strength were on par with the cigar. The construction was stellar and I believe these will age really well. I can’t remember the last time I smoked a Diplomáticos, but with this cigar I am eager to get some more and also smoke some regular production No. 2’s.

Draw

The draw is well into the resistant spectrum, roughly 3-1/2 to 4 notches.

Overall

The Diplomáticos Norteños Edición Regional Canadá 2018 is another in a line of recent Canadian regional cigars that provides disappointment. The first third was promising, but the remainder of the cigar was unbalanced and uninspiring. At a price point of $31.13 USD or $43.54 on the Canadian tobacco tax heavy market, this sort of performance is unacceptable. The draw was quite resistant, and the burn struggled at times, even after being stored in a stable environment for an extended period of time. In the past, Canadian regionals were some of the best offerings Habanos S.A. had to offer. After the Diplomaticos performance and the abysmal La Flor de Cano Siboney back in 2014, I can’t see myself taking a chance on another Canadian regional. Of course, with plain packaging hitting Canadian tobacco retailers this year, we may not ever see another Cuban Canadian regional.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.00

Cost/Point

N/A

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

8.23

Cost/Point

N/A

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.45

Cost/Point

N/A

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Diplomáticos Norteños Edición Regional Canadá 2018