Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the Matilde Special Edition 2024 is light brown with some darker freckles and has some decently raised veins present. The seams are smooth and the caps well applied. The band is thin and is applied a bit crooked as the ends don’t line up in the back. It is primarily gold with some blue, red and orange and denotes the company name. The aroma from the wrapper is cedar and some light ammonia while the foot brings cedar, earth and cardboard. The pre-light draw brings aged cedar and a soapy floral note along with some mild spice on my lips and the tip of my tongue.
Seth: The Matilde Special Edition 2024 is finished with a nice-looking wrapper. It has some shine to it, oils are present and it has a solid Natural coloring. Leather like in coloring. Medium sized veins scattered throughout, and the wrapper is oily and silky in texture. Firm cigar. Aromas of spices, leather, tobacco and hay. Some earth on the foot.
John: The Matilde Special Edition 2024 came in cellophane and had a UPC sticker with the cigar information which tears when opened. I weighed the cigar at 15.9 grams. For aromas off the wrapper, I was detecting sweet bread and mild wood. From the foot, I could smell raisin and dusty tobacco.
Jiunn: The Matilde Special Edition 2024 has a Colorado wrapper shade showing good oil content. Veins are slightly protruding, seams tight, bunch and roll even and the head is well wrapped and capped. Pre-light aromas consist of barnyard, stanky cheese and roasted nuts.

Matilde Special Edition 2024

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted cedar, dry earth and a bit of chalkiness. At a quarter inch in, a mild black pepper becomes detectable. At three quarters of an inch in, the chalkiness picks up a bit. The retrohale is toasted cedar, earth, chalkiness and some black pepper. At an inch and a half in, the black pepper picks up a bit. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is a bit ahead of the earth, with the chalkiness and black pepper just behind the middle of the profile. The strength was slightly below medium.
Seth: The first third starts out with some herbal and hay qualities. There are pepper spices present, but also some sweetness with bits of earth and tobacco. There is a nuttiness with the cigar, and it has some almond qualities. Medium in strength and body.
John: The initial flavor presents as stone fruit, dry earth and wood with dry wood to finish. A delayed sweet stone fruit and smoky tobacco combination breaks into the post draw. That stone fruit sweetness moves into the retrohale to team up with tobacco and wood. As the cigar approaches the halfway point, the retrohale profile has settled into tobacco that has a smoked quality and raisin sweetness with a mildly dry wood to finish. Through the bottom half, some citrus sweetness finishes each draw.
Jiunn: The first third shows meek and mellow flavors of cedar, celery and roasted nuts. The retrohale thankfully is not meek and mellow, giving ample spicy cedar and creamy roasted nuts. The finish is soft and lingering with aged cedar. Strength and body is medium.

Matilde Special Edition 2024

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the black pepper picks up a bit more. The retrohale remains toasted cedar, earth, chalkiness and some black pepper. At an inch in, the dry earth edges a bit closer to the toasted cedar up front. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is just ahead of the dry earth, with the black pepper in the middle of the profile and the chalkiness a bit behind that. The strength remained slightly below medium.
Seth: The second third shows a rise in strength and body. The pepper notes are more pronounced, and they are paired with those herbal and hay qualities. Bits of cedar, earth and sweet tobacco are present as well, and it has a nutty and cream quality on the finish. Medium-full in strength and body.
John: Tobacco and wood take the cigar into the second third with the same components along with sweetness to carry into the post draw. Through the post draw, the wood moves up to medium strength. Stone fruit sweetness returns to the middle of the profile as the second third settles in. Earth has moved into the middle of the profile and finish through the retrohale, delivering at medium strength. At this point, spices have pushed into the finish and linger on the post draw. The earth moves up to medium strength on the post draw during the bottom half.
Jiunn: The second third flavors are much fuller. The profile also picks up baking spices. The finish is not subtle anymore and picks up bitterness and minerals. Strength and body remains medium.

Matilde Special Edition 2024

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, a light creaminess joins the profile. The retrohale remains toasted cedar, earth, chalkiness and some black pepper. At an inch in, the black pepper bumps up a bit more. As the cigar wraps up, the toasted cedar is just ahead of the dry earth, with the black pepper just ahead of the middle of the profile and the chalkiness and creaminess in the background. The strength bumped up to medium.
Seth: The final third delivers a flavor profile of pepper, cocoa, cedar and earth. The herbal and hay qualities were still present, and I was getting nice tobacco and nutty qualities on the end. The strength and body were still at that medium-full level, and it had touches of mineral notes at the end.
John: In the last third, I’m greeted by a combination of earth and stone fruit sweet tobacco at medium strength. The earth becomes more intense through the post draw. That profile remains stable until the bottom half, where earth is the primary flavor component.
Jiunn: My palate mainly focuses on the finish, with the same bitterness in minerals. The finish is incredibly long in this but the taste profile is not pleasing at all. Strength is nearing medium-full, while body finishes the same medium.

Matilde Special Edition 2024

Burn

Aaron: The burn was a bit wavy at times, and required a touch-up in the final third. The ash held on in inch and a half increments.
Seth: The burn was off throughout. Never even with waves throughout.
John: The burn was wavy through the first third. That waviness continued in the second third, eventually requiring a touch-up to correct. Some waviness was observed in the last third as well.
Jiunn: Burn performance was perfect with an even burn, ample smoke production and cool burning temperatures.

Matilde Special Edition 2024

Draw

Aaron: The draw was slightly tighter than I prefer, but didn’t cause any issues with the smoking experience.
Seth: The draw was a little snug, but the cigar also smoked slow.
John: The draw was at most a 1/2 notch towards the open spectrum, which puts the draw in the ideal range between open and resistant.
Jiunn: Draw performance was also perfect, giving the ideal balance between air flow and resistance.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted cedar, dry earth and a bit of chalkiness. Some black pepper joined in fairly quickly. The second third saw the black pepper and earth pick up a bit. The final third saw some creaminess join the profile. The Matilde Special Edition 2024 had an average flavor profile throughout. A pretty basic profile of toasted cedar, earth with some black pepper and chalkiness. No real excitement here and not a cigar I’d see myself returning to.
Seth: My goodness! Is Ecuadorian Sumatra back? Where has it been? This Matilde Special Edition 2024 was a great Ecuadorian Sumatra release and terrific release from Matilde. While the burn was never perfect, and the draw a little snug, I loved the flavor profile delivered with the strength and body. It was a complex blend and a filling cigar. The flavors played off each other nicely, and it was enjoyable to the end. At no point was the cigar harsh. I have always loved the brand, and they have had some highs and lows over the years, but they always seem to bounce back. I am excited for their next offering.
John: I thought the Matilde Special Edition 2024 had a promising start in the first third, with interesting and unusual flavor combinations that found a nice balance. The second third fell just short as the components couldn’t find an equilibrium. The draw was perfect and the burn had waviness through the review which required one touch-up to correct. I certainly enjoyed the review of the Matilde Special Edition 2024, and I might try it again to see how a second experience compared. For a Special Edition, the price point is below the average cigar on the market in 2025. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 25 minutes.
Jiunn: The Matilde Special Edition 2024 doesn’t have the typical Matilde DNA. Matilde’s portfolio typically does a great job of being full flavored with balance and complexities without overbearing strength. This cigar was rough around the edges and itching to get into medium-full strength. That’s never a winning combination, so it’s a pass for me.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.40

Cost/Point

$2.45

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

6.42

Cost/Point

$2.06

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

6.00

Cost/Point

$2.21

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$2.30

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Matilde Special Edition 2024