Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The rectangle pressed RoMa Craft Maestranza Caballería Valencia has a medium brown wrapper with some darker marbling and consistent toothiness throughout. There are some thick, but well pressed veins, smooth seams and a head with a top cap that has about a quarter of it lifting off. There are two bands, with the primary being yellow and white and denoting the line name over a wider white band underneath it. The aroma from the wrapper is cocoa powder, earth and light wood while the foot brings cocoa powder cedar and light wood smokiness. The pre-light draw brings an airy and lightly sweet cedar.
Seth: The RoMa Craft Maestranza Caballería Valencia is finished with a lovely press, and I love the flat cap on the cigar. The coloring is that of solid maduro, and it has a dark coffee bean coloring. There are medium sized veins present throughout, and the cigar is firm in hand with a nice fine gritty texture. Aromas on the foot are that of spices, wood and earth, and the wrapper has some tobacco and wood notes.
John: The RoMa Craft Maestranza Caballería Valencia came in cellophane and had a UPC sticker with the cigar information and an integrated tear space to remain intact when opened. For artisanal complications, the cigar has a firm box pressed shape to it. The band style is the standard RoMa Craft style of a primary band on top of a white band underneath. I weighed the cigar at 15.6 grams and measured the humidity at 63.6% with the HumidiMeter Pro. For aromas on the wrapper, I could pick out sweet tobacco, a vegetal note, mild spices and earth. Out of the foot, I could detect sweet hay and wood.

RoMa Craft Maestranza Caballería Valencia

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with rich earth, toasted oak and some cocoa powder. At a quarter inch in, a mild black pepper becomes present. The retrohale is earth and toasted oak. At an inch and a quarter, a light creaminess joins the profile. As the third comes to a close, the rich earth is up front, with toasted oak right behind and some cocoa powder, black pepper and creaminess all in the back half of the profile. The strength was slightly below medium.
Seth: The first third opens up with a nice cedar and pepper spice flavor profile. There are some creamy aspects as well, and they are paired with some earth and tobacco notes. It’s a balanced smoke, and smokes around a medium-full level for strength and body.
John: My initial flavor impressions are tobacco, combined with earth at medium strength as a delayed mild spice and wood combination makes up the post draw. The retrohale is creamy with sweet tobacco in the center and light-plus strength spices and earth finishing. Earth leads the post draw at light-plus strength as the first third settles in. Bread mixes in with spices and wheat at medium strength as it continues, roughly 25 minutes in.

RoMa Craft Maestranza Caballería Valencia

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the earth mellows and is now even with the toasted oak. At a half inch in, the earth picks back up and the overall profile becomes a bit dry. The retrohale is now earth and toasted oak with some black pepper. At an inch and a quarter, the black pepper picks up a bit. As the third comes to a close, the earth is ahead of the toasted oak, with black pepper in the middle of the profile and some cocoa powder and creaminess in the background. The strength bumped up to medium.
Seth: The second third shows some more dry earth and pepper notes. I am still getting those cedar and cream notes, and it has a finish of tobacco and spices. Similar to the first third, and still balanced. Again, medium-full in strength and body. Nice long finish.
John: The second third opens with creamy tobacco, sweet wood and light-plus strength spices and earth that finish into the post draw. Powdered cocoa joins the retrohale as the second third continues. The spices on the post draw become a more defined cinnamon shortly after. That profile remains stable in both the flavor components and strength to the halfway point. Chocolate and earth define the retrohale through the bottom half.

RoMa Craft Maestranza Caballería Valencia

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the earth increases its lead over the toasted oak. At a half inch in, the toast level increases and the oak inches its way closer to the earth up front. The retrohale remains earth and toasted oak with some black pepper. As the cigar wraps up. The earth is just ahead of the toasted oak, with black pepper in the middle of the profile and light amounts of cocoa powder and creaminess in the background. The strength bumped up to slightly above medium.
Seth: The final third delivers more pepper and earth notes. There is some sweetness present as well, soft dark cocoa powder notes, and it has that cedar and cream quality as well. Tobacco and oak on the finish. Medium-full in strength and body.
John: The last third starts with creamy tobacco and earth at medium strength, with medium spices finishing into the post draw. Earth joins the post draw at medium strength and takes over as it settles in. Sweet tobacco finishes in the bottom half.

RoMa Craft Maestranza Caballería Valencia

Burn

Aaron: The burn was a bit wavy at times and the cigar went out twice, requiring re-lights.
Seth: Beautiful burn from start to finish.
John: The burn was razor straight in the first third, straight in the second third and continued to be straight in the last third.

RoMa Craft Maestranza Caballería Valencia

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
Seth: Great draw throughout.
John: The draw was slightly into the resistant spectrum, roughly 1-1/2 to 2 notches.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with rich earth, toasted oak and some cocoa powder. Some black pepper joined in fairly quickly and then some creaminess a bit later. The second third saw the earth mellow a bit and then pick back up and then the black pepper increased a bit. The final third saw the earth and toasted oak both increase in fullness. The RoMa Craft Maestranza Caballería Valencia had a nice start, with a good balance of flavors. The second third dropped a level as the overall profile became a bit dry and remained that way for the rest of the cigar. Overall, a fairly average experience with this Mexican San Andres wrapped cigar and not something I’d really see myself coming back to.
Seth: The RoMa Craft Maestranza Caballería Valencia is a lovely Toro. The flavors are great from beginning to end, and the cigar is balanced with a nice strength and body level. The press was great on it, and it had this solid multi-national flavor profile that you use to get more often with great cigars from 15 years ago. With the pricing as well, it is a cigar I would come back to again. I really loved that it was not over the top with strength and body for me, but still had tons of flavors.
John: The RoMa Craft Maestranza Caballería Valencia provided interesting and engaging flavor combinations through the first and second thirds. The last third was still pleasant but not as complex as the rest of the cigar. The burn was perfect, and the draw was slightly into the resistant spectrum. I found the Maestranza Caballería Valencia to be another consistent and reliable release from RoMa Craft. The price point remains quite a bit under the average price point in 2024, so it’s an offering I will actively seek out. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 5 minutes.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.80

Cost/Point

$1.72

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

6.57

Cost/Point

$1.52

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

6.67

Cost/Point

$1.50

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: RoMa Craft Maestranza Caballería Valencia