Pre-light Experience

The wrapper is a dark brown with some marbling. There are a couple of veins visible, but they are pressed well. The cigar overall has a very distinct rectangle press which I think is what causes some of the seams to be visible and slightly lifted. It’s very tough to tell how many caps there are as they are applied so smoothly. The band is very nice with some intricate artwork and lots of gold borders and lettering. The band also lists the maduro distinction. The aroma from the wrapper is a very creamy cocoa. The foot gives a decent amount of sweetness that provides a bit of raisin-like qualities. The pre-light draws brings a nice mix of the aromas I was getting from the wrapper and the foot which resulted in something that tasted like Raisinets. There was also a decent spicy tingle on my lips.

Pre-light Experience

The Señorial Maduro Natural El Cuadro has an aggressive box pressed, toothy, maduro shade wrapper. Veins are well pressed and seams tight and visible. Bunch and roll feels well executed as there are no soft spots and a uniformed give throughout. The head is finished off with a nicely applied double cap. Nosing the wrapper gives charred oak, fresh barnyard and white pepper. Nosing the foot provides strong white pepper, spicy cedar and stale cigar smoke. Cold draw reveals lip tingling white pepper, nuts and dry wood.

First Third

Initial draws bring woodiness, cream and a slight cinnamon undertone. The retrohale is a slightly creamy wood. At a quarter inch in, the cinnamon goes away and is replaced by a slightly dull black pepper in the background while the creamy wood remains up front. At an inch in, a slight cocoa joins in to the background with the pepper and the creamy wood up front. At an inch and a half, the cocoa and pepper leave and a little earthiness joins in with the creamy wood. As the third comes to a close, some pepper rejoins the profile in the background while the creamy and earthy wood is up front. The strength in this third was slightly above medium.

First Third

From the first handful of draws, what sticks out to me the most is the cigar’s sense of meatiness and creamed nuts. These notes are closely followed by dry white pepper, burnt toast and stale dry wood. Through retrohaling, deep white pepper spice and mixed nuts. The finish is lengthy with a dry seeded pepper heat, stale wood and creamed dry nuts. Body and strength is for the most part in between medium and medium-full.

Second Third

As the third begins, the profile is creamy and earthy wood with a little black pepper in the background. At a quarter inch in, some cocoa returns to mix with the existing profile. At a half inch in, the cocoa leaves along with the cream and now the profile is earthy and woody. At an inch in, some ashiness joined in with the earth and wood. At an inch and a quarter, the ashiness leaves and some cream comes back in to mix with the earth and wood. As the third comes to a close, the profile is creamy and earthy woodiness. The strength in this third was medium-full.

Second Third

Surprisingly, the complexity of flavors takes a significant dive. I am now mainly left with stale wood, dry white pepper, seeded jalapeño pepper and faint mixed nuts. The retrohale is by far my favorite part of the second third, providing greater white pepper, mixed dry nuts and creamed nuttiness. The retrohale is still lengthy, dominated by dry seeded jalapeño heat, followed by stale wood and mixed nuts. Strength and body continues to be somewhere in between medium and medium-full.

Final Third

As this third begins, the earthiness leaves the profile and leaves a creamy and slightly dark wood. The retrohale is wood with a little ashiness. At a half inch in, the wood gains a bit of char while the cream remains. On the retrohale, the ashiness has left and wood is the lone component. At an inch in, the wood becomes a bit green as it has a slight bite to it and the cream is still present. The cigar finishes out with the green wood and cream. The strength in this third was medium-full.

Final Third

The profile is still average. A stale bitterness forms in addition to the pre-existing flavors (stale wood, seeded jalapeño pepper, faint mixed nuts). The retrohale is still my favorite with notes of deeper white pepper, mixed dry nuts, creamed nuttiness and stone fruits. The finish is still lengthy with toned down dry seeded jalapeño and stale wood. Strength and body finishes somewhere in between the medium and medium-full range.

Burn

In the first third, half of the wrapper didn’t want to burn and required a touch up. The burn line was fairly wavy the rest of the way. The cigar went out on me twice and required re-lights. Ash held on in about one inch increments when I didn’t have to tap off to re-light.

Burn

The burn was superb throughout the entire smoking experience. Solid, tight ashes, averaging 1.5 inch increments. Total smoking time clocking in at a great 2 hours.

Draw

The draw was pretty good through the first half and then tightened up quite a bit for the remainder.

Overall

Flavors were pretty good through the first third and then the burn issues caused a bit of havoc with flavor the rest of the way. I hope I got an anomaly with the construction and that other samples would provide a better experience. I also think the strength level I experienced would be toned down a bit with an easier draw. The first third showed what the profile could provide, so I’m very interested to revisit this to see how the experience would differ.

Draw

The draw although good, was a bit too snug for my liking. Noticeable effort was needed, at times becoming a focal point.

Overall

The first third showed terrific potential but sadly transitioned into a mediocre remaining profile. I was hoping the first third’s mixture of spice, heat, cream and earth to build in greater intensities but it was the reversal of that. Interestingly enough, I did not get much sweetness and stone fruit notes as sometimes associated with Mexican San Andres wrappers. I would still smoke more of the cigar given more humidor time, but for now, I rate it an average experience.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.40

Cost/Point

$1.39

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

5.93

Cost/Point

$1.26

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Señorial Maduro Natural El Cuadro