Extraordinario, 7" x 58 ring gauge, approx. $10.50Casa Magna made a huge entrance into the cigar world in 2008 when the Robusto size was named Cigar Aficionado's Cigar of the year. For 2009, they introduced several new sizes in the original Colorado line, including this Salomon-shaped Extraordinario. This cigar was created by the combined talents of Manuel Quesada and Nestor Plascencia and is composed of all Nicaraguan tobaccos.
The wrapper on this cigar was damaged near the foot, but that will not be deducted from the rating as this cigar was picked up by a friend at the IPCPR and I cannot verify all the handling it went through. Suffice to say it did not arrive at a cigar store in a box from the manufacturer. There was some mottling on the dark reddish-brown leaf and a few medium-sized veins. It was very oily and had aromas of barnyard and classic humidor from the body; the foot was small on this vitola and had very faint aromas of cocoa and coffee. Prelight flavors included cocoa and chili pepper.
Upon lighting up, there was lots of smoke and an immediate tunnelling problem. Initial flavors were leathery with some spice. The first third flavors were actually rather harsh, with leather, pepper, black coffee, and some ammonia. The ammonia usually is a sign of an under-aged tobacco, but this has been in my humidor for 3 months. This also seems to be a recurring issue for Casa Magna in my experience and I found myself wondering how the heck they were able to win the Cigar of the Year distinction--just a fabulous batch, I guess. I have had some good ones, but I have also had several that were just not up to snuff and this was looking like one of those.
The second third was earthy, with more coffee bean flavor--maybe even espresso bean. It also had a pronounced roasted nut note as well. It was turning out to be fairly full-bodied at this point. The early tunnel was not a continuous problem--at this point there was a straight burn line since midway through the first third.
The last third had more leather along with lots of coffee bean, some earth, and just a little bit of spice. This stick left me mostly cold and unsatisfied. What appeared to be a marvelous Nicaraguan puro with all that entails turned out to be a rather one-dimensional, medium-to-full bodied stick with little in the way to recommend itself. While not bad-tasting, this Casa Magna did not even rise to the level of good, much less "Cigar of the Year" great. Very disappointing.
Body: 7/10
Strength: 7/10
Complexity: 3/10
AFP Scale:
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 2/5
Value: 0/1
Total: 5.5/10
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