2fer 2sday: Macanudo Gigantes

Gigante, 6" x 60 ring gauge / MSRP approx. $8
I have always tried to be completely honest with our readers when I review cigars. If I love something, you know it; if I don't...I'm pretty sure it becomes apparent. Being honest without viciously ripping on someone's livelihood or dream can sometimes be a fine line...sometimes you honestly want to viciously rip on someone, whether or not it's the right thing to do. But I believe being honest means being truthful in what I say...and also leaving room for people to make their own decisions. Why this introspection at the start of a review? Because I know there are going to be some people that will suspect that I am biased for General Cigar and for Macanudo because they took me (and several other bloggers) to the Dominican Republic last year. If you read this and feel that way...I can do nothing else to stop you.

For some people the Macanudo name has become representative for everything that is wrong with Big Conglomerate Cigar Companies. I've been guilty of feeling that way myself. "Mass produced blandness" would probably sum up the feeling of many of today's crop of cigar enthusiasts. Before last October it had been years since I had smoked a Cafe because I fell into that category. Then General sent me the 6 x 60 samples of the Cafe and Maduro to try out. I expected little--a combination of the facts that I've never been enthusiastic about Macanudos and I just don't normally care for large ring gauge cigars--but something unexpected happened...I kinda liked them both. Yes...seriously...read on...

CAFE 

I am starting with the Cafe, one of the top selling cigars in America. It uses Dominican Piloto Cubano and Mexican filler, a Mexican San Andreas binder, and a USA Connecticut Shade wrapper. This review is based on my second sample. The wrapper had a beautiful evenness of coloration and only a couple pucker marks marring what is truly a well rolled cigar. There was just a bit of oiliness under the fingertips, but no real glisten to the eyes. The wrapper had a nice sweet hay aroma and the foot had notes of earth and natural tobacco. None of these scents were strong...just unmistakably there. My Xikar Xi made a clean straight cut on the head and left a great draw. The cold draw was mostly just grassy with a slight sweetness to it.

Lighting up was not hard, even with a single flame torch, although I suspect most people will bring out the big gun triple-torches for a cigar this size. I'll say this: if you can get a cigar lit on a single torch, it will control much better the possibility of scorching the wrapper while you are lighting. Initial flavors are of natural tobacco and hay, with just a touch of sweetness. The retrohale was nutty with a dash of pepper spice. Calling it anything but mild here in the early going would be a mistake. A little way into the first this I got a citrus note...almost lemon...that surprised me. What was most surprising, though, about this cigar is that it actually had a very decent flavor wrapped up in this 60 ring gauge size. It seems like the blenders in the DR actually took more time to get this vitola right than most companies care to spend on these behemoths. I don't know about you, but I love it when a cigar greatly exceeds my expectations.

I broke one of my rules of reviewing for this cigar so it's only fair to tell you; I normally try to strictly ache to the "only water" as an accompanying beverage while smoking for a review, but it was a beautiful spring morning that demanded I sit on the front porch with a cup of coffee and a stogie. During the second third the Macanudo Cafe was still mild and grassy. The sweetness was still there, but any lingering pepper spice was long gone by the end of the third. It wasn't blowing me away with flavor, but neither did it exhibit any "off" flavors that would make me want to chuck it.

As the final third burned through I noticed that the smoke was getting progressively hotter, which is just bound to happen when nearly an inch of tobacco burns closer and closer to your fingers and lips. Until now it had been very cool. A little spiciness returned during the last third as well, but the was a little bitterness that crept in as well. Construction was superb the entire way and the Macanudo Cafe never was anything more than mild in body and low in strength. If you are expecting a cigar that will give you the intensity of flavor and medium body of some of today's "new breed" Connecticuts, you are going to be disappointed. What this cigar excels at, though, is consistency and approachability. This cigar is easy for an occasional or new smoker to enjoy, never giving off the strange sourness and nasty aftertaste of some bundled or cheap sticks you will encounter when you go diving into the low end of the pool. It is not something I would reach for on a regular basis, but neither did I find it offputting in any way...just a nice morning smoke that goes very well with a cup of black coffee.

Body: 3/10
Strength: 4/10
Complexity: 5/10

AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10

MADURO
The Maduro version of the Macanudo starts with the same types of leaf...Dominican Piloto Cubano and Mexican fillers, along with a Mexican San Andres binder...then adds a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. I smoked three of these. The wrapper again had a nice oily feel to it and this one had a very dark coloration with plenty of variation and mottling. The veins were in the small to medium sized range for the most part and the aroma from the wrapper was of coffee and chocolate mostly. On the foot, I got notes of hay and earth. A straight cut again gave me a very good draw, this time with more sweetness accompanying the grassiness, and just a little bit of a lingering spicy tingle on the lips.

The first few puffs on the Macanudo Maduro had a solid earthiness along with more subtle notes of cocoa powder, black coffee and raisin. The retrohale had more cocoa as well as a decent amount of pepper spice. As I worked my way through the first third, there seemed to be an interesting balance of sweet and sour flavors. The sweet from the Maduro wrapper, of course, the sour was sort of a citrus note that also appears, but more subtlety, in the Cafe. Although many would expect the darker wrapper to automatically be fuller bodied, this cigar shows why that's not necessarily the case...so far, at least, it was quite mild bodied even as it produced a very substantial amount of smoke.

The second third was characterized more by earthy notes than anything else as the sweet and spicy flavors diminished. Construction was typically excellent, with an even burn line, strong ash and perfect draw.

Despite remaining mild to medium in body, the Macanudo Maduro ended up having much more of a nicotine punch than the Cafe. Not that it sent the world spinning like some very strong cigars, but it was definitely something I felt by the end. The flavors in the final third trended back toward chocolatey and sweet, with an earthy base. I can't say I was blown away by the flavor of this cigar, but (again, like the Cafe) it was not unpalatable, either. Of the two, I would rather smoke the Cafe, but the Maduro was not something I would throw away. What is most surprising about both is the level of flavor that the blenders were able to achieve in a large ring gauge cigar, something that is relatively uncommon. The price is very reasonable as well.

Body: 4/10
Strength: 7/10
Complexity: 6/10

AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8/10