601 Maduro
Months ago I planned on reviewing both the 601 Blue and Black but, like lot’s of things, I quickly forgot. So when Brian posted his review of the 601 Oscuro a few weeks ago it reminded me that I had planned on reviewing this stick. The 601 comes to us courtesy of Eddie Ortega and Erick Espinonsa, creators of EO Brands (United Tobacco) by way of a partnership with Don Pepin Garcia.
This stick features a dark and oily Nicaraguan Maduro wrapper. The veins are visible on the wrapper, but nearly undetectable by touch. Pre-light aroma yields a robust blend of barnyard and sweetness that really gets my salivary glands working. Like all cigars that come from Pepin, this cigar is beautifully constructed and is topped with a triple cap. I clipped the cap with my Xikar cutter, and took a few pre-light draws. Most notable was the black pepper which hit me right on the tip of my tongue. Once I set fire to the foot, this cigar took on a life of it’s own.
Name: 601 Maduro (Blue Label)
Company: United Tobacco
Made by: Don Pepin Garcia
Made in: Esteli, Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
MSRP: $8.40
Comes in: Boxes of 20
Vitola: Robusto (5 1/4″ X 52)
It’s difficult to explain just how much I enjoyed the 601 Blue. This was a full-flavored and full-bodied cigar and maintained a wonderful balance. With the balance and smoothness in mind, I think the 601 Maduro could be enjoyed by just about any cigar enthusiast. The black pepper was never a predominant flavor, so those that are leery of spice can rest assured that this stick won’t fry your taste buds.
Also, in the spirit of our March Contest I’m requesting that you make some suggestions on cigars you would like to see me review. It’s easy to just review cigars I want to smoke, but it’s more important to review what you want to hear about. So give me a few suggestions, and I’ll do my best to work them into future reviews.
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Comments
I have smoked the 601 line (Green Label) from Jaime Gracia. It was medium in strength. It got many good favors of wood tone, black peper, and spices. It’s his average cigar line.
Cigars for you to review…
CAO Gold Double Corona
Partagas 160 (compared to Partagas 150 if you can find them or ever had one)
CAO Sopranos Tony Soprano
La Flor Dominicana Cameroon Cabinet
Great review. I probably wont care for this stick too much, but as always, I would have to try it first. I have only had 1 or 2 in the 601 line and none have stood out to me, so far.
Mike
I’ve tried and enjoyed Red, Blue and Green varieties of the 601, but my favorite is still the Red. I do have a couple Blues in my box, though, and your review makes me want to break one out today.
Thanks for the review. I’ve tried whole 601 line. I really enjoyed the Blue, but the Green is still my favorite.
Some suggestions for cigar reviews:
Arturo Fuente Anjeo
Camacho 1962 Pre-Embargo
Cubao Maduro
God of Fire
Tatuaje Black Tubo
cao criollo perdomo 10th criollo
or you can even do something like the flor da oliva for people watching there dollers.
Oh… suggestions…
Cao MX2
Tat Red/Black tubo showdown!
Preferido gems?
And I’ve been hearing a lot about LFD…
I have smoked the blue and green label.I enjoyed the green label more.My local b&m stopped carrying these several months ago so i forgot about them but I’ll have to find them somewhere and give them another try. How about reviewing the Tatuaje red tubo or the La Flor Dominicana double ligero chisel.
After seeing this review, I have to get a few. The 601 line is perfection in a cigar and most things that DPG has his hands on comes out great.
This review encourages me to try one of these sticks as I’m a maduro fan. Currently, I’m smoking the Gurhka Empire series III, IV, VI, as they all have the Brazilian wrapper which gives so much flavor. Perhaps you could cover what non-Cuban cigars are most similar to the Cuban cigars. I’ve smoked a lot of the Cubans and find they do have a distinctive flavor in the wrapper and smoke that I really enjoy but I don’t like the price!
Nice review on the 601 Maduro. I will have to give them a try since I’ve never had one before. Looks like a chocolate bar almost.
On regards to possible future reviews why not:
Don Collins (http://www.don-collins.com/)
Don Pedro Original or Especial (Never had these before, http://www.donpedrocigars.com/ )
Ramon Allones
Carlos Torano Reserva Decadencia
Keep up the good work Chris,
JaimeVR
Oh, forgot to leave suggestions. . . I always like when people review old standards. May that contain, Saint Luis Rey, La Gloria Cubana, Montes, H. Upmanns. Oh, and anything CAO. : )
The 601s are all great and the Blue and Green are my two favorite of the line
For a review suggestion I would say, I want to hear about the new LFD Air Bender
Two more notes: I just like the LOOK of that 601.
As for showdowns, I’d like to see a black, red, green, blue, gold showdown. 601? Tat? No! Johnnie Walker! Yeah, that’s right: a high-end JW showdown and proper ‘gar pairing…
EO 601s are some good cigars. It’s interesting looking at the preferences in the comment section. I prefer the Black and the Red to the Green and Blue.
I’d like to see y’all do some blind reviews. We’d send you some unbanded cigars. Y’all do the reviews. Then we’ll tell you what they were.
Chris,
Loved your review of the 601 Blue ! You are my favorite reviewer at NTA ! No disrespect to Charlie, Ben and Brian, I really enjoy their reviews too , none of you guys hold back and say what you really feel about a cigar and it helps me decide what I want to try !!!!, good or bad ! I have tried a few that you like and a few you don’t and seem to like a similar flavor profile as you do , so I watch your reviews closely.
Anyway, I really liked the 601 Blue as you did. I got the pepper, spice and fresh ground coffee flavors. I also got a prominent dry cocoa flavor mixed in and I thought it was a wonderful mix that meshed well. I love this cigar and buy it often.
Cigars I would like you to specifically try are below.
1) Perdomo Habano Connecticut. I find this cigar to be excellent but different than other connecticut cigars in the normal flavor profile. I love them. I want to know your opinion on these sticks.
2) Carlos Torano Siganture series, (Maduro). I personally love this cigar and love the outstanding walnut flavor you get in the 1st inch. This is one of my favorites with walnuts, cocoa and coffee with a smooth woody flavor.
3)Tabacos Baez, another cigar that I just can’t get enough of ! I love the straight forward cedar spice along with an earthy / woody flavor. It can be a little powerful on the retrohale in the 1st inch , but smoothes out after that. I love this cigar along with the Don Pepin Blue label but that is more than three. I can wait for that.
I hope I havent missed any reviews on these cigars by you.
Thanks and I hope you review the cigars I have mentioned.
Great Review!
As for suggestions, while I do like the “hyped” cigar reviews, I really enjoy the new-release cigar reviews like CAO La Traviata, the Room 101, or Brickhouse.
The 601s are great just like anything by Don Pepin Garcia, although the new San Christobals and Aroma de Cubas are junk compared to the original blend. Great reviews, I enjoy reading and learning about new Cigars from them. Keep them coming!!!!
Cigars to review:
Joya de Nicaragua Dark Corojo Antano!!!!
Hey Chris, next time you get a chance. I would like to get your thoughts on a comparison of the 3 SLS (Tres Siglo) and the Cabinet Select from Gran Habano. I smoke the 3 Siglo as a daily smoke and have had the Cabinet Select only 2 or 3 times. And to you and Charlie, the website is deffinately lookin good. Its good to see it growing.
Nice review, haven’t smoked one of these yet (only had the 601 red and green). Agree with other comments on reviewing the JdN Antano Dark Corojo…awesome smoke!
I love this cigar too! I think you’re right its a toss between the red and blue for me too. I didn’t like the black so much, but it wasn’t bad.
I would like to see what you think of the value brand benchmade – one of my favorite cheap smokes.
Also maybe the Kristoff sumatra and LFD Limitado, can’t remember if you did any of these or not.
Some sticks I’d like to see reviews of:
Oliva Serie O Torpedo
Rocky Patel Sun Grown
Rocky Patel Spring 2009
La Gloria Cubana Serie R Maduro # 4 or 5
Kristoff Ligero Maduro
CAO Brazilia
Joya de Nicaragua Dark Corojo
Nice review Chris…sounds like my kinda smoke. Will have to find a couple of these to try!! I liked Keith’s suggestions..
LFD Air Bender…you’re gonna love it!!
Torano 50 Year Blend…..Ditto!!
I’ve only had the Red label in the 601 line; this looks promising. The only suggestions I’d have for future reviews have already been taken up by the previous comments!
Looks like it is worth a try, especially because I love most of this stuff that Don Pepin puts out.
As for other review suggestions, I think you should review the full Ashton line. You could start with one of my favorites, the Prime Minister.
New the cigar smoking, I have a current affinity towards DPG. The 601 lines are on my to do list however.
That said, I know that one cigar I’ve recently enjoyed very much was the San Cristobal Clasico by Ashton and blended by DPG. I thought it was a very refreshing take on his usual tones and flavors. It would be my suggestion for you to try as it’s currently one of my favorites (My Father no.1 also comes to mind).
Good luck with the monthly contest. I hope you can increase your net reach.