Espinosa Maduro Robusto
Following the success of the Espinosa line of new cigars released in 2012 comes the Espinosa Maduro. I have found a liking of most anything Erik Espinosa makes from the EO 601 series, Murcielago, La Zona and the La Jugada (made for Moya Ruiz Cigars). They all have distinct flavor profiles, but all have a good place in my smoking “rotation”. When Espinosa released the press release of the new maduro line of the Espinosa line I have had them on my short list to try, but hadn’t got the chance to pull the trigger to get any. I was gifted this cigar by Erik and greatly appreciate the chance to try it. So, without further adieu…
Cigar Details
Size: 5×52
Vitola: Box Pressed Robusto
Wrapper: Mexican Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Cost: Around $8*
Sizes Available
Robusto: 5×52
Belicoso: 5.5×52
Corona Gorda: 5 5/8×46
Toro: 6×52
First Looks
The first thing that sticks out to me is the beautiful, yet simplistic bands of the cigar. There is the original Espinosa head band as well as the matching, yet smaller, foot band that reads “Maduro”. The cigar has an overall nice feel to it with no hard or soft spots. The wrapper had a nice sheen to it with tight seams. Yet, there was a void at the food that struck me as odd, but never the less a good looking cigar. Going back to Cuban heritages is a nicely applied triple cap.
A straight cut of the triple cap reveals a very nice draw. Not too thick, nor too thin. For those who like a milkshake thick type of draw, this draw is just slightly less than what you would prefer. but, to be the cold draw is great. The foot toasted up nicely and the void was evened off within a minute or two of being lit.
Construction
The draw stayed consistently great for me. Each draw produced a vast amount of dense smoke. The idle smoke of the cigar was bountiful as well that had a somewhat musty room note to it. I rolled off each ash around an inch or so. It was pretty windy on the day of the review, so I did this to avoid any being dropped onto my lap. But if it wasn’t for that, I am sure the ashes would have held for a good bit longer. Each of the ashes had a slight flake and a white/grey/black color scheme to them. The burn stayed pretty straight, one time it did get a little off, but was easily corrected without the use of a lighter. Over all, I’d say a very well constructed cigar.
Flavor
A cool, dry smoke that offered chalky, but smooth, cocoa flavors is what I got during the first few draws. More into it, I got a good amount of pepper present. Although the presented pepper was not overpowering of the cocoa, more of a compliment to it. The cocoa flavors progressed into more of a chocolate note the more I got into the cigar’s firsth third. The retrohale of the first third was of a potent salt and pepper aroma.
Going into the second third, I got hints of a leather note that got somewhat stronger as I progressed into the cigar. The leather accented the black pepper note nicely. The chocolate note, from before, was more noticed on the finish of the smoke and lesser in the initial drawn smoke. It lingered for a good while on my tongue after each draw. It wasn’t a bold chocolate, but it was definitely there. Leaving the second third, the leather notes seemed to transition into a nutty note, but never fully left the leathery sense of the flavor.
The final portion of the cigar had the chocolate, black pepper, and leather all in equal proportions. The leather never fully changed to a nuttiness as I thought it was going to coming out of the second third. Instead, it wanted to change into an earthy note (more “musty”), but never went full on earthy. With about a little over an inch left, the chocolate eased off into the background and left the leather and black pepper as key tones of the smoke. The last third seemed to be the finale of the cigar. All of the flavors evened and rounded off nicely to a nice smooth and creamy-like mix of each flavor.
Final Thoughts
Before smoking it, I had figured this cigar to be on the more medium body and flavor strength area. But, it turned out being more on the upper end of the med-full range of strengths (body and flavor). Not one flavor ever got too overbearing of the others, you could always taste the key flavors throughout (some just with lesser strengths). Had a great draw and good burn with nice flavors that in the end all mixed well to produce a good smoke! Nice flavors of leather, chocolate and black pepper that mixed well. Over all a good smoke worth buying a 5er of.
*This cigar was provided to me, unsolicited, from Erik Espinosa, owner of Espinosa Cigars, for this review. Many thanks to Erik for the opportunity to review this cigar.
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