Tabacleria Drew Estate - "Nica Rustica" toro (Nicaragua / Mexico / USA)

I just read a really nice article in a Cigar Club catalog about the maduro leaf, and what it means for cigars. Written by David Fisher, the article goes into great detail about the different kinds and manufacture (extensive details which I will spare you.) But it's an interesting subject, one that deserves some attention here at Sip and Puff.

I wanted to touch on a little bit of cigar lingo in today's post. We're looking at the word maduro. Maduro is a term used to describe a certain kind of tobacco leaf used for making cigars. As any Spanish speaker can tell you, maduro just means ripe or mature. But for cigars, it's a good indicator of the flavors and consistency of the smoke and pertains, in fact, to a specific production process. You can (usually) tell a maduro cigar by the color - ranging from brown  to black. It's a leaf packed with natural flavors, and is usually reserved for the wrapper. But don't let the color fool you - wrapper color alone doesn't always tell you much about the strength of the cigar.

The deal here is that tobaccos are actually fermented to get this way. The tobacco is pressed in pilones, or large stacked piles, for several years. During this process, the leaf's chemistry changes and it ferments, creating a form of natural sugar that gives the cigars a sweetness. You need a thick leaf for fermentation; otherwise, it'll break apart during the process. Then, once the leaf is at optimal ripeness and flavor, it's given to a torceador(a) who then rolls up the cigar. The result is a darker leaf that is sometimes sweet, with a rich texture and mellow flavor. Today's cigar is one such maduro. 

Here we have the "Nica Rustica," a 6 inches by 52 ring gauge maduro cigar from Tabacleria Drew Estate. As you can see, it's got a dark wrapper, and a cool shaggy foot (that's the extra frilly bits at the business end of the cigar.) Leaving some extra leaf down there is a stylistic thing and purely for fun.

A few of the specs: it's a blend of Nicaraguan long-fillers (from Jalapa and Esteli in Nicaragua) held together by a San Andres Negro binder, from Mexico. Wrapping it all up is a (rather dark) Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper. I always like Connecticut tobacco; I grew up in the Connecticut river valley, just outside Hartford, where some of the nicest shade and broadleaf tobacco is grown. In fact, the house I grew up in sits on land once used for tobacco production.

Enough talk - let's get lit up here.

Lit up a little slowly, and took me a few seconds to get the flame to get an even catch. But once it got lit up, and past the first few seconds of draw, it ended up being very nice. I liked how evenly this cigar burned. It produces a nice cloud of light grey smoke with a clay-colored ash.

For the flavor, I was actually very surprised. I expected this to be like some of Drew's other maduro offerings - like "MUWAT" or the Liga Privada "No. 9." But in truth, it ended up being much closer to the Kentucky Fire Cured than anything else. This cigar was robust and pepperty, with some spice flavors but a strong showing of natural tobacco flavors. Some maduro cigars have an awful mouthfeel to them, kinda like a brackish and gritty taste, but not the Nica Rustica. Smooth and deep all the way through, with some nice leather notes. I'm going to get this again, for sure, since I enjoyed it all the way down to the nub.