Cigar Geeks - RoMa Craft Tobac Maquette La Maestranza

Cigar Geeks Geek Critique

RoMa Craft Tobac Maquette La Maestranza
Written by Cigar Geeks Member: Neal (ntanner)

90
Cigar Geeks Rating

Welcome to another Member sponsored Geek Critique generously sponsored by our member Cfickter (Chuck). The cigar provided for this round is the RoMa Craft Tobac Maquette La Maestranza.

"Maestranza" is loosely translated as "the people who are around you helping". And RoMa Craft owes much of their success to the "people who are around you helping", so the brand decided to honor them with this new cigar. The Maquette La Maestranza that we are reviewing is a Petit Gordo and actually the prerelease to this new line which will have three (3) sizes, but the Petit Gordo is NOT going to be part of the regular production. It has a foot ribbon rather than a band. Only 8,000 cigars of this size were produced.

RoMa Craft Maestranza's starts with a core of tobacco from Nicaragua, Honduras and the Dominican Republic. That core is then covered inside a Brazilian binder and finished with a Mexican San Andres wrapper (but a lighter-colored version).

RoMa Craft Tobac Maquette La Maestranza

Brand:: RoMa Craft Tobac
Name:: Maquette La Maestranza
Length:: 4.25
Ring Gauge:: 56
Country of Origin:: Nicaragua
Filler:: Dominican Republic
Honduras
Nicaragua
Binder:: Brazil
Wrapper:: Mexico
Color:: Maduro
Strength:: Medium-Full
Shape:: Short Gordo
Notes:: https://halfwheel.com/craft-maquette-la-maestranza/444276/

This cigar was enjoyed with Glenfiddich single malt 12 year.

Pre-Light: 9 Points of 10 Possible

Nice sheen to the milk chocolate colored wrapper. A slight box press is apparent and I only see one vein line. It feels slightly toothy feeling as I slide my thumb over the wrapper, the cannon is solid and the cap looks well done. The foot band is attractive enough but was a little challenging to remove for me. Managed it though without causing any harm in the process so that's a win. Took a guillotine cut well and aside from my personal issue with foot bands in general this is a cigar I am looking forward to burning.

Lighting and Burn: 13 Points of 15 Possible

Takes to the fire well enough and burns slow and cool. Got wavy a couple times but always self corrected and provided a decent amount of smoke from start to finish. The ash was light gray with black flecks and was solid when I did knock it off. I only ashed once around the halfway mark and that took a little effort to knock off.

Construction: 30 Points of 30 Possible

Good looking chocolate colored wrapper with a single vein line and a decent sheen. It has a slight toothy feel and is a nice example of what a wrapper leaf should look like. The seems are practically invisible and overall appearance is excellent.

The cap is well done and held up well for the duration of the smoke. It took a guillotine cut without issue and revealed a smooth draw with just enough resistance. Overall I really can't find any faults with the construction of the cigar.

Flavor and Aroma: 38 Points of 45 Possible

Interesting profile on the opening. Almost a cola like note with hints of chili pepper and black pepper in the retro. Getting some cream too. May not sound appealing by my description but it's working for me.

The second third is marked by the cola morphing into a toasted sugar cane and on the retro I pick up some floral hints and a sweet note in the medium duration aftertaste and a leather.

The last third opens with a sweet tobacco as the dominant flavor and a hint at the cola in the background. Also still getting the leather and a walnut and noticing spice on my lips now.

Summary

Shout out to Chuck for sponsoring this critique. Good cigar. I enjoyed the hour and a quarter it took to burn this one. The flavor profile was different from what I'm used to but in a good way. Definitely a smoke worth trying if you get the chance.