It’s Stog o’Clock, and this go around, I check out a not-so-traditional Cuban cigar. The Cohiba Maduro 5 Secretos is 4 1/3 inches long with a 40 ring gauge. The cigar I smoked for this review was from a box produced in 2014. The Maduro 5 claims to use Maduro wrappers aged for five years. There is a barnyard aroma off the dark wrapper with some musty wood out of the foot.
Pre-light, the draw gives me a sweet berry and some earth. I torch the cigar up, and my palate is blasted with a buttery, creamy chocolate. There is a slight spice lingering on my tongue. Through the nose, I pick up some smooth cedar.
After fifteen minutes, I finish the first third. The draw gives me a delicious buttery cocoa with some cedar and black pepper. Through the nose, there is more cedar with a roasted coffee bean, and some strong espresso. Strength and body are both settling in at the medium mark.
The second third puts me at half an hour. On the draw, there is a bold, strong espresso with an increase in black pepper spice. The retro-hale continues to give me cedar with a sweet, dry raisin and some coffee. The finish is long and producing rich flavors of charred earth, sweet cedar, and espresso. Strength and body are now up to the medium-to-full mark.
The final third ends at fifty-five minutes. I pick up a buttery cream on the finish mixed perfectly with espresso and black pepper. Through my nose, there is even more cedar with a creamy hay and dark chocolate. The finish gives me a berry note with smoky coffee and a slightly bitter spice. Strength and body finish at the medium-to-full mark.
Overall, this short smoke has a wonderful mix of bold, complex flavors. To me, the perfect Maduro-wrapped cigar offers a contrast of buttery creaminess and “dark” flavors. The Maduro 5 nails that blend right on the head. It’s a nice change of pace for a Cuban cigar, and I think it has immense aging potential. I highly recommend this one.
Keep on smokin’!
-Noah (CutLightSmoke)
Cuban Cigars are expensive in the United Kingdom. If you’re ever in Düsseldorf you could get a bunch of great cigars inexpensively, so much so that even with airfare you could come out cheaper.
