A lot of us began smoking with Macanudo, and for whatever the reason we all drifted away from it over time. I would love to hear what you smoked as your first cigar in our comments section, so please share..
Today’s smoke was gifted to me by host of The Cigar Authority, David Garafolo. The cigar was so aged that the cello it came wrapped in was yellow. I am told this cigar is from the original release back in the year 1997.
The word Macanudo in Spanish means, “best of the best” or “first-rate”. The question is did cigar of which only 400,000 were made, age enough for that to hold true.
Cigar: Macanudo Vintage 1998
Size: Vintage II (6.5 x 43)
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade
Binder: Mexico (San Andreas)
Filler: Dominican Republic, Mexico
Distributed By: General Cigar
I hemmed and I hawed about reviewing this cigar on the website, because the chances of finding it are slim to none. But, some might have them aging in a humidor and this might be appreciated. The cigar is made at Cifuentes y Cia, Ltd. in Jamaica which is noted on the band. The secondary band denotes Vintage 1988
The Connecticut Shade grown wrapper which is actually grown in Connecticut is flawless although it lacks character. Paper bag brown in color it lacks the oils that the ones grown in Ecuador seem to have.
The cold draw of the cigar is as earthy as they come while the foot of the cigar reveals the slightest hint of spice over more earth (hay, grass).
Once the cigar is lit, Mr. Jonathan who is sitting to my left comments on how the cigar smells awesome and takes him back to the days of his grandfather working on the car. It’s pretty awesome how an aroma can trigger a memory. With the cigar lit, the initial hit of the cigar was a little bland, but as we work into the first third of the cigar the notes of vanilla and oak begin to develop.
In the second third of this Vintage cigar there is some acidic notes that are similar to an orange or tangerine but they work. The cigar has a velvet like smoothness but it does lack in complexity.
The last third of the Macanudo Vintage 1988, continues with the notes of earth and some smoked wood notes develop similar to that scent of a burning fireplace.
Having smoked this on the original release, I remember it being more complex, but I was also a new smoker when this came out. It aged well, just lost some of the potency of flavors.
Price: $11.00 (At time of Release)
Score: 86
Macanudo Vintage 1988
Macanudo Vintage 1988
