Here’s a cigar that has been around a long time. I’m amazed that I haven’t written about it in my diary because this cigar first introduced me to the Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper which, if I’m being honest, is a tobacco I’ve come to prefer and tend to gravitate towards because of its smoothness and sweetness.
As far as this cigar is concerned, I’ve smoked several of these over the years and they’ve always been enjoyable. To me, the Classic Maduro is an epitome of the foundational blends of LGC: They just taste good. They’re not complex. But the flavor profile, however limited, just hits right. That was a genius stroke by EP Carrillo. It was as if he took the flavor profiles that people generally liked, then packaged them into cigars that provided the profiles consistently through the entire smoke.
You see, the base LGCs (Classic, Classic Maduro, Serie x/Serie x Maduro) do not transition. Once the profile is established in the first few puffs, it stays there. A couple of flavors may be added over the course of the smoke, but you can always count on a consistent flavor profile.
This may turn off some folks, especially those who tend to smoke much more sophisticated cigars. And I’ve seen plenty of shade thrown at these sticks for their lack of complexity, with many relegating them to “yard-gar” status. But I think these folks miss the point of these sticks. Unlike “yard-gars” which tend to be single-dimensional sticks with extraordinarily little character, LGCs provide a single, rich profile that is consistent throughout the smoke. The wonderful thing about them is that they are a huge cut above yard-gars but can be purchased for just a little bit more than a yard-gar.
As for this particular stick’s profile, it’s all about smoothness, with rich earthy, woody, and chocolaty notes and a background sweetness from the wrapper. The only transition that occurs is in the second half of the smoke where some red pepper spice is introduced. After that, the flavors expectedly intensify, no fuss, no muss, just a straight-forward smoke that is pleasing from light-up to nub. I will say that it becomes a chocolate bomb in the final third. I nub these suckers all day!
As far as construction is concerned, like all LGC sticks, this one is solid and tightly packed, so much so that the pre-light draw is tight. But a couple of pokes with my PerfecDraw opens it up enough to get a decent, if not slightly tight draw. I think that tightness is a feature rather than a bug because one thing that LGC sticks do is produce tons of smoke. A loose draw could make it overwhelming. Furthermore, that snug draw forces you to take your time. This stick requires an hour-and-a-half to smoke.
As far as pairing is concerned, coffee is the natural partner of this stick. But it also does well with sweeter bourbons like Buffalo Trace, Wild Turkey, or Old Forrester or sweeter scotches such as Macallan 12, Caol Ila 12 or Talisker 10 that will bring out the sweet notes of the cigar.
Unco B's Stogie Diary 