Wrapper: Cuban-Seed Maduro
Binder: Sumatra
Filler: Nicaragua: Jalapa
Size: Toro (6 x 50)
Strength: Medium → Full (nub)
Body: Medium → Full (last couple of inches)
Price: $15.91 USD per cigar / $350 per 22-count box, direct from Auremio
Factory: Undisclosed factory, Nicaragua
Blender: Auremio / factory blending team
Release: Regular Production
Smoking Time: 1:50
Experience Rating: 97
I have to come clean.
When I first came across Auremio cigars, I was a little put off by the luxury signaling on their website. Pictures of their cigars in Ferraris and the AI-generated Formula 1 car made me wonder if they were serious.
But then I smoked the Deliciae and now the Collectio.
They’re serious.
I still don’t like the luxury signaling, but I love the cigars I’ve smoked so far. They show a high level of intent and deliberation and, best of all, they’re packed with flavor.
That’s especially important to me. Because Auremio is bootstrapping the company, they don’t have the luxury of throwing a bunch of blends at the market to see what sticks. They have to focus on the cigars and let them do the talking.
And what they have to say is pretty exciting to me.
If you read my review of the Deliciae, you might think that the Collectio is just the big brother of that cigar. But according to Auremio, while it may have similar leaf stats, it’s a different blend altogether.
Synopsis
Strength rises gradually from medium to full, with its sharpest acceleration coming in the final inch and nub. Body climbs faster, reaching full in the last couple of inches and holding there through the finish. Activity surges early, remains near its peak through the home stretch, dips slightly, rebounds in the last inch, then drops sharply at the nub.
The prelight doesn’t give me much to work with.
The wrapper has a smooth appearance with a satin-like finish, but it feels rough under my fingers, like super-fine grit sandpaper. The closed foot is compact and neatly formed.
The wrapper gives off rich, sweet tobacco, mustiness, and an indistinct sour note. At the foot, I find sweet bread, sweet cedar, and more of that rich tobacco.
The cold draw brings sweetgrass, shortbread, and cedar. Despite the closed foot, the airflow is completely open.
Overall, I’m a little meh about it.
But that opinion changes as I light the cigar.
The profile stands up immediately. The first puff is gorgeous, with fruity sweetness, white pepper, fresh-cut cedar, and sugarcane. The white pepper is a flavor rather than a spice. The sugarcane is pronounced and lingers through the finish.
It’s a remarkable first impression.
A few puffs in, black pepper arrives, the cedar begins to char, and coffee with cream moves into the profile. An exotic wood note follows, something like teak, as strength and body both begin at medium.
The coffee quickly starts becoming the thematic center. The structure isn’t fully formed yet, but the cigar is already organizing itself and beginning to coalesce.
As the cigar settles, the sugarcane takes a seat at the top of my palate, giving the profile a gorgeous lift, while a mineral bite takes hold at the back of my tongue. The retrohale is delicious, with honeycomb and teak. Strength ticks up just a notch, and body begins to thicken slightly.
The cigar starts switching themes every couple of puffs. Baking spices arrive first with nutmeg, clove, and cardamom, then give way to Brazil nuts, hazelnut, and roasted almond. The cream separates from the coffee and steps forward. The coffee remains light, and a hint of milk chocolate appears.
As the first half progresses, the thematic changes continue.
The profile turns fruity with black cherry, plums, and canned peaches, then shifts savory as spice appears with Szechuan beef and chili crisp. The spice joins the sweetness at the top of my palate, and together they pull the profile upward before the baking spices roll back in.
Body thickens to medium-plus. The spice begins moving back and forth across my tongue, from the tip to the back and forward again, while nicotine nudges strength up another notch.
There’s a lot of energy here.
The nutty theme returns, followed by a surprising note of steamed artichoke, then the fruit comes back again. The way this cigar is moving through the first half reminds me of a ViewMaster. Each thematic change is like pulling the lever and switching to another scene.
A meaty transition follows with grilled pork butt, barbecue sauce, and SPG: salt, pepper, and garlic.
Through all of this, the core remains solid with coffee, black pepper, and charred cedar. It stays understated. The scene changes remain the show. Strength also feels deliberately restrained, giving the cigar room to keep moving.
The background sweetness, mineral bite, and light spice give the profile tons of bright energy.
This is not the brooding maduro those leaf stats might lead you to expect. There’s so much energy and expressiveness in the profile.
Just before the first half ends, the core steps forward and takes a darker turn. Strength doesn’t change, only the tone.
Then the scene switches back to nuts.
This is really amazing.
The Nicaraguan tobaccos begin to shine through at the halfway point. The profile turns darker, but it remains beautifully balanced and doesn’t add any pressure to the strength. Body pushes toward full, and the texture becomes luxurious.
The core changes with it. The coffee darkens into black coffee, the cedar chars a little more, and the black pepper flavor intensifies. Amazingly, the spice remains gentle, still moving up and back across my tongue.
The scene changes continue, but the returning flavors are less pronounced now, as if the core has decided it’s finally its turn to shine. But there’s still a lot of energy. Dark toffee suddenly enters and attaches itself to the core.
In the home stretch, the cigar begins showing more of its Nicaraguan character as the profile darkens slightly. The coffee moves into espresso, the toffee intensifies, and the chocolate returns as a rich dark chocolate. Charred cedar remains unchanged. Despite the darker turn, strength is still just shy of medium-plus.
The scene-switching has been curtailed, with individual flavors now winking in and out: clove, hazelnut, almond, rosemary, sweet bread, white pepper, steamed artichoke, and black cherry. These aren’t transitions anymore. They’re little flecks. Cream asserts itself and thickens, pushing body up another tick. The sugarcane sweetness still lingers on the finish, giving the cigar a lot of emotional lift, while the mineral bite intensifies slightly.
The retrohale brings barbecue pork butt, teak, and cedar. Spice remains very gentle. The sweet, aromatic Jalapan tobacco is really shining through. I suspect there’s a heavy use of lower-priming seco and viso because there’s very little ligero punch. That’s a guess. But the moderate strength, high aromatics, and light spice suggest leaves chosen more for aroma and flavor than raw power.
Then I get a gorgeous hit of honeysuckle. It comes out of nowhere and momentarily distracts me. I love what’s happening.
I don’t have to dig for this cigar’s identity. Everything is laid out plain as day. I’m smiling right now because the cigar isn’t making me work to understand it. There’s nothing hidden about what it wants to be.
In the last couple of inches, the spice finally begins to assert itself. It’s still moving back and forth across my tongue, but now with a little more intensity. Strength reaches medium-plus after a long, gradual climb. This cigar isn’t going to drag me down.
The espresso begins moving toward ristretto. Black pepper backs off, the charred cedar darkens, and the toffee starts to burn. Body is now full. It’s thick and luxurious, but there still isn’t much pressure.
The little flecks continue to appear, though they’re more subdued and less frequent. The sugarcane remains, but it has also lost some intensity. That gorgeous combination of grilled meat and teak remains on the retrohale.
I love that.
I don’t normally retrohale through an entire cigar, but the restrained spice has allowed me to do it without my eyes tearing up and my sinuses going haywire.
In the last inch, I get a nice hit of fresh-baked bread. I also realize the nicotine has been a little sneaky, hiding behind the cigar’s energy and affecting my perception of strength. Only now does it really show its hand, and I have to level-set. Strength is actually close to full.
Suddenly, the cigar switches scenes again.
Black cherry, nectarine, and orange zest roll in.
Damn. It’s not done.
The profile moves back to nuts with hazelnut, roasted chestnut, and roasted cashew. Espresso has now become ristretto.
Spice begins to assert itself a little more. It settles on my lips and at the top-front of my palate, pulling the profile along and providing a nice foil against the increase in nicotine.
Then comes another transition with sage, rosemary, and cilantro.
What’s different now is that these transitions are happening against a much darker backdrop. The fact that they’re happening at all is pretty amazing. I wasn’t expecting this much activity this late in the game.
At the nub, strength reaches full and the profile turns completely dark.
The transitions finally stop as the cigar begins to compress. Sugarcane is still present on the finish, but now it feels more like an afterthought.
Spice asserts a little more, and cream steps up and thickens in response. Activity drops sharply as the core takes over completely.
It’s dark and delicious, but this may be a lot for a newer smoker at this point. This is dark Nicaraguan character at its best.
I can still retrohale, though it’s a little more challenging now. The grilled meat and teak remain delicious.
I finally stop when my fingers start getting singed.
I wasn’t expecting much from this cigar.
But it exceeded my expectations in a big way.
What impresses me most is how deliberate Auremio has been. They haven’t flooded the market with a bunch of blends, throwing shit against the wall to see what sticks. They’re bootstrapping the company, so they’ve had to focus on making a few coherent cigars and letting those cigars speak for them.
The Collectio Maduro speaks loudly.
It has a clear core, enormous energy, and an identity that never needs to be excavated. It moves constantly without losing itself. It darkens without collapsing, then finds another burst of activity in the last inch before finally compressing at the nub.
The luxury signaling still does nothing for me.
But the cigar does.
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