Wrapper: Undisclosed / Nicaragua
Binder: Undisclosed
Filler: Undisclosed
Size: Robusto (5 × 50)
Strength: Mild-Plus → Medium-Plus (final inch)
Body: Medium → Full (last couple of inches)
Price: $12.00 USD
Factory: Undisclosed, Nicaragua
Blender: Undisclosed
Release: Originally available in June 2021 (Limited Edition)
Smoking Time: 1:25
Experience Rating: 98
This isn’t a new cigar. Privada had the Patisserie line on sale by June 2021. The original product page is gone, but I found a Reddit thread from that month discussing it and linking back to the page. I don’t know when Brian took it down or exactly what it said, but the Vanilla has resurfaced alongside two other “flavors,” the Orange and the Lemon.
Like the Patisserie, this cigar’s blend is shrouded in mystery. The only explanation Privada gives is that Monsieur Guillaume selected cigars from factories in the major cigar-producing countries that he felt best expressed each country’s work. I have no reason to doubt the story, but in the end, the cigars have to speak for themselves.
Interestingly, Privada touts the Macaron Series as dessert cigars, with each vitola representing the flavor of a particular macaron. Yes, macarons are technically dessert, but hey! There’s no harm in having one for breakfast, which is exactly what I did.
It’s a fantastic cigar.
Privada describes the series this way: “Like a fine macaron, these cigars are not everyday smokes. They are celebrations.” I wholeheartedly agree. At $12, the price might suggest something more commonplace, but it delivers the kind of experience usually reserved for considerably more expensive cigars.
I will be buying more to have on hand.
Synopsis
Strength rises gradually and almost continuously, beginning just below medium and reaching medium-plus in the last inch, where it holds through the nub. Body follows a much steeper curve. It begins at medium, crosses medium-plus during Progression, approaches full in the Home Stretch, and reaches full with a couple of inches remaining. Activity is already high at ignition. After holding steady as the cigar settles, it climbs during Progression, pauses at Halfway, and then rises again before leveling just below full for the final two inches and nub.
The wrapper is gorgeous. It’s smooth, with only a few visible veins and a light, oily sheen. What’s remarkable is how amazingly toothy it is.
Considering how brown the cellophane had become, I expected a rush of aromas from the wrapper. Instead, I had to dig a bit to find saltine cracker, tobacco, mustiness and a faint sweetness. The foot was just as reserved, giving me sourdough crust, blue cheese and a hint of fruity sweetness.
The cold draw didn’t give up much more. I found hay and sugarcane through a draw that was slightly more snug than I prefer, but not bad.
The first puff comes alive with rich, rich tobacco and a real bread-like quality. Within the first few puffs, cedar, creamy coffee, green apple peel and citrus enter with incredible balance.
There’s an almost aristocratic quality to the smoke at the start. It feels regal. Strength sits between mild-plus and medium with a nice medium body, but I can already feel plenty of complexity and energy waiting underneath.
It seems like it’s just warming up.
As the cigar settles, a core forms quickly around light coffee and cedar. When spice enters, the body thickens and strength pushes to a solid medium.
The flavor inventory hasn’t changed, but the profile takes a darker turn. The coffee goes black and the cedar begins to char while the secondary flavors move smoothly around the core.
As I get into the first half, the cigar hits a beautiful transition. Nougat, pastel candies, vanilla bean and cream arrive, followed by Herbes de Provence, green peppercorn, saltwater taffy, roasted nuts and baking spices. I can separate nutmeg, cardamom and a touch of cinnamon. Wildflower honey also appears, distinct and wonderfully floral.
The body thickens to medium-plus, and the complexity becomes difficult to keep up with. I’m getting hit with a barrage of flavors, and what I’ve listed is simply what I can catch.
This cigar doesn’t present its flavors subtly. The delivery is direct, almost blunt, but everything is so smooth and elegant that the boldness is easy to miss.
Then some imagery hits me.
It reminds me of Pope Francis. During an interview, he was asked about being called traditional, and he responded that people often mistook his directness for being traditional. Beneath that directness were ideas that weren’t so traditional.
That’s how this cigar presents itself. It’s dressed in a Nicaraguan wrapper and delivers its flavors with the same directness. Underneath, however, is far more complexity and sophistication than the wrapper might suggest.
A little nicotine begins to make itself known, pushing the strength up a tick. For me, it’s a perfect morning smoke. It isn’t bright, but the bold delivery wakes me up, and the strength is just right for the first cigar of the day. Privada says the Macaron Series is best after dinner, and I can see that, too. I’d gladly pair this with a fine spirit.
This is getting into high-rating territory.
Everything fits together so well that some smokers might mistake its smoothness for mildness or simplicity, especially since it isn’t a strong cigar. Pay attention, though, and there’s an incredible amount happening beneath that slick, composed exterior.
At halfway, the flavors continue rotating through the profile like horses on a merry-go-round. Nothing new has entered, but the constant shifting remains deeply complex. Rather than moving through a series of distinct transitions, the entire profile feels like one long transition.
The spice has been tame throughout, but its behavior is interesting. It appears in seemingly random places with a light touch, almost as though it’s playing peek-a-boo.
Strength holds just above medium, while body remains medium-plus and activity stays high. The cigar has settled into its rhythm, and I’m happy to simply sit with it.
I definitely need to get more of these.
In the Home Stretch, the body thickens and edges toward full. Spice finally settles along the front of the roof of my mouth and the middle of my tongue, intensifying slightly as strength ticks up ever so gently.
Green tea, burnt sugar, black tea and green peppercorn arrive, followed by a bread-like quality. Cream asserts itself and attaches to the coffee-and-cedar core.
What I’m loving about this smoke is how simple and solid that core remains. It’s a firm foundation that gives the profile room to move around it.
Holy shit. More transitions.
Different flavors group together and take turns stepping forward: baking spices, vanilla and burnt sugar; green peppercorn and black tea; citrus and honey; then roasted nuts, green tea, pastel candies and sourdough.
The combinations keep coming.
I’m swooning from the complexity.
With a couple of inches remaining, the spice asserts itself and the body reaches full. Interestingly, every increase in spice has been accompanied by a thickening of the body.
The combinations continue, while burnt sugar attaches to the core and brightens the finish. Strength remains amazingly tame, ticking up to just shy of medium-plus.
At this point, part of me has stopped trying to follow every transition. It’s information overload, and I’m content to simply experience it.
The wrapper is Nicaraguan, but this doesn’t smoke like a Nicaraguan cigar. Perhaps it does in its frankness and directness, but everything underneath is remarkably cosmopolitan.
In the last inch, the combinations continue popping in and out with the same remarkable activity. Strength finally reaches medium-plus while the body remains full.
The core turns darker as the coffee goes black and the cedar becomes more deeply charred. Burnt sugar continues to brighten the finish, keeping the darker turn from weighing down the profile.
I don’t want this to end.
The cigar remains thoroughly enjoyable through the Nub. Spice intensifies without moving from its established position, though I can now feel it spreading onto my lips. Strength holds at medium-plus, body remains full and the activity doesn’t slow down.
I finally slide in my PerfecDraw to hold the cigar and keep going. I only stop when I singe my lips.
Great cigar!
The Patisserie Macaron Series Vanilla is sophisticated, regal and remarkably composed. It delivers the kind of experience I’d expect from a cigar costing three times its $12 price.
This isn’t a cigar to waste while doing mundane tasks. Its smoothness can hide just how much is happening. The simple coffee-and-cedar core keeps everything together while the other flavors regroup and step forward in one combination after another.
Don’t let the Nicaraguan wrapper fool you. This is no powerhouse. The flavors may arrive with Nicaraguan frankness, but everything happening beneath them is far more cosmopolitan.
That’s why Pope Francis kept coming to mind. People mistook his directness for traditionalism, even though there was far more beneath the surface. The same is true here.
Privada calls these cigars celebrations.
They got that right.
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