Camacho Triple Maduro

It's been a while since I've done a full review so I thought I'd do something special . .

There's been a trend lately toward producing specialty cigars with a "gimmick" (for lack of a better term). The Cain all ligero comes to mind. Most of these, in my opinion, are designed purely with marketing in mind. A hook, if you will, to get you interesting in trying it. The Camacho Triple Maduro would seem to be one of these. If you like maduros, how about a TRIPLE maduro?

Maduro isn't really a leaf, but a process that produces a darker, richer flavor much like the difference between dark and light chocolate. Maduros are more time consuming to produce so are usually reserved for just the wrapper of a cigar. In the Camacho Triple Maduro, however, the wrapper as well as the binder and filler are made with maduro-processed leaves.



Contents: Honduran
Wrapper: Honduran
Size: 50/4.5 or 4.5x50
Body: Full
Acquired From: Famous Smoke Shop (online)
Price: $11.30 a single, $33.90 per 5 Pack
Smoke Time: 1.5 hours

Pre-light
The wrapper was dark, thick and a little lumpy. The cigar felt firm and well packed. The aroma of the cigar reminded me of chocolate brownies and compost. Composted brownies, maybe? The draw was perfect, with sweet chocolate flavors leaving a little pepper on the lips and tongue.


First Third
After lighting it up, the initial flavors were of mild, smooth coffee and sweet brownies, with a dark tobacco finish and none of the pepper I'd noted in the pre-light. The cigar produced lots of smoke with an aroma of sweet baked chocolate. After the first inch, the flavors toned down to a cream-and-sugar iced coffee profile with mild pepper in the finish. The burn was near-perfect and I was enjoying long, slow, savory draws throughout the first third.


Second Third
The cigar began to increase the intensity of flavors and added a nice bit of spiciness with a hint of roasted nuts. The ash was firm and grey and the body was approaching the full range. By the end of the second third the burn was getting a little too wavy, necessitating the removal of the rather large band and a burn correction. The ash hung on, and by the end of this third the body was solidly into the full range, leaving me a little light-headed.


Final Third
The flavors were moving into a dark roasted coffee profile as the ash finally fell off. Mild pepper remained on the finish. While I smoked it until it became too hot, the flavor never turned overly bitter.

Conclusion
This cigar surprised me. There was not "too much of a good thing" at any point in this smoke. I have to say that if you like maduro cigars, the odds are good that you will love the Camacho Triple Maduro!

Would I smoke this cigar again? Yes
Would I recommend this cigar? Absolutely, despite its high price tag.