I smoked a pair of Cuevas Reserva cigars before heading to Las Vegas and really enjoyed them, then I had occasion to meet Luis Cuevas at the Tobacco Plus Expo and talked to him about the cigars. I didn’t really have a chance to write about the cigars before I left, but I had a pair of each left and wanted to give them some more attention after I 
got back. Yesterday was the day when I had the chance to smoke one more of each of the Natural and Maduro in the Robusto size. Both were 5″ x 52, but are also offered in toro and torpedo sizes. The first time around I smoked the Maduro first, followed by the Natural, this time I flip-plopped. The Natural is a Ecuador Connecticut wrapped cigar, with a “Havana” binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and the U.S.A. I’m unclear on what the binder actually is, is it Habano, and from where? And the U.S.A. in the filler? PA or Connecticut Broadleaf? My palate says PA, because this cigar had some body and unique flavor that is unusual for a Connecticut wrapped cigar. That being said, what do I know? The wrapper gave it some creaminess, along with some toasty flavors, without a lot of sweetness. I found it to be enjoyable, and well made.
The Maduro has a San Andrés wrapper, a Piloto Cubano binder from the DR, and Dominican and Nicaraguan (Ometepe) fillers. The cigars are made in the Casa Cuevas‘ Las Lavas factory in the DR. These are the first Cuevas branded cigars I’ve smoked, but I’ve smoked many cigars that they’ve made over the years. They’ve made cigars for the Toraños and Sam Leccia, among others in the past. Obviously, the Cuevas Reserva Maduro was very different from the Natural. The Mexican wrapper gives this an earthy flavor, and, like the Natural, it’s not a sweet cigar. It has a very nice tobacco flavor, and, like the natural, was very well made. The fact that the folks at Casa Cuevas Cigars sent me robustos allowed me to smoke them both in the same day, which was good, but I will be on the look out for these in the toro size, which you well know I really like. Luis Cuevas was a super-nice dude, and I wish I had sat down with him and done a video interview. I’m sure I could have worked it out, I know somebody…that one’s on me.
Just as I was starting to wonder if I couldn’t taste sweetness in cigars any more after coming home from TPE with what has come to me known in some parts of the cigar industry as the “Kostavirus” (named after Kosta Fotiadis, the proprietor of SMōKe Cigar Lounge in nearby Manayunk, PA), I smoked the Casa Cuevas La Mandarria today. This was originally a limited edition cigar that commemorated the robbery of the Cuevas warehouse in Miami last year. This sort of thing seems to happen annually to one company or another, most recently effecting Jochi Blanco’s Indian Head Cigars Warehouse. In the case of the Cuevas break in, the thieves broke through a wall with sledgehammers, hence the name La Mandarria, Spanish for sledgehammer. This cigar is now a regular production cigar, and what a great thing that is, because it’s a wonderful cigar. The cigar has an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Dominican Olor binder, and fillers from Dominican and Nicaragua. It’s a 6″ x 52 toro with a curlicue pigtail cap and a shaggy foot. The first three quarters of an inch of binder only are fairly unremarkable, but when the Habano wrapper catches, the sweetness kicks in and the full flavor comes through. There’s a bit of nice spice, but it’s mainly a nice, sweet smoke, and fairly full bodied. I loved the flavors of this and the burn and draw were absolutely perfect. I was sorry to put this one down when it reached about three quarters of an inch in length and threatened to burn my lips. I thought I really liked the two Cuevas Reserva cigars, but I really, really loved this one!
Take a look on the left sidebar at the CigarPage graphic, it’s new, and if you click through and make a purchase and use the code “CigarCraig10” in the checkout, you’ll get 10% off your purchase! Full disclosure, it’s an affiliate link, so I’ll get a little something out of it, which I could use to pay for the the “maintenance” I just had to do last week! CigarPage is a great outfit with some great deals! Unfortunately it doesn’t look like they carry Cuevas cigars though!
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