If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed that my number one go to cigar, at least for the last several months, is the Patina Habano Precipitation. I also have highlighted the Patina Connecticut Rustic in the inaugural Whiskey & Whitetails Sampler. The Patina Maduro has not gotten the same love from me. I actually haven’t smoked it since their initial release in spring 2020. According to the Patina Cigars website the Maduro:
“Challenges conventional expectations of a maduro cigar with a beautiful mix of balance, flavor, and strength.”
It is the third line release from Patina Cigars. It was also the most cryptic release, as none of the blend information was disclosed. The Maduro came in only a 5 x 52 Robusto, called “Rustic”, and a 6” x 56 Double Toro, called “Oxidation”. Now the line is offered in 3 more vitolas. I elected to smoke the size I did, the Rustic, because it was what I had smoked upon the initial release.
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Nicaragua American Cigars S.A.
Wrapper: Undisclosed
Binder: Undisclosed
Filler: Undisclosed
Vitola: 5 x 52 Robusto
Price: $10.95 MSRP
Release Date: April 2020
Company Website: www.patinacigars.com
Expectations
From what I recall from this cigar I expect a medium bodied and flavored experience with little to no strength. I do recall a good bit of chocolate with some earthiness and a little pepper. I am hoping to see some more body and maybe some baking spices, dark sweetness, and breadiness with the chocolate. I don’t expect the cigar to be any different than before, as I have always had great consistency with Patina’s cigars. However, I am hoping it’ll just hit my palate different.
Prelight Characteristics
This wrapper is very toothy and thick looking. It’s also quite dark and very firmly packed. I always like the simplicity and color choice of Patina’s bands. The cigar smells like a baked good kind of earthiness or savoriness with some sweetness. The cold draw is cinnamon, maybe anise, and some plum-like sweetness.
First Third
The cigar kicks off medium-full in body and flavor with some slightly tannic wood and earth up front with a nice sweetness in the back that's more caramel than chocolate. There’s a little pepper on the finish. The retrohale is molasses, spices, and some breadiness. About a half inch in it comes down to about medium body and flavor. The tannins in the wood have subsided but there is still a woody component. There are some spices and the sweetness is more raisin-like. Closing out the first third, some pepper is becoming a bit more present. The draw and performance have been great to this point.
Second Third
Into the second third the earthiness is coming up and it is beginning to show some dark chocolate. Around half way the flavor and body both come up to near full, then it spontaneously goes out. I relight it with no issues. It’s still earthy with some coffee, dark chocolate, and spices. Coming to the end of the second third it’s holding the earthiness and dark chocolate well. The coffee has dropped and the spice is becoming a bit drying like cinnamon, but it's not cinnamon in flavor. The performance has been fine since the relight.
Final Third
The final third starts to go out again and I have to catch it with the lighter. Again, no apparent issues occur in the flavor. Which is good, but relights are never fun. There’s a savory, almost meaty note that comes in on the finish but is associated with a brown sugar sweetness. The baking spices are taking over as I get into the band point. The tannic wood from the start is rejoining as well. Coming to an end the tannins have dropped off and the pepper and spices are the primary flavor component. The cigar burned fine from the relight at the start of this third, to the end.
Overall Experience
This cigar was solid overall, but it still just doesn’t hit my palate great. The cigar going out was the only flaw in the performance of the cigar, but I think that was an anomaly as I never had that in the few of these particular cigars I have smoked previously. The flavor profile had a lot to like with the earthiness, breadiness, baking spices, pepper, and different sweetnesses. It was fairly dynamic and interesting for the lengthy 2 hours and 6 minutes. For some reason, however, I just always have felt like this cigar is missing something for me every time I have smoked it. Like I’m looking for or expecting something more with each puff and I am not getting it. The lesson here is that not every cigar a company puts out will be great for every consumer. Mo, Patina’s owner, has an incredible understanding of cigar consumers and we have had some conversations about this topic. It is also worth noting that Mo blends each vitola to be a unique expression of the line. I believe I have smoked every vitola in the Habano and Connecticut lines, and I can confirm they are unique. I really should try the Maduro in the other vitolas to see if one hits better for me.
Try the cigar yourself at Small Batch Cigars and let me know what you think! Use code “Whiskey” to get 10% off your entire order. Plus, sign up and begin earning 5% back in rewards points with each purchase.
Feel free to reach out to me with questions, concerns, criticisms, or just to talk at @guitarsandcigarsfarm on Instagram, or via email at trevor@whiskeyandwhitetails.com.