Macanudo Cru Royale
I found the Macanudo Cru Royale at a random local shop the other day. While I’m not big on smoking Macanudo’s, I can’t deny the 1968 is a good cigar, and their vintage lines have good flavor and construction (and a high price to match). So when I saw the Cru Royale for what I consider a reasonable price, I couldn’t resist picking a few up for review. I paired up with water, but I could see this going well with coffee, tea, or maybe even your favorite spirits.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican and Nicaraguan
Size: Robusto 5 x 50
Price: $5.30
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The dark wrapper had a nice oily sheen to it, and no visible flaws. The smell off of the wrapper and foot was a dark earthiness and slight spice. The cigar was rock solid and evenly packed, but the draw was perfect. The pre-light draw had a simple earthy and woody taste.
The ash held for just about an inch, and the burn required no corrections.
Flavor:
The first third opened up with a nice dark earthiness. Through the nose, there was a mild pepper that had a small punch. It didn’t take long for the flavor profile to open up a bit. Coffee and woody flavors started to dominate, pushing the earthiness into the background. As I got to the end of this third, a sweetness enveloped everything. Not too shabby!
The second third kept on with that nice sweetness. It was a smooth, somewhat thick mocha-ish flavor. At times, I could clearly detect earthiness, but more often it remained in the background. Like before, coffee and woody notes were there in full force, but everything blended together for a really nice flavor profile. The pepper through the nose was still there and increased in strength a little.
The final third kept those same core flavors. Mocha, woodiness, coffee, and a peppery spice. Like in the second third, they were blended together almost perfectly.
Conclusion:
To my surprise, this was a really good medium to lower full bodied cigar. This may be the first Macanudo that I would consider buying a box of. For the price, you get a nice somewhat complex cigar. I say put your hang up’s about this brand aside and pick up a few of these sticks. You probably won’t regret it. I didn’t.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 7th, 2010 at 12:00 am and is filed under Cigar Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Aaron December 7th, 2010 at 7:11 pm
Nice review, the cigar even looks tasty. And certainly the price sounds decent given your favorable review of the cigar.