Casa Magna Oscuro
I picked up the Casa Magna Oscuro at Ed’s shop awhile back. The original Casa Magna Colorado is one of my go to cigars, but the Oscuro slipped through the cracks. I just never got around to smoking it. As you probably know, the Colorado was Cigar Aficionados 2008 cigar of the year (which I disagree with). If you are asking yourself, “What does Oscuro mean? What is it?” I encourage you to check out this article by Doc Stogie Fresh. He explains in detail.
How does the Oscuro compare to the Colorado? Let’s find out. I paired up with water and got to smoking.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Oscuro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: Churchill Gordo 6 5/8 x 56
Price: Around $7.00
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The dark wrapper looked nice, with a few medium sized veins. It was pretty bumpy and rugged looking, but had no real flaws. The odor coming off of the wrapper and foot was pure shit, or barnyard (this isn’t a bad thing despite sounding bad). The cigar was rock solidly packed, which explains a draw that was on the tight side. The pre-light draw was like a pungent earthiness and resembled compost.
The ash held for around an inch. The burn required a few minor corrections. As I hit the second third, I grew tired of the tight draw. I ended up pulling a good sized stem out of the cigar. This loosened up the draw a little, and increased the overall enjoyment.
Flavor:
The first third: The smoke was dry, very dry. It left me craving water. The flavors were pretty straight forward. Up first was an earthy, rich soily taste. There were hints of sweetness, like a dry cocoa. There was a black coffee component that really captured the bitterness you can get in black coffee. Passing through the nose, there was a decent peppery spice.
Throughout the second third, I continued to crave water. The smoke was so dry it left me parched. I’m not saying it was unpleasant, I just had to drink a lot of water. The flavors were mainly a dark black coffee with some bitterness. The sweet dry cocoa was very noticeable, and had a more traditional bitter chocolate tint. Through the nose, the spice was fairly strong. As I progressed into the cigar, a tingly sensation was felt in the mouth and on the lips. It peppery, but not a traditional black pepper.
The last third kept pace with the second third. There simply wasn’t any noticeable flavor changes. The only change I could detect was strength and body. The flavors stood out more, and the nicotine punch was impossible to ignore.
Conclusion:
This was a good full bodied cigar. The flavors were good and the strength was there. I can see this cigar having a market. If I had to choose between this or the Colorado, I’d pick the Colorado hands down. That is just my personal preference. Something about this cigar just felt less refined (not to say it was bad). So as I commonly do, I’m going to cop out and suggest you full bodied smokers try this for yourself and be your own judge.
This entry was posted on Friday, May 6th, 2011 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.
JohnG May 6th, 2011 at 6:41 am
I have tried the original Casa Magna Colorado several times but not the Oscuro. Not sure if I would seek it out but if the opportunity arises I will give it a try. Thanks for the review Tom.