My Cigar Saloon review of the PDR 1878 Cubano Especial - Capa Natural (October 22, 2012) created a bit of a ruckus. My CS rating was a 4.5 with a lean toward 5.0. At the time, the hesitancy away from the exalted 5.0 was caused by my comment that perhaps a maduro wrapper would be even better (and then what?, a 5.5?). To recap:
The Oil Baron, a featured contributor to this august Blog, fired a manly, square-shouldered fussilage and blasted what he thought was my overblown rating ("maybe a 3.5") and even personalized it by revealing that he was "personally offended" by the rating. (kinda like presidential debate #2 when O was personally offended by any comment that challenged his administration's up-front, transparent handling of the Libya murders).
Then there is stealthy, sneaky, and snakey Hasuki. Oh yeah, Hasuki hinted, purred, coaxed about whether the oscuro may or may not be better than the natural. Then Hasnooki got cute by exposing my ignorance of the PDR line -- they do have a Capa Madura AND a Capa Oscura. Well, as it turns out, Hasuki was dead-on with his (or her) comments, notwithstanding the sniping from the flanks. So, true to Cigar Saloon ethos, I decided to compare the three and provide objective results.
Night 1, Capa Natural (white ring): As stated in the October 22nd post, this is a truly wonderful cigar. However, my rating if it will be adjusted downward primarily because, unlike last time, the cigar did not have that sweet creamy flavor to it. Perhaps smoking it in the evening rather than earlier in the day makes a difference. Or perhaps it was that the October 22nd rating was based on having smoked the Capa Natural as a follow-up to a harsher cigar.
Night 2, Capa Oscura (red ring): The Capa Oscura has an oily wrapper and immediately you grasp that this will be a spicier and more complex cigar than the Natural. The first third gives off a hint of cocoa. The second-third is even better with the retention of the chocolate and the introduction of a nutty flavor. The last third becomes a tad blander but still good. The cigar burns slow and drags relatively well. Once thing for sure, the Capa Oscura aroma is much more predominant than the Natural's.
Night 3, Capa Madura (black ring): This cigar is outstanding. To the qualities of the Capa Oscura, add the extra punch from the ligero right cross and a, how can I phrase it?, a deepness to the cigar. I was concerned at first because I messed up the v-cut and had to do some mending to fix things up. I was afraid that my clumsiness would ruin this, the last of the triumphant trio of PDR 1878's. But, alas, it ruined nothing. The Capa Madura has a very dark, oily and a handsome Brazilian wrapper. The burn was even and unending, the ashes could have lingered forever. The drag was almost perfect and the puffing was full clouds of smoke. The flavor was even better than the Oscura because of the additional chocolate hint and an oaky feel to it. It was sad to see this cigar come to its conclusion.
All cigars retailed for about $7
CS Ratings:
Capa Natural: 3.5 (The Oil Baron's forceful counterpoint is upheld)
Capa Oscura: 4.0
Capa Madura: 4.5
Thanks, Hasuki, you are a slinky character that would probably get your ass kicked in the Saloon if you persist with your underhanded tactics, but you did open my eyes to a wonderful cigar comparison.
El Alcalde
Night 1, Capa Natural (white ring): As stated in the October 22nd post, this is a truly wonderful cigar. However, my rating if it will be adjusted downward primarily because, unlike last time, the cigar did not have that sweet creamy flavor to it. Perhaps smoking it in the evening rather than earlier in the day makes a difference. Or perhaps it was that the October 22nd rating was based on having smoked the Capa Natural as a follow-up to a harsher cigar.
Night 2, Capa Oscura (red ring): The Capa Oscura has an oily wrapper and immediately you grasp that this will be a spicier and more complex cigar than the Natural. The first third gives off a hint of cocoa. The second-third is even better with the retention of the chocolate and the introduction of a nutty flavor. The last third becomes a tad blander but still good. The cigar burns slow and drags relatively well. Once thing for sure, the Capa Oscura aroma is much more predominant than the Natural's.
Night 3, Capa Madura (black ring): This cigar is outstanding. To the qualities of the Capa Oscura, add the extra punch from the ligero right cross and a, how can I phrase it?, a deepness to the cigar. I was concerned at first because I messed up the v-cut and had to do some mending to fix things up. I was afraid that my clumsiness would ruin this, the last of the triumphant trio of PDR 1878's. But, alas, it ruined nothing. The Capa Madura has a very dark, oily and a handsome Brazilian wrapper. The burn was even and unending, the ashes could have lingered forever. The drag was almost perfect and the puffing was full clouds of smoke. The flavor was even better than the Oscura because of the additional chocolate hint and an oaky feel to it. It was sad to see this cigar come to its conclusion.
All cigars retailed for about $7
CS Ratings:
Capa Natural: 3.5 (The Oil Baron's forceful counterpoint is upheld)
Capa Oscura: 4.0
Capa Madura: 4.5
Thanks, Hasuki, you are a slinky character that would probably get your ass kicked in the Saloon if you persist with your underhanded tactics, but you did open my eyes to a wonderful cigar comparison.
El Alcalde
Outstanding review. I''l rate your review a CS 4.5
ReplyDeleteI will go and buy the Madura and Oscura tonight, as I don't remember which of the two I prefer.
The Oil Baron
Good stuff! The truth is that I have spent a couple of years of both pleasure and utter futility trying to rank the cigars in terrific Pinar Del Rio line.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes it even more complicated is that the cigars were originally called "Pinar Del Rio." Now the Don Leoncio factory makes BOTH Pinar Del Rio and PDR labeled cigars, the latter having a dufferent blend(I think this was partly as a result of a frivolous trademark infringement case filed by the Cuban Communists and Altadis, the Communbists' sleazy partner, but that's a story for another night).
It would be interesting for the Alcalde to undertake the pleasureable task of comparibg the 2 lines in the future.
Mamey
I like the review El Alcalde, if I see the Maduro, I will grab one!
ReplyDeleteDiamond E
Mamey, I had not picked up on the distinction between PDR and Pinar Del Rio. In fact, I have been enjoying low budget Pinar Del Rio Corona Fumas and enjoyed them as well. I will certainly dedicate a future post to the comparison between the two.
ReplyDeleteEl Alcalde