Cohiba Maduro Genios

[Ophidion]

I have only had one maduro in this size to date. I have previously had the Secretos before but I liked that quite a bit.

Prelight:

SOLIDLY packed cigar. No major veins or noticeable seams. I punched it with my Creedo (the middle sized punch). After punching the cigar, I noticed that there was a ball of tobacco that was missing from right under the cap, almost like a divot that was placed there on purpose. The prelight aroma was a sweet chocolate and the prelight draw mirrored the aroma on the foot and wrapper. The draw was perfect (something I was afraid of as my cousin said he got one that was plugged from the same box). I toasted the foot and let it rip...

1/3:

Heavy leather flavor and a chocolate finish that tasted almost as if it was fermented fruit mixed with milk chocolate. The smoke was almost chewy and left a hint of effervescence as it coated the entirety of my mouth. A slight spice was noticeable only for the first 1/4" of the cigar but it didn't interfere with the major players in the flavor profile. As I headed closer to the second third, I noticed an almost sweet BBQ flavor which I hadn't encountered in a cigar before. It was only present for .5" or so before it transitioned into the second third.

2/3:

The flavor is still heavily backed by leather, chocolate and a slight spice on the finish. The fermented fruit flavor has backed off a bit and the effervescence has dialed back quite a bit. Where the smoke was much chewier, it is now a lot smoother and refined. The flavor combinations are very pleasant and almost seem to continuously layer more flavor after every pull. It really is a delicious cigar and the amount of smoke is impressive. The burn and draw are very nice as well.

3/3:

The cigar really hit its stride in the middle and end of the second third and at this point the flavor has simplified to leather and cocoa. The fermented fruit flavor and spice are totally gone and the only addition is a slight cedar flavor which is very mellow and almost barely noticeable. At this point I had to use the guillotine cutter to open up the cigar as it was becoming a little difficult to get ample smoke. After the cut, the cigar was pouring smoke once again.

Overall:

This is one of the only Cohibas I have smoked where I really felt as if the cigar was worth the brand name premium (the only others being the lancero and siglo II). It was a very exciting flavor combination that I have never experienced in any other CC or NC for that matter. The construction was top notch and I was surprised at how heavy the cigar was in the hand. While I think its worth the money, I don't think its worthy of a box purchase when I can get 25 SLR Serie A or RASS for the same price. Splitting a box may be in my future, but at this point I will leave it as a special cigar that I wont go out of my way to make it part of my regular rotation. Still, well worth giving it a try.

[pjansen]

in that first picture the wrapper doesnt look much like a maduro ha

[isa]

in that first picture the wrapper doesnt look much like a maduro ha

Its probably the white balance.

[isa]

Great review, thanks Ophidion. Am yet to try any of the cohiba maduro.

[mk05]

most likely a fresh or young Genios. The 07s are extremely soft, hot white bread with a non-sugary sweetness, and cocoa. No spice. Very close to 1966.

[Ghabanos]

Excellent review. Smoking one now as I read it.

[riazp]

Nice Review Kev. I see you ended up cutting it. is there a reason why? and you bought the same creedo Punch eh? great tool!

[Ophidion]

As I said in the review, the draw became tighter towards the end and once I opened it up the draw issue was fixed. Same thing I did with that mdo 2 at stogies.

[kevinfj]

Great review!

One thing I do know about that cigar............needs age.

FJ

[jrb5783]

MLO OCT 11 is the box code

[mk05]

save them! They get tremendous!

[Ophidion]

I only had one as a gift and I don't really buy Cohibas so that probably won't happen.

[celtmick1984]

Thanks for the review; I may have to try to put my hands on a couple of these.

[Puros Y Vino]

Excellent review. This is probably my favourite and most consistent Cohiba. I've gone through two 10 counts already and need to restock. Mine are 09's and have been delicious.