Blind Cigar Review: Cubanacan | Mederos Connecticut Fifty 4

Cigar Info

Cubanacan Connecticut cigars are an affordably-priced selection from this Nicaraguan artisan label. Translated from Spanish, Cubanacan means where fertile land is abundant, and it doesn’t get more abundant than Nicaragua. At the 2015 IPCPR Trade Show in New Orleans, Cubanacan Cigars unveiled a national launch of its Mederos cigar brand. The Mederos brand has been one in the company’s portfolio for five years. During this time it has enjoyed a small following, but now it has received national distribution.

Mederos is the eponymous brand for the Mederos family, who are the owners of Cubanacan Cigars. The brand has three lines of cigars, the Mederos Connecticut, the Mederos Habano, and the Mederos Oscuro. The Mederos family has a rich history in the cigar business. The family traces its roots back to Cuba and has been involved with making cigars since the early 19th century. Today, as a part of Cubanacan Cigars, the company has its own factory in Esteli, Nicaragua and is also involved in tobacco growing in Nicaragua.

Vital Stats:

Vitola: Churchill
Length: 7″
Ring Gauge: 50
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Ecuador
Filler: Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacalera Cubanacan Cigars S.A.
Blender: Omar González-Alemán
Number of reviewers: 5—–Jeff (ExpendableYouth) Steve (ThaGreatWazoo) Kent (Throck) Robert (NavyPiper) Wes (SosaCub4Life)
Price: $7.60
Age: 4 Months
Release Date: July 2015
Contributed by: Cubanacan

Initial Impressions

Appearance: 90

“This was a real nice looking softer shade brown cigar. More towards the Connecticut Shade and it had a slight greenness to it. Nice smooth wrapper with a good cap, but the overall length is rather daunting.” –Steve (ThaGreatWazoo)

Aroma: 90

“Pre-light aroma was like a wet hay.” –Robert (NavyPiper)

First Third

Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“The beginning third of the cigar was very mild to medium strength. The initial flavor profile was not very complex, but consisted of a wet grass and a fruitful jam. The retrohale was subtle and smooth and added a slight heat to the flavors.” –Steve (ThaGreatWazoo)

“First third started off after punching the cap and lighting up with a couple of puffs of stout pepper, which left as quick as it arrived, leaving behind flavors of wood, tobacco, toast and a small bit of leather, which stayed consistent through the third. Ash was about 2 1/4″ before I tapped it off. Wrapper split to pieces up by the head before I was half way through the first third. Draw was really snug for me, so seein’ as the wrapper was split and getting worse, figured I had nothing to lose so I reamed it which helped immensely. Burn has been all kinds of wonky from the very beginning, and touch ups have little lasting effect.” –Robert (NavyPiper)

Second Third

Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“In the second third, the pepper has completely left the cigar. I am still getting the cream and nuttiness, but I can also pick up a bit of grassiness. It is more of fresh cut grass than of clippings.” –Jeff (ExpendableYouth)

“The second third became a bit more complex and ramped up the flavors from the previous section. A hint of pepper was also added which would dance across the tongue as a delayed note after the leather, cedar and cherry would subside.” –Kent (Throck)

Final Third

Flavor: 81
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“During the final third, the cigar continues its wet grass profile and feel. A slight bitterness presents itself due to the overall heat from the ash. The retrohale was abandoned a while ago due to its lack of any additional flavors or changes it provided.” –Steve (ThaGreatWazoo)

“In the final third, the spice faded away and there was quite a bit if bitterness. I couldn’t finish the cigar to the end.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)

Overall Impressions

Draw: 93

“No issues with a gradually easing draw.” –Kent (Throck)

Burn: 94

“Burn was excellent. No issues at all.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)

Construction: 91

“The cigar had a few areas that cracked apart, but it didn’t affect the smoking experience at all.” –Jeff (ExpendableYouth)

Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Overall Experience: 91

“This was a really nice smoking experience, and went for a little bit over two hours. This would be a nice smoke to have with a cocktail and a couple of friends.” –Jeff (ExpendableYouth)

“Overall, this was a very good cigar in my opinion. I feel as though it could have scored higher had it been a shorter smoke that offered more complexity. However, the nice subtle flavors coupled with the ease of smokeability made this a cigar worth trying again. Most of the longer cigars that I have smoked became very harsh towards the final third, however, this cigar stayed true to its mild to medium strength and made it more enjoyable throughout. If you like mild to medium cigars and are looking to have a long sit down smoke, this is definitely the one to try.” –Steve (ThaGreatWazoo)

“I really would like to give this stick another chance after seasoning it for a year or so. The flavors were really promising, but the tar overwhelmed everything and, quite literally, left a bad taste in my mouth.” –Kent (Throck)

“Overall, while it initially looked pretty dang good, and meant to me that it’d probably be a decent smoke, it was a case of looks being deceiving. By the mid point of the second third, I had hit the wall frustration-wise from the almost non-stop touch ups of the burn, trying to hold it to try and protect the steadily disintegrating wrapper and then when it began affecting the binder and not wanting to even stay lit, I finally called it done, chucked it and wrote it off. It was a very frustrating 90 minutes that’s for sure.” –Robert (NavyPiper)

“Overall, the cigar was just OK for me. The first two thirds were pretty decent but the last third was just real bad..” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)

Smoking Time (in minutes): 79

 

Reviewer	Appearance	Aroma	1/3	2/3	3/3	Draw	Burn	Constr.	Overall Experience
Jeff	ExpendableYouth)	85	88	90	90	90	90	90	90	92
Steve	ThaGreatWazoo)	92	90	90	88	90	90	93	90	90
Kent	Throck)	88	92	92	92	70	95	95	85	92
Robert	NavyPiper)	90	88	88	88	70	85	70	75	70
Wes	SosaCub4Life)	90	92	95	92	82	97	97	97	90

To view the complete scores and notes, click here.

Blind Cigar Review: Cubanacan | Mederos Connecticut Fifty 4