Pinar del Rio Seleccion 2010

(also referred to as Seleccion Reserva Limitada)

Size: 6.5 x 52 (torpedo)

Wrapper: Broadleaf Pennsylvania maduro

Filler: Dominican/Nicaraguan

Price: $5.85

I got a couple of these cigars as part of a PdR sampler a year ago.  I enjoy the Pindar del Rio Habano Sun Grown so much, I thought I should give some of their other blends a try. 

I lit up this cigar two nights ago, with exactly 360 days aging in my humidor.  I paired it with a glass of Belle Meade bourbon.  At first, I thought this cigar might be a barber pole because I noticed the wrapper at the head was very dark, but very light at the foot.  I discovered, though, this was simply a variation of color within a single leaf.  (This made me feel comfortable I was getting a traditional maduro created during curing, rather than a tobacco leaf dyed with vegetable dye.)

I caught subtle hints of cocoa and pepper, but very little of the coffee flavor so often detected in a maduro.  The most noticeable aspect of the cigar was a pronounced creaminess.  The draw was thinner than I like.  Burn was generally good, but I had to touch it up twice to correct a canoe (This was forgivable since a rainstorm moved into the backyard about halfway through, so the stogie was contending with humidity and wind.)

It reminded me of a different cigar but at first I couldn't place what it was.  Then it came to me: Onyx Reserve.  I haven't had an Onyx Reserve since 2003 that I can recall, but this seemed very similar to what I remember. 

This wasn't my favorite taste profile, but it was a good enough cigar I would try another one.