Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro Belicoso – Blind Cigar Review

Cigar Info

In April of this year, Aganorsa Leaf announced a sequel to their successful 2021 Rare Leaf Reserve, Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro. This new cigar is exclusive to their Aganorsa Select Program members. As with the original Rare Leaf blend, the company says the maduro uses only select lots on their best farms that produce the best leaf unique in both flavor and aroma. They have also stated that this is the boldest cigar in the Aganorsa portfolio to date. The blend uses a San Andres Maduro wrapper, double binder, and fillers consisting entirely of Aganorsa grown tobaccos from Jalapa and Estelí.

Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Reserve comes in three sizes: Robusto (5.25 x 52), Toro (6 x 54), and a box pressed Belicoso (6 x52). All three vitolas are presented in 15-count boxes. MSRP goes from $13.50 to $14.50.

Vital Stats:

Vitola: Belicoso
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Factory: Agricola Ganadera Nortena S.A.
Blender: Max Fernandez
Number of reviewers: 5 – Chad M. (Chad Tchad) Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi) Lauren S. (Lauren S.) Bill C.(Bill) Kevin J. (maninblack77)
Price: $14.50
Age: 1 Month
Release Date: May 2023
Contributed by: Aganorsa Leaf

Initial Impressions – Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro Belicoso

Appearance: 93

“Wonderful-looking maduro box-pressed torpedo. It features a dark wrapper with a nice layer of tooth, a gentle box-pressed finish, and a well-rolled belicoso tip.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)

Aroma: 95

“Through the nose, I'm getting an abundance of earth and cocoa notes. Wow, this thing smells amazing. I'm very anxious to light this up!” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)

First Third

Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium

“The blend opens with a wall of deep leather flavor. Throughout the first third leather remains the prominent flavor but there are also rotating notes of earth and fleeting cedar sweetness. It stays just under a medium in strength and the flavors just feel deep and a little drying.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)

“The opening puff is dominated by cedar wood. It leaves a tannic taste on the palate. After a few minutes, a dark chocolate note builds to help balance out the cedar. The retrohale is hot but doesn't have any major notes jumping out at me. The smoke production is lighter than I would have expected but it leaves an oily film on my tongue. The mouthfeel is medium as is the finish.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)

Second Third

Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium

“The second third is where the strength was taken down a notch but that was ok with me. I was still getting tons of earthy notes as well as dark chocolate and some fudge. This is an impressive smoke so far. A beautiful gray ash that just won't let go.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)

“Earth drops away to straight cocoa on the standard draw – one of the most pronounced cocoa flavors I've ever had in a cigar – really tasty, though I would have preferred the complexity stay. Retro picks up the red pepper and black pepper combination. I'm definitely retrohaling more to keep things interesting.” –Bill C. (Bill)

Final Third

Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full

“The coffee flavor has left the flavor of the cigar. The cigar has become hotter and now with mineral earthy flavor with some red pepper spice on the tip of the tongue. The texture of the smoke is still chewy. Retrohale is strong spicy white pepper that is burning a little more than I like.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)

“There weren't any real evident transitions in the final third. But I was ok with that. I got crazy amounts of dark chocolate, coffee, earth, and roasted nut flavors. It was definitely a nub-worthy cigar.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)

Overall Impressions – Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro Belicoso

Draw: 92

“I expected a tight draw due to the vitola but that wasn't the case. Perfect.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)

Burn: 92

“This cigar had a very thin carbon line for the whole smoking process. It was never razor sharp but it was even throughout. There were times, during the smoking experience when the center tobaccos in the bunch would burn slower than the rest. This made for a noticeable point each time I removed the ash.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)

Construction: 92

“Great construction on a hard roll like a torpedo. The biggest complaints were that it didn't hold great ash, and the draw closed up as the cigar went on.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)

Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
Experience Overall: 91

“The first two thirds were really good rich earthy coffee flavor with some baking spice notes. The retrohale was a great black pepper with no burning sensation during the first third, however after that, the retrohale got hotter and turned to more white pepper that burned more. The last part of the cigar for me was a little bit of a letdown compared to the start.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)

“This cigar was a mixed bag. On one hand, it performed as any cigar should. But, the blend delivered an inconsistent flavor profile. There are highlights and lowlights for sure but, in the end, I feel like the blend doesn't live up to the aged wrapper. Maybe some time will do it some good. I think there is a market for this cigar as it showcases some great spice with some sweet characteristics. There are many people that will enjoy it but I feel like it falls outside of my wheelhouse currently.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)

“Overall the was a great heavy blend. I'd suggest a good meal first to balance how deep the flavors felt. Leather, earth, dirt, espresso, cedar, and pepper gave this blend some great complexity blending together well. Starting just under and medium and ending full-bodied with a slight nicotine kick this is a great after-dinner smoke with great construction that I would revisit.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)

“A cigar clearly made with care and featuring a nice, if simplistic, flavor package and top-notch construction that let me focus on the smoking experience instead of fidgeting with my lighter or worrying about how frequently I should be puffing. I would pick more of these up for the right price.” –Bill C. (Bill)

“This is a cigar I could smoke daily. Each flavor just fits my palate perfectly. I loved the coffee, chocolate, earth, and roasted nut flavors. Highly recommended to any seasoned smoker that enjoys these types of maduro cigars. Medium to full-bodied with lots of spice. Very well done.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)

Smoking Time (in minutes): 81

To view the complete scores and notes, click here.

Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro Belicoso – Blind Cigar Review