Casa Cuevas La Mandarria was announced back in May and started shipping in July of this year. La Mandarria translates to “the sledgehammer” and references the tool used by thieves that robbed the entire inventory of Casa Cuevas cigar earlier in the year. La Mandarria is a limited edition of which 500 boxes were made. It was shown off at IPCPR 2019.
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.
Casa Cuevas La Mandarria was rolled at the Casa Cuevas factory, Las Lavas in the Dominican Republic. This factory has rolled cigars for other brands for many years, but only recently the company released cigars under the brand Casa Cuevas. The company describes it as a full-bodied cigars, which is a first for the Casa Cuevas brand. It is sold in only one vitola, a 6 x 52 toro chosen by Master Blender Luis Cuevas Sr. The blend uses an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper and features a pig tail and shaggy foot. Casa Cuevas La Mandarria sells for $12.00 per cigar.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Toro Length: 6″ Ring Gauge: 52 Country of Origin: Dominican Republic Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Binder: Dominican Republic Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaraguan Factory: Tabacalera Las Lavas S.R.L. Blender: Luis Cuevas Sr. Number of reviewers: 5 – Alan(Eulogy) John I. (John I.) James H.(Keikan Jim) Kevin J. (maninblack77) Nate H. (SineQuaNon) Price: $12.00 Age: 3 Months Release Date: August 2019 Contributed by: Casa Cuevas Cigars
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 95
“My cigar nerd sense is tingling. I’m a sucker for a broom foot which this one has. The foot has a slightly more tanned leather yellow look to it’s mahogany colored wrapper counterpart. The wrapper is beautifully applied, the veins are delicate, and the seams are nearly invisible leading up to a man bun pigtail cap. I know that I’m mere moments away from cutting the cap off but the combination of pigtail and broom foot give a very impressive appearance. ” –Alan (Eulogy)
Aroma: 94
“The wrapper was musky and earthy with the slightest hint of sweetness. The foot was a mixture of cacao, baking spices and something I can’t quite put a name on. ” –James H. (Keikan Jim)
First Third
Blind Cigar Review: Casa Cuevas | La Mandarria
Flavor: 95 Strength: Medium Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“I actually enjoy a broom foot so I can tell the quality of the tobacco without the wrapper for a moment. There’s a strong leather, mild pepper, cream, and slight earth note from just the tobacco foot. The smoke output is great and the draw tightens just slightly when the burn line does get to the wrapper. It’s a slightly drier leather note from the oily foot with a bit more spice. After about an inch a slight stone fruit sweetness starts to develop with a wheat bread finish.” –Alan (Eulogy)
“Starts out bright and sharp, especially on the retrohale with a rather dry finish. Once the wrapper begins to burn the flavor rounds out opening into sweet, rich oaky flavor. Fifteen minutes in the sweet oaky notes continue to dominate, but there are distinct caramel flavors apparent along with a background of baking spices. ” –John I. (John I.)
Second Third
Flavor: 94 Strength: Medium Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
Blind Cigar Review: Casa Cuevas | La Mandarria
“Leather and cedar are at the forefront of the profile with a slightly damp earthiness, wheat bread, and hint of stone fruit thrown in for good measure. At the halfway point the flavors ramp up in intensity but are mostly unchanged. The strength ticks up to a full-medium and I’m finding a slight nuttiness that wasn’t present before. ” –Alan (Eulogy)
“Going into the second third, the cigar was burning perfectly and had a thick nearly razor sharp burn. So far, sweet cedar, light baking spices and white pepper have been the theme. There was one pull on the cigar right at the start of the 2nd where I received a blast of a charred note that came and went in an instant. The ash is tight and still holding on firmly with no soft spots to be found the length of the stick. The roller of this cigar was on point and a true artist. At the end of the second third the cigar had a slight amp in spice and strength which hopefully is setting up a nice transition into the final third. ” –James H. (Keikan Jim)
“The final 1/3 kicked things up another notch, and in a very good way. The flavors became even more intense and pronounced, the smoke
Blind Cigar Review: Casa Cuevas | La Mandarria
rich and full. The spice also stepped up again, just shy of making my eyes water, but I like it! The burn was less consistent than the previous sections, but still acceptable and did not require a touch up. ” –Nate H. (SineQuaNon)
“Finally things open up! Got some black pepper on the back of my throat which wasn’t overpowering and complimented the leather quite well. Still not wowing me but it was a solid cigar.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 94
“During the first third it got just a little bit too snug but loosened up around the halfway point. It was never plugged but was just a little bit of a chore for about thirty minutes. ” –Alan (Eulogy)
Burn: 95
“The burn was consistently solid throughout the first two thirds, and the last third was still decent. Never had to worry about it going out or needing a touch up. Can’t ask for much more than that.” –Nate H. (SineQuaNon)
Construction: 94
“The little details just set it a step above. I wrote earlier that I was a sucker for pigtail caps and a broom foot; and this was a beautiful example of both. There were no soft spots, blemishes, and the tight seams just made it look like something I wanted to smoke.” –Alan (Eulogy)
“I knew from the look and smell of this cigar I was in for a treat and it didn’t disappoint. Premium cigars should just preform this well in terms of construction, smoke output, and flavor. I think if there was just a bit more dynamic flavor profile changes it would have put it over the top. Still there’s so much here to like I have to recommend picking up a fiver and just enjoying a terrific cigar. ” –Alan (Eulogy)
“I liked this a ton. In terms of potency it definitely caught your attention without being overwhelming. Fantastic flavors. The range of spices, sweetness, coffee and cream, along with the initial blast of dry pepper were a real joy. It’s official, I’m in love. ” –John I. (John I.)
“The combination of beauty, flavor and near perfect construction led to a beautiful smoking experience. This is definitely a box worthy cigar in my humble opinion. ” –James H. (Keikan Jim)
“Overall, enjoyable smoke. I wish the flavors had been more pronounced. Seemed to be very muted at times. Not sure if it’s because it’s a fresh cigar or fresh tobacco but age would do wonders for this. I’d give it an 87. I’d smoke it again just to see what age does to them. ” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)
“This is a solid cigar, start to finish; no issues with smoking it, and unlike many cigars, it got better and better the further I got into it; pleasantly surprising. The ash was truly beautiful, and the smoke became the thick, rich, velvety kind that I truly love. The flavors, though relatively simple, were delicious. Definitely a quality cigar that I would love to try in a different vitola.” –Nate H. (SineQuaNon)
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.
Blind Cigar Review: Casa Cuevas | La Mandarria
Overall Score – 95 – Excellent
Blind Cigar Review: Casa Cuevas | La Mandarria
Summary
"I knew from the look and smell of this cigar I was in for a treat and it didn't disappoint. Premium cigars should just preform this well in terms of construction, smoke output, and flavor. I think if there was just a bit more dynamic flavor profile changes it would have put it over the top. Still there's so much here to like I have to recommend picking up a fiver and just enjoying a terrific cigar. " -Alan (Eulogy)
