Daniel Marshall is most well known for making high-end humidors. He has also released several cigar lines, one of which is the Daniel Marshall DM2 Red Label. Today are reviewing the Daniel Marshall | DM2 Red Label Corona. Daniel Marshall has three regular production lines: DM2 Black which uses a Connecticut Shade wrapper, DM2 White using a Cameroon wrapper, and DM2 Red using a Colorado wrapper. All three lines are blended by with Manuel Quesada. The DM2 White and DM2 Black are rolled at the Quesada Cigars factory in the Dominican Republic. The DM2 Red is rolled at Nestor Plasencia’s factory.
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.
The company says that the tobaccos used in the DMs Red are aged for five years before rolling and the cigars themselves are aged another year after rolling. This blend is a Nicaraguan puro and usess tobaccos from Jalapa and Estelí. The cigar is offered in seven vitolas: Petite Corona: 4 3/4 x 42, Corona: 5 1/2 x 44, Robusto: 5 1/2 x 52, Panatela: 6 x 38, Gigante: 6 x 60, Torpedo: 6 1/8 x 54, Churchill: 7 x 48. All come in 10 count boxes.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Corona
Length: 5 1/2″
Ring Gauge: 44
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Colorado
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Factory: Plasencia Cigar Factory
Blender: Manuel Quesada
Number of reviewers: 5 – Ryan H.(Ryan H.) Mickey T.(irratebass) John A.(John A.) Dave W. (mdwest) Zane G. (Zane)
Price: $9.69
Age: 1 year
Release Date: July 2011
Contributed by: Daniel Marshall
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 88
“Dark brown, corona shaped, triple capped beauty. Very veiny and the seams are barely visible. ” –John A. (John A.)
Aroma: 86
“The cold draw and the aroma of the cigar were matched, producing a somewhat odd, but very pleasant blend of chocolate and herbal notes. ” –Dave W. (mdwest)
Blind Cigar Review: Daniel Marshall | DM2 Red Label Corona
First Third
Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“A nice sweetness right out the gate. I am getting that vegetable flavor on the retro. ” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“Getting a ton of sweetness out the bat with some citrus twang on it So far very good. Not much spice but a bit of an herbal note on the retro. Very Good.” –Zane G. (Zane)”
Second Third
Blind Cigar Review: Daniel Marshall | DM2 Red Label Corona
Flavor: 87
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The second third is alot more interesting several transitions burn is kinda wonky but i attribute this to the ugly wrapper plenty of diffrent flavors from all spice and wood it really isnt the same from one draw to the next it is keeping this cigar interesting.” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
“There is a black ash forming, which has me concerned, and the draw is getting tighter. I am getting some nuts, earth and wood notes though. ” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
Final Third
Flavor: 85
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium
Blind Cigar Review: Daniel Marshall | DM2 Red Label Corona
“The final third transitions to an earthy vegetal leatheriness. I have issues keeping it lit and require a full relight towards the end. Bitterness, char, and black pepper round out the last bit. ” –John A. (John A.)
“Sadly the cigar keeps wanting to go out, I am afraid the humidity in the air is playing havoc on this cigar. I am still getting the earth and wood notes. The sweetness is gone. ” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 91
“Draw was excellent throughout the duration. ” –John A. (John A.)
Burn: 85
“The burn on this cigar was odd. While it was well lit the wrapper seemed to not want to burn as a result I had to touch up more than I would like. ” –Zane G. (Zane)
Construction: 86
“Cigar had a tight draw and a wonky burn throughout. ” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Experience Overall: 86
“Wouldnt mind smoking it again but i wouldnt waste time seeking out this cigar” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
“Sadly the cigar couldn’t withstand the high humidity here. When it did perform it performed well, and I got some nice sweetness, nuts, earth and wood out of it, along with some interesting vegetable notes on the retro. ” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
” Over all the flavors and draw were decent, however the burn and construction issues did not help while this rustic stick burned up very quickly and produced bitter flavors when relit. It was… okay… ” –John A. (John A.)
“I simply wasnt impressed with anything about this stick. Maybe I got a dud? The flavors weren’t horrible. They were just not great either, and were barely present at times. The cigar had several performance issues, and its construction was poor in my opinion. Its certainly not in my top 100 smokes this year. A bottom 5%’er for sure. ” –Dave W. (mdwest)
“Overall this cigar did not perform very well. The first third was great and if the cigar had performed the entire time the way that first third did it would have been a totally different experience. The cigar did not want to stay lit and it really fell flat. ” –Zane G. (Zane)
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.
Blind Cigar Review: Daniel Marshall | DM2 Red Label Corona
Overall Score – 87 – Fair
Blind Cigar Review: Daniel Marshall | DM2 Red Label Corona
Summary
"Overall this cigar did not perform very well. The first third was great and if the cigar had performed the entire time the way that first third did it would have been a totally different experience. The cigar did not want to stay lit and it really fell flat. " -Zane G. (Zane)
