First let me say that this was so much fun to do! Unamed13 I’m very glad you got a hold of me on IM and asked me to do this. I may have to make something like this a regular feature on the blog.

To recap, I was asked to review and compare two cigars from Sancho Panza, the Double Maduro and the Extra Fuerte.

Luckily enough, I had both of these fine sticks resting in the humidor. The Double Maduro has been in the humidor since August 2005 (7 months) and the Extra Fuerte since October 2005 (5 months).

I’ve heard the Sancho Panza Double Maduro name a lot lately. One of the guys from The Cigar Nation podcast is always talking about this being his every day smoke.

Sancho Panza Double Maduro (Cervantes):

This was the first stick from this box that I’ve had since around September. If memory serves me correctly I burned through the box rather quickly and smoking this guy again, I see exactly why!

The smoke is categorized as a full bodied cigar and it lived up to that category. This guy is jammed packed with distinguishable and consistent flavors. The mild chocolate taste is very discernible in this cigar. You definitely taste it from beginning to end. The mild chocolate flavor gives the occasional spicy notes a nice contrast that keeps your palette on its toes and interested in what this cigars has waiting for you. At the end, you’re greeted with a nice warm, rich velvet chocolate flavor. I actually pulled a Walt here and lost track of how far down I smoked this guy.

Along with the taste of this cigar, the construction is also an eye catcher. It’s a beautiful cigar to smoke. The even burn and nice even draw definitely compliment the slow burn pace of this cigar.

When you add everything up, the taste, construction and price, I see why this could be someone’s everyday smoke.

My Rating = 85/100
Cigar Aficionado = 87/100 (June 2004)

Sancho Panza Extra Fuerte (Madrid):

I purchased a box of these guys in October 2005. My buddy Ghosty and I split the box of 20. I did a review for HPSF back in December and as I remember, this cigar really knocked me on my ass when I first smoked it, that?s a good thing. Sadly, I only have one of these guys left in the humidor (I try to save a pair of every cigar). Ghosty and I will need to split a box again.

Where to start? Like the Double Maduro, the construction and taste are the fine points to this smoke. Making a well constructed cigar must be something Sancho Panza takes very seriously.

Taste wise its all about the pepper! You can actually feel the heat from the pepper build up in your throat. The build up really sets this cigar a part. Only a few other cigars that I’ve smoked have had this affect on me and it adds a nice complexity to the experience. You normally don’t associate smooth with peppery but in this case, the pepper taste was definitely smooth. It wasn’t overwhelming and didn’t try to bully you and force the pepper flavor. It let the heat from the pepper take a natural course.

The ending was okay. The build up I talked about earlier really carried this cigar at the end. It finished smoky but the build up, compensated for it giving you a satisfied ending.

My Rating = 82/100
My Rating = 81/100 (December 2005)
Walt?s Rating = 82/100 (January 2006)
Cigar Aficionado = 91/100 (August 2004)

Comparison:

Difficult to compare, both cigars bring a different experience to the table. The Double Maduro is more of the laid back, relaxing on the deck or on the boat type cigar. While the Extra Fuerte is that breed of cigar that gets you going, kind of like that first cup of joe in the morning. It would be a definite must have smoke for that late night poker game!

So to me, it all comes down to what kind of mood you?re in. Thank the great cigar roller in the sky for blessing us with cigars that compliment everything life throws at us.

Thanks for reading!

My Score Comparison

---