Up for review this week is the Camacho SLR Maduro in the Monarca size (50 x 5.00). This cigar consists of a Corojo Binder, Corojo Filler, and Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro Wrapper. The SLR Maduro, Which stands for Special Limited Reserve, is hand rolled in Honduras.

During my initial inspection I was pleased with the appearance of this stick. The wrapper was a rich brown color and had small veins and mildly oily wrapper. The aroma at both the wrapper and foot was nice and aromatic. Typical of Camacho cigars I found it to have a few soft spots as I gently pinched the cigar from head to foot.

After a quick toast and light I had the cigar burning evenly and producing a good amount of smoke. The first puff caught me off guard with its power and I felt a little overwhelmed. After a few more puffs the power mellowed out and made for an enjoyable Full Bodied smoke. The base flavor had a mild coffee component to it, but seemed to be a little washed out by powerful Pepper and Spice Flavors. The finish felt heavy on the tongue and palate and lasted for a few minutes before fading.

As I puffed along and found myself into the second third of my Camacho SLR Maduro I found that the powerful Body of the cigar was mellowing out slightly. The bit of bite I was experiencing was beging to smooth out and become more enjoyable the deeper I smoked into the stick. The base flavor remained pretty much the same with little change and the Finish seemed to get just a little smoother and shorter on the palate. The draw remained free and produced an appealing volume of thick smoke.

As time progressed I found myself down into the final third of my cigar. The base flavor was mostly comprised of a rich and hearty Corojo flavor with the Pepper and Spice flavors fading into the background. The body worked its way deeper into the full spectrum and the finish remained heavy and somewhat short on the palate. At this point I was detecting a bit of a Nicotine kick that I was not enjoying so much. After a quick purge most of the unenjoyable flavors faded, but only for a few puffs before returning. The draw remained very good as did the volume of smoke on each puff. The ash remained light in color and firm while the burn rate was nice and slow as well as even.

Overall I think that this was an enjoyable cigar. It is not for those who favor Medium bodied cigars, but worth a try if a powerful cigars fits your taste preference.