Brand: Arganese Maduro Chairman
Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5.00 Inches
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Brazilian Mata Fina
Binder: Indonesian
Filler: Dominican
County of Origin: Dominican Republic
Price Per box: $129.99

Brand:
Arganese Cigars are produced by Arganese Dominicana S.A. in Santiago, Dominican Republic. The filler tobacco was harvested from the mountainous region of Villa Gonzalez in 1998 and allowed to age for several years.

The Maduro selection comes in two facings, “Chairman” and “Presidente” and are both available in six sizes. The Arganese Maduro Chairman is said to be the companies Medium blend while the Presidente is their Full bodied selection.

Pre-Light:

Once removing my Arganese Maduro Chairman from its cellophane sleeve I began to look it over. The first thing that caught my eye was the color. The brown Maduro shade was light and had a satin sheen when held up to a light.

There were a few medium sized veins along the wrapper that protruded slightly to give the cigar a mild texture. When pinched the stick felt firm and evenly packed with tobacco. The aroma at both the head and foot were deep and pleasing.

First Third:

After opening up the head of my cigar, I found the draw to be middle of the road. Not too loose and not too tight. The initial flavors were mild and floral. After a quick toast and light I had my Arganese Maduro evenly lit and producing a generous volume of smoke.

The cigar starts off in the medium bodied realm with a sharp finish. There is a sweet pepper flavor that quickly stings the tongue and sinuses then fades just as quickly. The upfront flavors that you would generally expect from a Maduro, such as Coffee and Bitter Chocolate, are very mild at this point.

The ash is light in color and compacted with a thin and even burn line. The resting smoke is light and results in a medium room aroma.

Second Third:

As I smoke deeper into the cigar the flavors are beginning to get richer and more complex. Each puffs leaves me with a light and creamy texture on the walls of my mouth and tongue. The body remains in the Medium range while building ever so slightly. The finish is becoming less sharp but still leaves a brief stinging sensation on the tongue and sinuses. The comfortable Maduro flavors of Coffee and Bitter Chocolate are slowly beginning to build but remain overpowered by a Sweet Pepper flavor.

The behavior of the cigar has been excellent. The ash remains firm and tightly compacted while the burn line is both thin and even. While looking closely at the ash I can easily make out darker lines that made up the veins in the leaf while the tiny oil spots turn a much lighter color than the overall ash.

Final Third:

After an hour and a half I finally reached the final third of my Arganese Maduro Chairman. At this point the body continued to slowly build but never made it further than Medium – Full. The finish remained sharp and gave a quick stinging sensation on the tongue and sinuses while the base flavor slowly transitioned from sweet pepper to bitter chocolate and wood.

The ash remained light in color and compacted with little to no flaking throughout the smoke. The burn was thin and even while producing a generous volume of smoke with each puff. The draw continued to be middle of the road, again not too tight and not too loose, all while producing a cool smoke.

My Thoughts:
I like the way the smoke starts off because it isn’t just another Maduro, there are other characteristics that stand out ahead of the standard Maduro profile that make you hunt for the comfortable flavors typically found in Maduro tobacco. The transition from one flavor to the next was slow and easy to handle. I could really see the changes coming before they took effect which made it easy to smoke.

While the overall smoke is less Maduro than I would have expected I enjoyed it none the less. The sweet pepper and quick stinging sensation reminded me of Nicaraguan Tobacco more than anything else, which I found funny because the cigar does not contain Nicaraguan tobacco. This may be caused by the unique combination of Indonesian binder and the Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper.

All in all, I enjoyed the smoke and certainly wouldn’t pass one up if offered to me.

Happy Smoking