Macanudo Vintage 1997, #3

[tomthirtysix]

...or, something like that

When I got married 3 1/2 years ago, my best man picked up a couple of these for him and I and another of the groomsmen to enjoy. And, man I LOVED that cigar. Since then, I've picked up some scattered singles, and have a couple resting in the humidor right now.

Well, I got out of work a little early today, and took a ride over to the B&M where they bought them. Usually don't go there that often, they did a lot of remodeling to the place. It used to be just cigars and pipes, now there's a freaking Subway inside.

So...while looking around the walk-in, I notice a closed up box of Macanudo 97's tucked away in the corner. I open them up, and grab one out. Man, that cello was yellow! How old could these be?

So, I figured it was worth a whirl. I grabbed one and walked up to the counter. Asked the guy if he had any idea when they were from, he said it's been a couple years since they re-ordered them, since there's not really a lot of demand. Is it possible that this one is from the same box that my best man bought from?

No review yet, but I will be smoking it tonight, and then I'll be putting up the review. I'm hoping these have been kept well... I'll go back tomorrow and pick up the rest. In the meantime, I just wanted to share my excitement with you all. Keep your fingers crossed... I'm hoping these are good!

 

[wanlail]

sweet find bro, i hope you enjoy them. personally, macanudos taste like burnt paper to me?

 

[tomthirtysix]

Taking it out of the cello was great. Wrapper was still beautiful, the cigar felt perfect. The cap seemed a little brittle, so I gave it a little tongue before sacrificing it with my Xi3. Pre-light pull was perfect. Nice draw, sweet cedar taste.

Struck the match, toasted the foot. So far, so good. Took a couple pulls to get it lit, more of that sweet cedar taste. I was loving it at this point. And, unfortunately, that was the highlight of the smoke right there. There was nothing really worth telling you about for the rest of the smoke. The burn was pretty good, even though it seemed to stay at like a 30 degree line the whole smoke. I had to touch it up right before the 1/3 mark, when the first ash fell. And from then on, it burned... well... straight, but crooked.

Right around the halfway point, I got a taste of cinnamon. The first time I have ever gotten that from a cigar. And that only lasted for two draws. The cigar wasn't bad, it was just VERY mild. Too mild for my taste. Getting down around 2/3, the draw started becoming tight. Checked it out, and there was some tar starting to build up. And at this point, the smoke started becoming sweet. Almost too sweet. So, rather than further bastardize my memory of this stick, I just put it out.

I won't say I was disappointed. I knew going in that there was a risk involved with it. I would have only been disappointed if the cigar had some big problems - cracked wrapper, plugged, dried out, etc. But there was none of this with the cigar. It just seemed like it mellowed out to the point where I really didn't enjoy it as much as I used to. At one point, I took a sip of some Gentleman Jack, hoping it might do something for me, maybe open up the nasal passage, or show me something from the smoke. And the next draw I took was completely lost in the taste of the Jack.

Overall, I was glad I found it, because for those few hours I was excited about a cigar like I haven't been in quite some time. And even though it didn't live up to my expectations, it was a nice trip while it lasted. Sorry there's no pictures, but I found out once I was getting ready for the smoke that the batteries had died.