cigar review
BRAND: Bucanero
NAME: Cañon Cubano Maduro
TYPE: Parejo
LENGTH/RING GAUGE: 5.5 x 60
WRAPPER: Nicaraguan
BINDER AND FILLER: Nicaraguan, Honduran, Italian and Costa Rican
DATE OF PURCHASE: 5/15/2007
DATE OF RATING: 7/8/2007
TIME IN HUMIDOR (months): 1.8
LOOK AND FEEL: 90
FLAVOR AND AROMA: 92
BURN: 88
OVERALL SCORE: 90.0
STORAGE CONDITIONS: These gigantic cigars have been resting in my Aristocrat humidor at 73ºF and 70%RH. They are a new addition to the Bucanero line for 2007, and possess an interesting four-nation blend of tobaccos. This is the first rating of the Bucanero Cañon Cubano Maduro here at Stogie Fresh. 
TASTING NOTES: At first glance, you will notice that this cigar really takes up some space. Its girthy 60-ring gauge looks and feels heavy. The Nicaraguan Maduro wrapper is a dark chocolate-brown that is leathery to the touch. Very little, or no sheen is visible along this delicious looking wrapper. An olfactory probing proves enticing with the aromas of earth and hay.
I deftly clip the cap with my Palió cutter and note that the ring gauge of this cigar almost exceeds the usable limits of this type of cutter, but I adapt to the situation and make due. A pre-light draw displays an easy draw with heavy notes of earth. After toasting and lighting, I settle in for a long smoke.
The cigar starts out with a mild earthy theme in regards to flavor. Flavors of cocoa, wood, coffee, and light spice wave in at different times. But the main theme is an “Earthiness” at its core; kind of like that one note that you always hear when bagpipes are being played. This balanced richness continues to build during the entire experience without ever being overpowering.
This cigar provided a gray ash that was flowered at the foot and cracked and feathered along its sides. I was able to coax an ash from foot to band (approx. 1 ¾ inches) before I gently and easily rolled the ash into the ashtray. Although it rolled off in one piece, dissecting the ash showed little structure.
The burn developed scalloped edges that were easily controlled by rotating the cigar. By the halfway point, the cigar developed a “canoe.” (A canoe is a situation in which one side of the cigar does not combust, hence, resembling a canoe.) I gave the cigar some time to catch-up, but decided that, “this dog couldn’t hunt” and gave it a little touch-up with my lighter. Even with that, the cigar never did again burn normally.
This is an enjoyable and promising cigar that would be good for either the “Newbie” smoker, or the experienced one. It has many interesting characteristics and nuance changes that one must pay attention to in order to fully appreciate. We’ll give this one some more time to rest and rate it again in three months.
~Blake
Bucanero: Cañon Cubano Maduro
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
