Initial Thoughts
This is my absolute first Macanudo cigar. I’ve heard about the brand for a long time, but I’ve always shied away from it. I know they’ve been around forever, and their flavor has been nothing but consistent. I’ve just never taken the plunge to try one of their cigars.
However, about a month ago, I was at my end of the Summer season rec league ice hockey party. (Yes I play ice hockey, don’t believe me just check out our website www.darkknightsofnashville.com, I’m the big guy in the middle.) Anyway, we have a party at the end of our summer season, and a teammate brought over a stash of cigars. He had just got an order in from Cigar.com, and wanted to share. I was more than happy to oblige him. In this stash, there wasn’t much that I desperately wanted to try. I did however, see this Macanudo Cafe Crystal in a glass tube. I thought to myself, hey this looks like the best cigar out of the bunch. I’m gonna snag that one. I reached in to pull the tube out and the glass was cracked and practically destroyed. So, needless to say it’s not in any of the pictures. You’re just gonna have to trust me that at one point and time there was a glass tube. Have I ever steered you astray? I didn’t think so.
I wasn’t exactly sure when I wanted to smoke this cigar. I feel like there is a time and place for every cigar, and today was the day to light up this Macanudo Cafe Crystal. To be honest, I just needed to get out of the house, because my fiance had her friends over for the afternoon and I couldn’t handle any more girl talk.
Because the tube was broken, I wasn’t able to identify what specific blend this cigar was. I found it later after I had finished smoking. Come to find out, it was named the Cafe, which kinda makes sense for when and where I was smoking it. I think that’s enough build up, let’s dive into the review.
Looks
No flashy packaging needed here for this Macanudo Cafe Crystal … (other than the sweet glass tube it was stored in.) This cigar is your classic looking cigar. It has a classic parejo shape, not like the figurados that I’ve been reviewing recently. The band on this cigar is fairly modest. Just the word Macanudo across the stop, with their crest in the center, and below all that, it says Handmade – Imported. Fairly cut and dry, and straight to the point if you ask me. Macanudo doesn’t have to make flashy packaging. They’ve been in the game so long, they have brand loyalty coming out of their ears.
The Connecticut shade grown wrapper is absolutely beautiful. The light just sheens off the oil, and makes this light cardboard colored wrapper look elegant and refined. The wrapper is applied so perfectly, that I could barely see the seam. There is one large vein that runs down the barrel, other than that, absolutely flawless wrapper.
I’ve really become a fan of the Connecticut wrapper. To me it doesn’t provide all the flavor, the spice or the sweet that maduros and oscuros provide. It does however, provide character and just a stunning look to a cigar. Connecticut wrapped cigars are always better looking to me than the darker wrapped cigars. They just look so clean and neat rather than dark and rough. Ok, I’ll stop drooling about how this Macanudo Cafe Crystal looks and get under the hood!
Function
Luckily, there was no damage to the Macanudo Cafe Crystal when the glass tube broke. I brought the cigar back from the party, and stored it in my humidor for about a month. When I took it out, I gave it a thorough exam. If the cigar was a man, it probably would have thought it just went in for its yearly prostate check up… I’m just kidding, I wasn’t THAT thorough. I would consider it more of a hernia check (turn and cough).
After thoroughly rolling the cigar between my fingers and examining the triple cap on the head, I gave this cigar the satisfactory two thumbs up. Even signed it’s paper work so it’s ready to be burned. Side note: the triple cap on this cigar is one of the best I’ve ever seen. I tried to get my camera to focus to get a better shot, but none of them really turned out. The lines and the detail on the cap were just outstanding.
Without tasting or nosing the cigar, I’m blown away by the construction. There is a reason Macanudo has been in business as long as they have. They know what they’re doing. Since this is a traditional parejo shape, I wanted to use my V cutter to open this bad boy up. The wedge was removed so easily, it was like slicing through warm cake. No not butter, that metaphor is over used, and plus butter is bad for you, cake is way healthier and tastes better. So deal with it! Seriously, though I can’t say enough about the construction of this Macanudo Cafe Crystal, up to this point it’s flawless.
I tested the cold draw, and no surprise here, it drew perfectly. This is just a classic manufactured cigar. I’m actually somewhat upset with myself that it’s taken this long to have a Macanudo. Ok, you all want to put fire to it? Yeah… Let’s get lit. (I’ve been seeing that saying on forums lately so I figured I’d use it too.)
Smoking
I’m going with the ole soft flame Xikar Stratosphere that I reviewed a few months back to light up this Macanudo Cafe Crystal. Just to let you know, it’s kind of hard to see the flame of a soft flame lighter in the middle of the day. I could hear the gas coming out, and I could see the cigar burning some, but I couldn’t really see where in the hell I was pointing the flame. This caused just a little bit of burnt wrapper on this stick. No big deal, I mean it’s gonna burn up either way right?
The burn on this cigar was excellent. Once I got past the burnt part of the foot, it was just cruising. I wasn’t paying attention and the next thing I knew, I was past the first third. I got the ash to hold on for about an inch and it was a beautiful white ash. That rolled off perfectly into my ash tray.
The Macanudo Cafe Crystal stayed incredibly consistent all the way down to the nub. I didn’t have to relight or touch up once. As I said before, this cigar was gone before I realized what had happened. Its like someone was smoking in between my puffs. Maybe, I was just so into the moment I forgot about everything else. It’s always amazing how cigars can do that. Ok, enough thoughtful day dreaming, I know you’ve got stuff to get on to reading.
Flavor
With all the buildup I’ve already given this cigar, I bet you’re wanting me to tell you it tastes better than licking the bowl after your mom has just mixed together some homemade chocolate chip cookies!… Well, I hate to disappoint, but nothing is ever going to taste that good. There’s nothing better than Momma’s homemade cookies.
Starting at the foot of the cigar I picked up a slight cedar aroma. Not quite the strength of my cedar shoe trees, but there is a faint note of the beloved vegetation. While nosing the cigar up and down the barrel, I could pick up some light pepper. Although, I don’t anticipate it being too strong since it is a Connecticut wrapper, it did make me sneeze. Probably just because it tickled my nose hairs. … Disgusting I know, I’m sorry.
The pre-light draw of the Macanudo Cafe Crystal brought out a little more of the pepper taste that I picked up on the nose. Nothing too crazy, just enough to let you know that it’s there. Once the cigar was lit everything mellowed out, into a smooth rich and creamy flavor. The smoke was light, and the body was light, and was a great cigar to have in the middle of the afternoon. I believe there is a reason it’s called the Cafe. As I was sitting on my front porch, I could hear the chatter of the females inside of the house. I didn’t let it bother me, because I was too busy being whisked away into bliss. I don’t always have to be wowed by the flavor of a cigar. I like to take in the total experience. For that one hour and 30 minutes on this day, it was a fantastic cigar.
You’re not going to get a ton of flavor out of this Macanudo Cafe Crystal, unless you’re a brand new cigar smoker. If you’re a veteran and are used to full bodied cigars and want something that’s going to hit you in the face, this cigar isn’t for you. But if you’re wanting something that you enjoy while playing a round of golf, or even with your morning coffee, or hell while you’re sitting outside a Cafe. Then this is a great cigar for you. You don’t have to have a full stomach to smoke it, it’s a nice light bodied cigar that burns well and is flawless in construction. It’s everything a cigar should be. There is a time and place for every cigar, its up to you to figure where this Macanudo Cafe Crystal fits in for you.
Would I Buy It Again?
Without a doubt. Now that I’ve actually smoked a Macanudo, I can see why they’ve been around for decades. I think this will probably be my new golf course cigar. Nothing too heavy, great burn, great price, you can’t beat it.
Is It an Every Day Smoke?
For sure, honestly, its the quintessential every day smoke. Light bodied, can be smoked anytime and enjoyed by almost everyone.
Would I Buy a Box?
I would buy a box if I were going on a week long golfing trip. That way I had plenty of cigars for me and all my pals.
Conclusion
Although it’s not packed with flavor, the Macanudo Cafe Crystal is a great cigar. If you’re starting out, give a try and I guarantee it will get you hooked. If you’ve been smoking for awhile, and have skipped over this, go back and give it a try. It might surprise, try smoking it in the morning on a Saturday while watching College Game Day! There are so many things to be said for consistency in the cigar business. For these guys to be around as long as they have been, they have set the very definition of consistency. I’m glad I finally got around to smoking one.
