A while back, I tried out the Quesada Selección España Robusto at Just for Him in Springfield, MO. Despite the raving from everyone in the shop that day, I didn't care much for the cigar. I have heard the the corona size is much better. Well, I was in Springfield, again, and decided to grab a couple of the petite corona size and put away.
The wife was working a booth at the local festival today, selling raffle tickets for the "Survivor Stingray" Corvette that had managed to survive the tornado in the courtyard of the hospital. Since I was going to meet her around 7, and to catch Blues Traveler in concert, the boy HAD to nap. So, I got him down easily, and decided it was time to give these another chance...
Quesada Selección España Petite Robusto
This 4-inch by 50 ring gauge cigar is made at the MATASA factory in the Dominican Republic. It has Dominican and Nicaraguan filler, with Dominican binder. It sports an Ecuadorian Arapiraca wrapper. I believe I paid somewhere around $7-8 at Just for Him in Springfield MO.
This line of cigars, as most of you have heard by now, was created for the Spanish market. Then, it began popping up in select shops around the U.S. I am unsure of the actual distribution of it, now, but seems to be a bit easier to find, now.
Construction:
Silky light to medium brown colored wrapper, with very numerous tiny smooth veins visible. Cap clipped very cleanly using my Xikar Xi carbon fiber cutter. At the beginning of smoking, a split occurred in the the wrapper about the end of the 1/3 point of the cigar; I do not believe it caused any issues. Upon removal of the band, further into the cigar, the wrapper shredded badly from glue and the thin, delicate wrapper shed from the cigar like a snake at Dan's place. So, the final third was wrapper-less to the nub!
Prelight:
An almost oatmeal-like aroma from the unlight cigar wrapper. The cold draw through the stick was a slightly sweet cocoa, and maybe wood.
Draw:
Draw was close to spot-on in the beginning. The middle of this cigar showed some restricted draw, but not overly poor.
Burn:
A mainly even burn, with some waviness to it. The amount of light gray/white smoke it emitted was insane. This little guy kept a constant stream of smoke wafting from the foot and the open cap. I did have a few touch-ups needed in the final third, when I went "nekked" on the cigar.
First Third:
Creamy smoke that coats the inside of mouth! I had a first impression of that grilled meat kind of flavor, that quickly smooths out to a nutty character. A nice white ash clings well to this stick. A very light spice starts coming in around the end of the first third.
Middle Third:
The next third held a little changeup a woody characteristic came into the flavor profile. There was still a light spice, still creamy and nutty on the palette. It burned on through the split like a champ! I began to get a sort of oatmeal raisin cooking flavor. Seems that several different flavors are trying to sneak to the forefront, but they are all blending nicely to create a very balanced smoke. When removing the bands, wrapper tore pretty badly. Am I crazy, or am I getting a smores flavor???
Final Third:
I removed most of the damaged wrapper and continued smoking. Went more into a leather/wood profile, without the wrapper. Spice picked up, and it stayed with the woody notes. It went into a very nice finish, despite the absent wrapper. Ended on a creamy, nutty, slightly spicy flavor, all the way to the nub.
Conclusion:
About 50 minutes to an hour of smoking time. Great flavors, and never really got harsh. I had some wrapper issues, but it was still smokeable. I would have liked to have that lighter wrapper on, during the finish, but not too devastated over it. I really enjoyed this cigar, and am glad I gave it another try. I can't wait to see what the corona is like; as it is championed as the best size for this line. It was an interesting experiment (read: learning experience) to burn that last part without the wrapper. I could really see how the wrapper added some lighter, nuttier notes to the overall experience.
Thanks for taking the time to read this review!
The wife was working a booth at the local festival today, selling raffle tickets for the "Survivor Stingray" Corvette that had managed to survive the tornado in the courtyard of the hospital. Since I was going to meet her around 7, and to catch Blues Traveler in concert, the boy HAD to nap. So, I got him down easily, and decided it was time to give these another chance...
Quesada Selección España Petite Robusto
This 4-inch by 50 ring gauge cigar is made at the MATASA factory in the Dominican Republic. It has Dominican and Nicaraguan filler, with Dominican binder. It sports an Ecuadorian Arapiraca wrapper. I believe I paid somewhere around $7-8 at Just for Him in Springfield MO.
This line of cigars, as most of you have heard by now, was created for the Spanish market. Then, it began popping up in select shops around the U.S. I am unsure of the actual distribution of it, now, but seems to be a bit easier to find, now.
Construction:
Silky light to medium brown colored wrapper, with very numerous tiny smooth veins visible. Cap clipped very cleanly using my Xikar Xi carbon fiber cutter. At the beginning of smoking, a split occurred in the the wrapper about the end of the 1/3 point of the cigar; I do not believe it caused any issues. Upon removal of the band, further into the cigar, the wrapper shredded badly from glue and the thin, delicate wrapper shed from the cigar like a snake at Dan's place. So, the final third was wrapper-less to the nub!
Prelight:
An almost oatmeal-like aroma from the unlight cigar wrapper. The cold draw through the stick was a slightly sweet cocoa, and maybe wood.
Draw:
Draw was close to spot-on in the beginning. The middle of this cigar showed some restricted draw, but not overly poor.
Burn:
A mainly even burn, with some waviness to it. The amount of light gray/white smoke it emitted was insane. This little guy kept a constant stream of smoke wafting from the foot and the open cap. I did have a few touch-ups needed in the final third, when I went "nekked" on the cigar.
First Third:
Creamy smoke that coats the inside of mouth! I had a first impression of that grilled meat kind of flavor, that quickly smooths out to a nutty character. A nice white ash clings well to this stick. A very light spice starts coming in around the end of the first third.
Middle Third:
The next third held a little changeup a woody characteristic came into the flavor profile. There was still a light spice, still creamy and nutty on the palette. It burned on through the split like a champ! I began to get a sort of oatmeal raisin cooking flavor. Seems that several different flavors are trying to sneak to the forefront, but they are all blending nicely to create a very balanced smoke. When removing the bands, wrapper tore pretty badly. Am I crazy, or am I getting a smores flavor???
Final Third:
I removed most of the damaged wrapper and continued smoking. Went more into a leather/wood profile, without the wrapper. Spice picked up, and it stayed with the woody notes. It went into a very nice finish, despite the absent wrapper. Ended on a creamy, nutty, slightly spicy flavor, all the way to the nub.
Conclusion:
About 50 minutes to an hour of smoking time. Great flavors, and never really got harsh. I had some wrapper issues, but it was still smokeable. I would have liked to have that lighter wrapper on, during the finish, but not too devastated over it. I really enjoyed this cigar, and am glad I gave it another try. I can't wait to see what the corona is like; as it is championed as the best size for this line. It was an interesting experiment (read: learning experience) to burn that last part without the wrapper. I could really see how the wrapper added some lighter, nuttier notes to the overall experience.
Thanks for taking the time to read this review!
