You review enough cigars and you start wondering...wondering if you really do have to pay big cake to get a decent smoke. Cuesta Rey kindly reminds us, the answer is no. You review enough cigars and you start wondering...wondering if you really do have to pay big cake to get a decent smoke. Cuesta Rey kindly reminds us, the answer is no. The overwhelming surprise of this months staff reviews came in the form of the Cuesta Rey No. 7 Maduro. If you remember, we reviewed the natural version of this cigar just over a year ago in October of 1999. The natural was deemed a "better than average" cigar with a C+ rating. As you can see from our grade on the current maduro, this little guy is an upgrade. We begin with Hollywood looks, a nicely darkened maduro wrapper that is free of flaws. The wrapper is accented with the always beautiful and complex Cueste Rey Centenario band. Moving on to construction, one of our reviewers was moved to comment "This cigar also had a great firmness to the construction; the filler was packed perfectly in my opinion." There were no hollow or soft spots mentioned by any of our reviewers. Upon lighting the gracious comments continued. "When I light my lighter to warm this stogie, the smell was very nice, chocolate, coffee, and a little hint of nuts." Not uncommon, as reviewers were driven to CA like descriptions to nail down the aroma. Finally the taste. Universally praised for a mild yet personable taste from a maduro. The simple yet fulfilling draw from the cigar allowed folks to come up with a bounty of pleasurable flavor descriptions. "I got to tell you, this may be one of the least expensive cigars I have ever smoked, but the flavor kept me thinking about it for a long time after I was finished smoking!" Couple the previous comment with the following, and I don't think we could say it better. "The taste too me, was almost just like the smell, chocolate, coffee, and a little more of the nuts came through, it was sublime, I almost burned my lips trying to smoke it all the way to the end." One of the questions we always ask in our reviews is whether or not the reviewer would buy this cigar with their own money...there wasn't one negative response. Consider the Cuesta Rey a must try next time your nosing around your tobacconist. (Editors Note: Although normally 5 people review each staff review cigar, the Cuesta Rey No. 7 had 8 people reviewing it. Vital Statistics: Shape = Robusto Length=4 1/2" RG =50 Wrapper=Conn. Broadleaf Filler: Dom. Rep. Binder: Dom. Rep. Estimated Cost = $ 4.00