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Casa Magna Colorado Belicoso 

Two veterans of the cigar industry, Manuel Quesada and Nestor Plasencia, combined their thoughts and expertise gained over the years to create the Casa Magna line.  The Casa Magna line is produced by Matasa, a company whose modest beginnings took place in 1974 with just three rollers.  The line’s cigars are rolled in Esteli, Nicaragua, at the Segovia factory owned by Nestor Plasencia, the country’s largest grower of cigar tobacco.  You could say that Manuel Quesada was born for the industry, as his family’s involvement reaches back all the way to the late 1800’s in Cuba, until being forced to move to the Dominican Republic after the Cuban Revolution. 

It is believed that the Casa Magna line was introduced to replace the Joya de Nicaragua Antano 1970.  The Casa Magna Colorado Belicoso measures 6.25 x 54.  It is a Nicaraguan puro cigar, with its filling, wrapping, and binder all coming from the Central American nation.  The wrapper gives the cigar a bit of a reddish color, with veins visible throughout.  The reddish color of the wrapper is reflected in the cigar’s name, as “Colorado” means colored in Spanish.  The Casa Magna Colorado Belicoso is soft to the touch with the exception of its veins on the surface.  At its head lies a decent sized band with a rustic look.  The word Magna runs across the band in large letters, and the rest of the band is incorporates a lot of gold along with some yellow, red, and green.  The cigar has an earthy smell and taste before lighting. 

After lighting, the Casa Magna Colorado Belicoso has a nice, steady burn.  As for the flavors, the overall tone of the cigar is rather coarse and natural, but there are a few highlights interspersed.  At times a sweetness comes through, as well as some spice.  You can also expect a bit of a nutty and coffee flavor, although not extremely noticeable.

Generally speaking, the Casa Magna Colorado Belicoso is a quality smoke.  A nice slow burn accompanied by bold, earthy flavors with some changeups thrown in make it a good choice for varying occasions.  A single can be purchased for around $6.  It should be noted that the Robusto version of the Casa Magna Colorado actually won best cigar of 2008 by Cigar Aficionado.  Combine the affordable price with the recent accolades, and you have a cigar that could be hard to find, but worth the search.  The Casa Magna Colorado Belicoso receives 3.75 stars.