Maria Mancini De Gaulle (maduro) Review

[j6ppc]

Been wanting to try this cigar since I'd had the MM
Magic Mountain both Nat and Maduro (both go to smokes IMHO).

Tried a single from a local B&M ($7- per stick; Kalifornia go figure). Seemed promising so ordered a box of degaulle maduro's from JRcigar - upon arrival the first one seemed promising but
still a little travel weary and... well... wet.

Had another
a week after delivery - first 1/3 boring.
second 1/3 better but *boring*.
Last 1/3 popped - *Nice*

14 days later and the (non haiku) review:


Pre light-
Size: 4 3/4 X 52
Wrapper Color: Dark Brown (M)
Wrapper Type: Costa Rica
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Nicaragua
Shape: Parejo Square (box) Pressed
(have I mentioned I like box pressed smokes?)
cut- easy w/my new palio = like butter

Pre light draw: a little grassy w/ a hint of sweetness
Appearance: choco brown maduro wrapper, was oily and promising.

First 1/3 - sweet and chocolaty - nice maduro flavour.

second 1/3 Less choco more pepper- *nice*

Last 1/3 Habanero chocolate bomb very tasty and interesting. Nubbed it.

Conclusion - Bought a box of these even though the reviews said "can't believe these are from the same folks who brought us the Magic Mountain " (paraphrased).
These are excellent smokes and I think some will have a home in my humi for the forseeable future. Give these a few weeks rest and you'll be (IMHO) pleasantly surprised.

Also -- construction, draw and ash were nearly perfect.

Enjoy...


Jon

[Ermo]

Now I must try one for myself. Great objective review.

[txmatt]

Good sticks, and a great bargain if you buy the larger "Barn" cabinet from JR, brings 'em under $2 a stick..

The Costa Rican maduro can have finicky burn - it is a problem I have had with any cigar wrapped in this leaf. They smooth out better than the H2000 though so I usually go with the maddie just count on keeping my lighter nearby for touch ups..

-Matt-

[papajohn67]

Pulled one out of the humi the other night that had a good 5 months + on it, was good, not great but a decent smoke for the $. All of my MM's have improved with a little time, the Magic M, the De Gaulle & the Robusto Larga.

[jcruz1027]

Great stogie to review! I love em but my wife hates the smell that these guys produce. For whatever reason the "stank" (my wife's words) tends to be more smelly and linger longer than other stogies.

[Tristan]

Great review! I'm going to have to try one of these. I just had my first MM maduro the other day from a sampler NCRadioMan hooked me up with and it was wonderfull!

[air1070]

I have a box of the same Cigars. Ordered them last month. I've smoked two thus far, and I think they will benefit with a bit of age. The one I smoked right after shipment seemed a bit harsh...I smoked one last week and it improved, but still a bit on the harsh side and I had a few burn issues. I'm gonna leave these alone for awhile. Good smoke for the price, no question about that.

[Baric]

Cigar looks great in the picture and congrats on the fair report!

[billybarue]

Revisited this cigar this morning after some more time in the Humi. Purchased in Aug '06.

Just seems to get a little better as time goes by. Nice little smoke with not much to add to reviews already made. Agree with TXMatt, had some burn issues (mostly just uneven, with a little tunneling). Not a great ash, flaky and fragile. Ash I don't care about, but I would have liked a little better burn, but I guess that is the nature of the wrapper on this one.

Retail at JR for $44/20 box, but you can do much better at the auction site at JR (BTW an auction on these closes out tomorrow afternoon - http://jrcigar.com/index.cfm?page=ci...uctionID=53842)

If you are looking for a good bargain smallish maduro I think these compare strongly to the Consuegra #84 (although the # 9 is closer in size) maduro and Tampa Sweethearts.

I got mine at auction for $29.75 (+ $2.50 Sh) at JR auction site. At that price they are sort of like "a bundle in a box". I now favor mostly Nicaraguan NC's, and although this one has Nic filler it has a Honduran binder and Costa Rican wrapper which makes the flavor profile different. I would recommend the Famous 3000 robusto ($40/20 bundle) over these for my tastes, but if you like a nice maduro (rich, slightly sweet, and pretty smooth) these may be right up your alley.

Very happy to have them in my humi for the price I paid - @ $1.60 per stick after shipping.

Cheers,

BillyBarue

[floydp]

Damn I missed this review the first time around. Nice review Jon and Billy. One of the first boxes of cigars we bought. Good inexpensive smoke. I tend to like the sweeter and a little less price of the TS maduros. To me the De Gaulle's are a little better than the connies in this size and not quite as good as the TS's.

[papajohn67]

Originally Posted by floydp

Damn I missed this review the first time around. Nice review Jon and Billy. One of the first boxes of cigars we bought. Good inexpensive smoke. I tend to like the sweeter and a little less price of the TS maduros. To me the De Gaulle's are a little better than the connies in this size and not quite as good as the TS's.

Just finished up another one of these this afternoon that had 9+ months on it and it was a GREAT smoke!!. Pick them up, give them some time and they are a heck of a smoke for the money.

[c2000]

Good reviews,,never had one..I do find that most of the stuff I get from JR is very wet..

Jerry in Minnesota.

[j6ppc]

Now you guys are going to make me dig one up as well- these have been resting for the better part of 5 months now.

[smokemifyagotem]

Havent had a Mancini in years, but I used to smoke them religiously about 5-6 yrs ago. If there is ONE thing I remeber most about these smokes its that they improve DRAMATICALLY with humi time. Out of the box they were terrible and not worth lighting, but give them 2 weeks and they are good. Give them a few months and they are great.