Camacho SLR Toro Maduro Review

[The Professor]

OK-- This is my first real review on CS or anywhere, for that matter; so go easy on me.

Sat down tonight after dinner, on order of Poriggity “Mr. 1000”, to smoke a Camacho SLR Maduro. It’s 7:30 p.m., I’m on my front porch with an iced coffee (organic, fair trade Guatemalan).

Pre-Light: this is a nice looking, hefty stick. It’s got a fairly smooth, dark, oily wrapper. There are no flaws, as far as I can tell. To the touch, the SLR is a little springy ... in a good way. I clip the head with my Palio and take an unlit draw -- perfect for my liking (easy, but with just a bit of resistance).

The Light: It may be a bit moist from it’s travels (thanks adamh_25_). I took the torch to it to singe the edges of the foot. Raising the cigar to my mouth, I puffed with the foot over the torch, rolling the stick between my fingers. For a second, I thought it wasn’t going to light; but then came the flames. Within seconds, it was lit.

Initial Impressions: This is a cigar-lovers cigar. Strong, full-flavored, peppery, leathery. It makes me want to grunt. The burn starts just a tad uneven; but nothing that makes me worry too much. I take in a mouthful of rich smoke and delight in these flavors. “But where is the maduro goodness?“ I wonder. As I take some time to write some of this down, the cigar settles in....

First Third: After about 1/4-1/2 an inch (I guess that would be about a centimeter for you metric system folks), the maduro sweetness kicks in. Yummy. The burn is now dead-even, too. I’m starting to taste hints of cocoa (the maduro, no doubt) and coffee, which makes the pairing with my iced coffee seem oh-so-right. The smoke is very cool on my palate. There’s a flavor coming through that I can’t quite put my finger on ... something like a light Latin American coffee ground (slightly bitter, slightly sweet, with an underlying earthiness). I break the ash myself at this point because I don’t want to drop it all over myself. Upon doing so I learn that I really could have left it be for a while--heavy, solid, gray ash with no flaking.

Second Third: The spiciness starts to return as I enter the second third. The flavors that I felt a hint of earlier are coming on full force. Strong Latin American coffee, bitter chocolate, and even a hint of cream -- this puppy has it all! The body that had mellowed out a little in the first third is beginning to return to medium-full. I’m also starting to get a bit of a buzz off this. As I near the end of the second third (and am getting eaten alive by the skeeters), another flavor is entering

Last third: Enter the nuttiness. I hadn’t tasted it before; but there is now a hint of some kind of nut on top of the coffee. There is also a distinct leathery note on my palate. The mellowness I was experiencing in the middle is now giving way to a fuller flavor once again with lots of spice and still an underlying sweetness on the lips and tip of the tongue. While the taste spikes (in a good way), the body is still medium-full and smooth.

Finish: Spicy and smooth still with lots of flavor. I didn’t nub it.

Overall impressions: I liked this smoke a lot. It’s not the best smelling cigar in the world (read: you’re not going to impress your friends or neighbors if they don’t like cigars), but it’s definitely worth it for those of us who really like medium-full cigars. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give it an 8. If I had my choice, I’d probably still pick a Padron or LGCSR maduro. That said, I’ll definitely be looking to make Camacho SLRs part of my rotation. Next month, I’ll definitely be adding a fiver of these to my bid sheet on the devil site! Special thanks go out to adamh_25_ for sending me this fine fine smoke, as well as Poriggity for convincing me to smoke it tonight. Anything that seems like in this review is stricktly my fault.

[Poriggity]

Bravo my friend, Bravo! Nice review, and I find I agree with you.. the SLR is a good smoke, and definetly something to add to the rotation, but there are also better camacho's out there. I may have to send you a diploma and a corojo to review next
Scott

[Joekendall04]

I just tried my first Camacho the other day (corojo figurado) and was extremely pleased. Glad to hear their other lines are pretty good as well.

[adamh_25_]

Wow, good review. I felt like I was smoking it while you were talking haha. I'm glad you liked it. Out of Camacho's, the SLRM is tied for 1st for my fav. The El-Legend Ario I sent you is my 2nd fav. The other that is in the 1st tie is a Coyolar Puro, which my shop is currently out of due to them moving the 25th(not buying more until the move). After the move I may have to send you one....Especially after hearing the talk of how you cant count haha. Hope you like the other as well.
Adam

[xxwaldoxx]

Excellent review!

I havent had the Maduro version, but after reading your review, and the experience i had with the natural version, ill definately have to pick one up and give it a shot.

[catfishm2]

For you first review I think you did an excellent job, congratulations. I for one am looking forward to more. The SLR Maduro is one of my all time favorites. This full bodied smoke is not for the weak of heart or stomach for that matter. I had a Perfecto that did me in a few months back... . Still enjoyed it thoroughly.

[The Professor]

Thanks for the positive feedback, folks. I think I'll start doing one of these every week or so. It's kinda fun ... and challenging, which is a combination I like.

[tazziedevil]

THanks for the review!

I have one in the bottom of my humi, looking forward to smoking it now!

[The Professor]

And I forgot to add something:

This was a long smoke. I didn't finish until 9:00-9:15. Granted, I was taking my time, letting it rest so I could type, talking on the phone once, etc. That said, I never had to re-light or correct the burn.

[Mister Moo]

Great review, Den'k'er. I think you have it nailed - sounds just right. I'd only add that the first one I smoked made the top of my head sweat. (I liked it, but it made me nervous.) There are always a couple in my humi - lurking, poised, waiting to pounce like a catfish on a hapless duckling.

[akatora]

Nice review!!! I´m going for the Camacho 11/18 and I´m already looking forward to it.