Another day and another cigar this time from the home smoking lounge! Today is the second regional edition I have reviewed from Diplomatico this time from the Canadian region - called The Norteño. This was a 2018/2020 release in the classic Robusto (50 ring gauge by 4 7/8 inches)format and interestingly is the exact same format as a previous Regional Edition from Diplomatico for Cuba from 2015/2017. I have to say the yellow bands from Diplomatico are one of my favourite visually - it portrays a real sense of class and tradition that is unique to Cuban cigars - though this is somewhat misguided as Diplomatico was a post revolution brand founded in 1966. The cigar starts off quite mild with strong earthy and dry grass flavours with a lovely floral cigar aroma. The retro hale is unique and not at all similar to the Spanish regional from the same brand - it’s intense with mild pepper and an almost ‘alcohol’ flavour in the after taste. Let’s just say it gave me flash backs to my heavier drinking days 😂. The middle third mellowed and became quite creamy with just a little pepper when holding onto the smoke. The draw was perfect and the burn was a little lop sided but nothing that distracted my attention. The ash does have a nice grey tint and relatively even appearance though not quite to the same level as a LE. The cigar burnt relatively slowly and gave me a good 50-60 minutes smoking time which for a Robusto size was quite long for me. The final third reached the intensity level of medium plus with strong cedar and an almost syrupy/wet texture to the smoke which was very different from the first third that was dry. This was surprising as the cigar has been sitting in my smoking humidor with only 60% humidity for over well over a month. This resulted in the final third taking more time to smoke than the first 2 thirds and noticeably darkened the colour of my teeth a shade or two. I will definitely hunt down another sample so I can see if this is a normal experience from this release or just a unique one off encounter that Cuban cigars can deliver!
I bought this box in April 2019
the first stick I smoked was in August 2019 the wrap is milk chocolatey the beginning of the stick was hard draw then become okay I think it’s needs more time
the second time was in November 2019, started to shape up still need some time. the third stick was January 2020 finally it is ready, aroma start to appear it’s amazing what a great time
after almost a year reached its puberty the flavor is Mardi grass same as the aroma, the drawer is perfect even burn with white ash