Quesada Oktoberfest
Today we will be taking a look at a cigar that I have been very much anticipating, the Quesada Oktoberfest “Uber”! We reviewed the wonderful Quesada Sellecion Espana cigar a few months ago as well as the new Casa Magna Domonus (also made by Manuel Quesada) a few weeks ago and frankly both cigars completely knocked our socks off, this has given me great anticipation towards the Oktoberfest cigar and I am really excited to finally be reviewing it. The term Oktoberfest brings up one thing and one thing only in our minds…BEER. This is exactly what Manuel Quesada was going for in fact it’s meant to be paired with a hearty beer often accompanied with Oktoberfest and the cigar itself was blended to these specifications. The cigar is quite a sight to see, it is a dark, oily looking Dominican Puro that will only be available in two sizes, a 5 ½ x 52 double robusto called “The Bavarian” and a monstrous 6 x 65 called appropriately “The Uber”. The cigar will be available in limited Quantities of 500 boxes of 20 per vitola and will be shipped to stores in a couple weeks just in time for Oktoberfest. The idea is that you will pair this with your favorite Oktoberfest beer, unfortunately I don’t drink so I will not be pairing this with anything however I can imagine the flavors will only be enhanced by pairing it with beer….
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Let’s get to it!
- Cigar Reviewed: Quesada Oktoberfest
- Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 3
- Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
- Wrapper: Dominican Cibao Valley
- Binder: Dominican Republic
- Filler: Dominican Cuban Seed Criollo, Olor Viso, Ligero
- Size: 6 inches
- Ring Gauge: 65
- Vitola: Uber
- Price: $8.95 ($143 box of 20)
- Number of Cigars Released: 500 boxes of 20 (10,000 cigars) per vitola
- Release Date: End of September/Early October 2011
Looking at this cigar for the first time is quite a thing to see, it’s probably the biggest cigar, ring gauge wise, that I have smoked to date. It’s a whopping 65 ring gauge that looks even bigger than it sounds. It has a beautiful, oily, dark chocolate wrapper with an almost Rosado shade to it. There are a few veins here and there but it’s an Ultra smooth cigar with a tight pack and seamless wrap. The cigar smells of sweet tobacco, cedar and leather. The draw is mellow but flavorful with notes of cocoa, cedar and a dense earthy tobacco.
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Starting off in the First Third I am hit with a nice spice and pepper kick, initial flavors are woody with some coffee bean and leather. As the cigar progresses the spice and pepper fades a touch but is definitely still there, the flavors evolve a bit and start to get a dark semi sweet chocolate as well as a very woody, dark chocolate and coffee finish. To my surprise this cigar is a solid medium body and it puts of massive amounts of smoke, the aroma is very rich in sweet chocolate which contrasts nicely with the more semi sweet flavor.
Coming into the Second Third I experience a little more complexity in flavors, the wood, dark chocolate, and leather are still in the forefront but I am now getting a slight nuttiness on the finish, it’s a very raw, nutty flavor with a touch of sweetness, like cashew. There are a lot of deep, rich flavors going on with the cigar bordering on bitter here and there but I think that would be masked while drinking a hearty Oktoberfest beer.
Finishing up in the Final Third the cigar changes up very nicely and gets creamy, I am detecting a more sweet chocolate in place of the semi sweet and there is a return of spice and pepper, especially through the nose. The finish is long and flavorful with a woody, creamy, leathery mix. The construction was spot on as well with a good draw and burn throughout the whole smoke.
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Final Notes:
- I smoked both of the Vitolas and surprisingly, flavor wise, I enjoyed the Larger 65 ring gauge (The Uber) more so than the 52 ring gauge (The Bavarian). I am not a fan of anything over 56 ring gauge but I felt that the “Uber” had more flavor as well as a much cooler smoke, the 52 gauge got a little warm on me and it forced the flavors more towards the bitter side. In my experience I find the smaller cigar have more complexity but for whatever reason I found the Larger one in this case to be more complex.
- I was expecting a more medium to full – Full cigar but for me both samples stayed at a solid medium body and were about a medium in strength but make no mistake these are definitely full flavored. I imagine these are going to taste wonderful with a nice cold, hearty beer.
- These will be shipping out to retailers in about 2 weeks so be on the lookout for them sometime around the end of September, first of October!
- Final Smoking time was 1 hour 35 mins.
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The Bottom Line: Manuel Quesada has always been a force to reckon with and this is proof that he will continue to be, he has put out 3 incredible cigars this year and I haven’t spoken to anyone that hasn’t liked his cigars. I am personally not a huge fan of Dominican Puros, with the exception of litto's stuff and Opus (happy now MB? lol), but he certainly created something very cool and unique in this blend. I really like the idea of creating a cigar with the direct intention of it being paired with a certain kind of alcohol. There are a lot of people out there that take their Libations (especially beer!) seriously and I think they are going to love this cigar and have a great time pairing it. For those who don’t drink? Don’t worry because this is a great cigar on its own…
Final Score: 92
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Coming Wednesday!:
A Prerelease review of the Daytona Lancero!
13 Comments
Reader Comments (13)
Looking forward to trying one with an excellent beer! Be interesting to see if any cigar makers join forces with a brewery to create a matched pair.
65 ring is absurd to me but your description makes me really want to try one. Especially with a Sam Adams Octoberfest or perhaps a Spaten Octoberfest or Optimator.
"I am personally not a huge fan of Dominican Puros"....WTF???? This coming from the original LGD whore? Say it aint so!!!
LOL mike, i was actually going to write with the exception of Litto's stuff and opus but i didn't. in regarding to the majority of Dominican Puros i am not a huge fan. My personal taste lies on the Nicaraguan side of things. Give me a peppery Nica spice bomb any day of the week.
Quesada makes some pretty tasty smokes, but I don't care how good it is - I ain't smoking a 65 ring gauge cigar.
"I am personally not a huge fan of Dominican Puros, with the exception of litto's stuff and Opus"
This is sort of like saying, "I don't really like watching basketball on tv, except for NBA and NCAA games." :D
Holy cow that things huge! Thanks for the review!
65 ring gauge is whack.
Doctor Rossi,
Not really because what Litto and Carlito are doing is very unique and not really like any of the other dominican Cigars, They both have mastered the shade grown tobacco in that country like no one else. I find them to be in a league of their own and can't really compare them to other Dominican Cigars.
"Not really because what Litto and Carlito are doing is very unique and not really like any of the other dominican Cigars, They both have mastered the shade grown tobacco in that country like no one else. I find them to be in a league of their own and can't really compare them to other Dominican Cigars."
Steve, hardly anyone else is making a Dominican puro, especially when you look at it from a sales/production volume perspective. If you eliminate Opus X and LFD Dominican puros from consideration, you've taken probably at least 90% of them off the table.
Doctor Rossi,
As a whole the dominican Republic has always been know for making milder to medium cigars, but Carlito and Litto completely changed that. I like a stronger cigar with spice and pepper and Dominican Cigars were never known for the until Carlito and Litto started making them that way, their ligero and shade grown wrapper changed the game. Typical dominican cigars that cohiba, Davidoff, La Aurora, Romeo Y Julieta and others make i am just not into, most of them don't have nearly the amount of flavor and body that the LG or Opus have. That was my point really, that as a whole Dominican Tobacco and Dominican Puro's have never been my favorite with the exception of Litto and carlitos stuff which don't taste like your average dominican cigar.
Great review. Cool graphics on that band.
Dan
I have had only the "Uber". In a word.....EXQUISITE !. I bought a box. Don't miss out.