Sosa Family Selection Maduro

A few weeks ago, we assessed a cigar from Sosa Cigars called the Sosa Family Selection Connecticut.  This cigar proved to be a nice revelation in the world of Ecuadorian Connecticut cigars.  We now turn our attention to another blend that is under the Sosa Family Selection line.  This cigar is has a maduro wrapper and is appropriately called the Sosa Family Selection Maduro.  I recently had an opportunity to sample this cigar, and it provided a very nice smoking experience in the crowded maduro market.

The Sosa Family Selection was one of three cigar lines introduced by
Antillian Cigars in 2011.  Antillian Cigars owns the Sosa brand.   From the press release announcing these lines, here is a little background on the Sosa brand:

The Sosa cigar tradition began with Don Juan Sosa, a small tobacco
grower in the fertile Taguasco region of Cuba at the turn of the
century. By the 1920’s, his farm had become one of the largest
tobacco-producing haciendas in Cuba. Over the next 30 years, Don Juan’s
son, Arturo, and grandson, Juan, manufactured cigars for sale in Cuba
and abroad. Juan B. Sosa moved the operation to the Dominican Republic
in the 1960’s where the family re-established their factory along with
operations in Miami, Florida. Today, the legacy of quality, handmade
cigars made in the Cuban tradition continues with master blender, Juan
B. Sosa, alongside his wife, sons and nephews.

Let’s take a look at the Sosa Family Selection Maduro and see what it brings to the table:

Blend Profile

Like the its Connecticut sibling, there  wasn’t a lot of details on the blend mentioned on the Sosa Family Selection Maduro  It is mentioned that the wrapper is called “Nicaraguan Habano Maduro”.   The binder and filler are not disclosed.  As I have said before, while some folks might be a little frustrated about the non-disclosed tobaccos,  I’ve been on record many times stating it does allow you to put a little imagination and guesswork into the blend.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Maduro
Binder: Not disclosed
Filler: Not disclosed

Vitolas Available

The frontmarks to the Sosa Family Selection Maduro and Sosa Family Selection Connecticut are identical.

Robusto: 5 x 50
Toro: 6 x 52
Gran Toro: 6 ½ x 56
Churchill: 7 x 48
Dbl Magnum: 6 x 60

Appearance

For this cigar experience, I went with the robusto vitola of the Sosa Family Selection Maduro.   The wrapper itself is very classic maduro-looking – namely chocolate colored with some dark spots.  The wrapper has a visible wrapper seams and visible veins.   There is an oily complexion to the wrapper, but it also has a bumpy feel due to the wrapper seams and veins.

Like the Connecticut, the Sosa Family Selection Maduro features two bands. The top band has a brown background.  It
features the Sosa logo highlighted by a “S” in gold font.  Under that
“S” is the text “Imported” – also in gold font.  The words “Family” and
“Selection” flank each side of the logo to the left and right
respectively – also in gold font.   Below that band is a second band. 
It is basically blue with some gold striping.  It features the text
“Maduro” in white font – outlined with some red around the font.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

For my Sosa Family Selection Maduro Robusto, I placed a straight cut into the cap and started the pre-light experience.   The dry draw notes were pretty much classic maduro as I detected notes of cedar spice and chocolate.  Overall, there wasn’t anything revolutionary about the pre-light draw, but it wasn’t bad either.  It was not time to fire up the Sosa Family Selection Maduro and see what the cigar experience would provide.

Flavor Profile

The start to the Sosa Family Selection Maduro provided notes of pepper and mocha to start.  For the most part these flavor notes were about even in terms of what was the primary note.   As the cigar experience progressed through the first third, I picked up some floral notes on the after-draw.  This is something I often don’t pick up on an after-draw, so I considered it unique.

As the cigar experience progressed into the second third, the pepper notes had a slight edge on the mocha notes.  Later in the second third, I was also able to detect some nut notes in the background.  The pepper continued to pull away from the mocha notes and was in full control.  The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

The Sosa Family Selection Maduro did very well with the construction attributes of burn and draw.  The burn remained sharp from start to finish – requiring minimal touch-ups.  The burn rate and burn temperature were also ideal.   When I sampled the Sosa Family Selection Connecticut, the burn experience was good.  In the case of the Maduro, it provided a better experience in this area.  As for the draw, it was excellent – this made the Sosa Family Selection Maduro an excellent smoking experience.

Burn of the Sosa Family Selection Maduro

Strength and Body

From a nicotine standpoint, while the Sosa Family selection Maduro was not an overwhelmingly strong maduro, it still had a nice amount of pop.  I assessed this to be medium to full in terms of strength.  The flavor notes had some nice depth to them.  I also assessed this as medium to full when it came to body.  Overall, there is good balance between the strength and body with neither attribute overshadowing the other.

Final Thoughts

The Sosa Family Selection Maduro was a good maduro.   It provided good flavors and had quality construction.  The floral notes on the after-draw helped give this maduro a nice identity.  While this is a medium to full strength, medium to full-bodied smoke, it still is something I would not hesitate to recommend to a novice enthusiast looking to graduate to this type of smoke.  Experienced cigar smokers looking for a cigar in this area of the strength/body spectrum should enjoy this as well.   While I do prefer a maduro fuller in strength and fuller in body, I would smoke this again.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Good
Assessment: Nice to Have
Score: 88

Source: This cigars for this assessment were provided to myself from Antillian Cigars.  The request
was initiated by Antillian Cigars to myself (Cigar Coop) to provide an
assessment.   Cigar Coop is appreciative to samples provided but this plays no role in a final assessment rating.