Exactus Maduro Cigar Review

Last year I had the great pleasure of visiting Tabacalera El Artista S.R.L in the Dominican Republic. I was able to walk the fields and processing facilities while meeting with the Radhames family and see everything from seed to palate. El Artista is a full service cigar manufacturer that produces a number of boutique blends for the market.They also have their own line of cigars, not to mention a very long history in the tobacco and cigar business. You may have read our reviews of the their Pulita,  Puro Ambar, and even the Big Papi which was a collaboration with David (Big Papi) Ortiz and made our top 25 of 2016.

Today I would  like to present a review of their flagship Exactus cigar which comes in three different blends “Habano”, “Maduro”, and “Clasico”. For this review I sampled the Exactus Maduro which is an exquisite blend of fine Dominican tobaccos with an added Pennsylvania broad leaf in the filler. The full blend is described as:

• Filler: Dominican Criollo 98 & Pennsylvania.
• Binder: Dominican Wine Fermented Criollo 98.
• Wrapper: 3 year-old Dominican Maduro.

The Exactus line is available in 5 different vitolas and come packaged in 20-count boxes.

• Robusto 6 x 54
• Coloso 6 x 60
• Toro 6 x 50
• Torpedo 6.5 x 52
• Churchill 7 x 50

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Pre-light Examination

The Exactus Maduro is a rugged cigar with a dark and mottled wrapper. The ruggedness should not be of concern as that is how it was designed and had no impact on the burn qualities.  The aromas off the foot easily make you want to just want to chew on this with notes of toasted bread, cocoa and jam.It reminded me of walking past my hometown bakery when I was growing up.

The Exactus is adorned with two bands.The primary band declares it as the Exactus and also the Maduro variety. The other blends declare it as the Clasico or Habano, there is also a golden yellow, satin footer band to finish it.

The cold draw offered earth and pepper notes with a slight sweetness through an open draw.

For this review I sampled the Excatus Maduro Churchill

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Cigar Review Notes

• First light hits with a blast of pepper to open the nasals
• Salt and pepper ash develops with a touch of flake to it
• Butter component enters after an inch
• The butter is joined with a nut wrapped in a spicy pepper element
• A sweet red wine component can be detected in the background
• The burn is terrific so far with a thin char line
• Well centered and flat burn cone
• The spice lingers on the tongue
• Cocoa powder enters in the second third with an ever-present gentle spice
• Medium body of creamy smoke
• Sea salt  finds its way in deep into the second third
• Finishes with an increased spice
• Medium to Full Strength
• Total Smoking Time was just around 2 hours

Overall, the El Artista  Exactus Maduro provided a solid 2 hours of smoking pleasure with a pleasing flavor profile and trouble-free burn. The smoke was medium in body and creamy in texture. The sample for this review was purchased locally here in Melbourne, Fl. It should be noted that El Artista is a proud sponsor of Stogie Press, but in no way did that have any impact on the review.