Carolina Blue Cigars was founded in 2016, by Christopher Moore in the Dominican Republic when he was given the opportunity by Tabacalera F. De La Cruz to start his own cigar brand. The company is based out of Huntersville, NC.
According to the the Carolina Blue Cigars website:
“Master Blender Francisco De La Cruz has been in the business since he was 13 years old and has managed the Tabacalera F. De Le Cruz Factory since 1997. De La Cruz is a highly respected blender and business man in the cigar industry. He has helped other cigar businesses such as La Flor Dominicana and Romeo and Juliet climb the success ladder and reach effortless success.”
The company recently sent me some samples of thier line to review on Stogie Press including:
- San Andres Maduro
- Limited Edition Solomon
- Habano Maduro Pig Tail
- Connecticut Blend
- Dominican Puro
For this review I sampled the Carolina Blue Cigars (6 x 54) San Andres Maduro toro.
The blend is described by Carolina Blue Cigars as:
- Wrapper: San Andres (Mexico)
- Binder: Olor Dominicano
- Filler: San Vicente, Piloto Cubano, Criollo 98, and Nicaragua
The company has set an MSRP of $8.00/cigar and they come expressed in a single (6 x 54) toro and packaged in 20-count boxes.
Pre-Light Examination
The Carolina Blue San Andres Maduro has a medium brown wrapper that has some significant mottling in it and a number of veins that run along the barrel. The wrapper has a decent oily sheen and as I run my finger along it, I noticed the slight toothiness to the touch. The cigar is solid to the touch with no soft spots detected and is finished with a simple cap.
Two bands adorn the cigar. The primary uses a black, gold, and light blue motif. It has an ornate design and displays the company’s logo in the center. The secondary band is placed just below and uses the same motif declaring this as the “MADURO 2020”.
Running the Carolina Blue San Andres Maduro across the nasals, I picked up rich earthy notes along the barrel while the foot exuded notes of cocoa, earth and nut off foot.
Once I sliced the cap straight across the shoulder with my double blade cutter, I gave it some cold draw puffs that has a decent restriction and offered a black pepper note that grew the more you drew on it.
With the pre-light out of the way, I reached for my double flame torch and warmed the foot to an even orange glow and proceeded to burn this one to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- Early light offers a harsh start that slowly morphs into citrus and cream
- Full volume of smoke
- White ash forms on a thick char line
- Sweetness begins to build adding to the cream
- Burn starts to get wavy
- Vanilla aroma begins to waft off the foot
- Citrus has been lingering on the palate
- Ash fell in a decent chunk revealing a flat and off centered burn cone
- Astringent notes begin to form in second third
- Fruit notes add to the profile with a touch of charred oak
- Aroma shifts to a maple syrup
- Spice notes begin to form as it enters the final third
- Spice and sweetness takes it through the final
- Medium Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 40 Minutes
Overall, the Carolina Blue San Andres Maduro started off rather harsh to begin the journey. After about a 1/2 inch into the burn the flavor profile began to find itself and morphed into an interesting citrus and cream set of notes with the citrus being more forward and lingering on the palate. Flavors began to develop along with enticing aromas but got astringent in the second third. The end brought an increased spice note with a touch of sweetness. From a burn perspective, it had a wavy burn, flat off centered burn cone, and a flaky ash in the second half. I rate this an 88.
Point Deductions: (-1) Harsh Start; (-1) Wavy Burn; (-1) Flaky Ash; (-1) Off-centered Burn Cone; (-1) Astringent Notes in Second Third; (-1) Might Want To Try One
