It has been awhile since I spoke about Hooten Young cigars. A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending the Sticks & Spirits Cigar Club meeting and I won a raffle. What did I win? You guessed it right, the Hooten Young MA Duece. This is a unique vitola, pressed into the shape of a .50 caliber bullet! The company notes that the MA Deuce cigar is a homage to the “mother of all machine guns”, the historic firearm which is the longest-serving weapon in the U.S. military arsenal. I want to thank my BOTL TJ Mayben for keeping Sticks & Spirits running and for having great raffles, like the Hooten Young MA Deuce.
The Hooten Young MA Deuce cigar has a blend described as:
- Wrapper – Ecuadorian Connecticut and San Andres Maduro
- Binder – Nicaraguan
- Filler – Nicaraguan
The company notes:
“The Hooten Young “MA Deuce” cigar selection was conceptualized by a member of the Hooten Young family, Clint Aaron Taylor. As an individual with autism, he never lets his challenges dampen his spirit. He enjoys spending time with his friends over a cigar while swapping stories. This one’s for you, Clint.“
As noted, the Hooten Young MA Deuce is expressed in a single vitola, shaped as .50 Caliber bullet. They come packaged in 20-count shell boxes and have an MSRP of $15.00/Cigar
Pre-Light Examination
The Hooten Young MA Deuce is a certainly a unique looking cigar. At first you may think it is a pyramid, but then once you focus on it, you notice the shape, and yes it looks just like a .50 Caliber shell. The cigar is produced by Cordoba y Morales here in central Florida, known for their fine craft in cigars. The wrapper uses two leafs, the head of the cigar displays the medium colored San Andres Maduro as does the foot, whereas the rest of the barrel uses the Ecuadorian Connecticut. Both wrappers have a mild sheen to them and are light on veins. The cigar is well packed and solid to the touch not to mention heavy in the hand. The cap is expertly applied to a pencil point tip.
Two bands adorn the cigar. Both use a silver and grey motif with the primary band proudly displaying the company’s logo in the center. The secondary band is placed just below the primary and denotes the cigar as the MA DEUCE.
Running the Ma Duece along the nose, I picked up a lightly pungent and spice barrel and enticing cocoa and peppermint notes off the foot.
I chose to cut the cap at 45 degree angle, like I would a torpedo, and proceeded to give it some cold draw puffs. I found the draw to be a tad towards the open side as the draw graced the palate with notes of mild earth and a sprinkle of pepper.
Using my double flame torch, I warmed the foot to an even orange glow, and drew in the first puffs of of spice and herbal notes. Follow along as I launch this shell and track the journey.
Cigar Review Notes
- Spice and herbal notes start the journey
- Full volume of creamy smoke
- Light grey ash forms above a thick even char line
- Enticing cocoa aroma wafts off the foot filling the air around me
- Dry fruit notes fill out the early profile
- Long thick ash
- Bitter dark chocolate notes (think 80%) midway
- Ash fell as I removed the secondary band, revealing a well formed burn cone
- Sweet cream notes develop deep in the second third
- Chocolate notes add to the cream like a hot chocolate sensation near the end of the second third
- Aroma shifts to a floral note
- Peppery spice begins to develop moving into the final third
- Burned a tad hot in the final
- Medium in Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 30 minutes
Final Analysis
The Hooten Young MA Deuce offered an enjoyable medium body / medium strength journey from foot to nub. Starting with herbal and spice notes and cocoa aroma, the MA Deuce had my attention and kept it throughout the 90 minute plus experience. I really enjoyed the rich dark chocolate notes midway that slowly tamped down with sweet cream midway. I found the transitions to be pleasant and balanced. The burn was error free and it carried a long ash. It did burn a tad hot in the final. This is worth picking up a fiver. I rate this a 94. If you want to know where you can buy these, check out Smoke Rings 72 in Merritt Island Florida.
Point Deductions: (-2) Burned a tad hot in the final
Bonus Points: (+1) Even Burn; (+1) Long Ash
