Earlier in the year, I offered a review of the Sinistro Cigars El Burro Corojo that I felt was a fine cigar and garnered a solid 92 rating on Stogie Press. Today I am pleased to present my review of its sibling the the El Burro Maduro.
The El Burro was showcased at the 2021 Tobacco Plus Expo trade show. The El Burro line is part of the company’s La Fabrica Series and as noted it comes in two blends, Dominican Corojo and Mexican San Andrés maduro. Both blends are manufactured at Tabacalera El Artista in the Dominican Republic. The maduro is the focus of today’s review.
The Sinistro Cigars El Burro Maduro has a blend described as:
- Wrapper – Mexican San Andrés
- Binder – American
- Filler – Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Pennsylvania broadleaf
They come packaged in 20-count boxes and are offered in 3 different vitolas and priced at a very “wallet friendly” MSRP.
- Robusto (5 x 52) – MSRP $5.50
- Toro (6 x 54) – MSRP $6.00
- Presidente (7 x 58) – MSRP $6.50
For this review, I sampled two of the Sinistro Cigars El Burro Maduro Robustos which I received from the company for the purpose of reviewing on Stogie Press.
Pre-Light Examination
The Sinistro Cigars El Burro Maduro sports an oily, dark brown wrapper that has a mild grit (tooth) to it. There is a light marbling than runs through the wrapper. The cigar has decent weight in the hand and feels solidly packed with no soft spots detected. The cigar is finished with a simple cap.
Like its sibling, the El Burro Maduro is adorned with a single black and white band with an image of a dapper smoking burro in the center. Just below, the cigar is identified as the El Burro Maduro
As I ran the barrel along the nose I detected a pungent fermented leaf note and some citrus aromas. The foot offered a butter cracker note.
I sliced the cap straight straight across the shoulder of the cigar and proceeded to give it some cold draw puffs that I found to be quite pleasant with notes of sweet berry and pepper.
Using my double flame torch, I warmed the foot to an even orange glow and drew in the first initial puffs that graced the palate with sweet caramel and pepper notes. Follow along as I burn the El Burro to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- Initial puffs grace the palate with notes of caramel and pepper
- Full volume of smoke
- Floral notes add to the pleasure
- Light grey ash forms on top of a thin jagged char line
- Cedar nuances join the profile
- Ash fell revealing a flat but centered cone
- Dry fruit begin to evolve
- Mild spice enters midway
- Flaky ash
- Caramel notes reappear as the spice increases
- Hint of cocoa aroma wafts off the foot
- Sweetness and cream in takes it down to the final
- Burns a tad hot to the touch in final
- Medium Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 35 minutes
Final Analysis
The Sinistro Cigars El Burro Maduro Robusto offered a pleasant array of flavors and aromas throughout the 90 minute journey. I enjoyed how the sweetness and spice played well together evolving throughout, keeping the palate interested. It did have a mild jag in the burn and flat burn cone but more importantly it burned a tad hot to the touch in the final. Overall with the balanced notes and aromas I would buy a fiver of these and smoke this medium strength cigar any time of the day. I rate this a 90.
Point Deductions: (-1) Jagged Burn; (-1) Burns a tad hot to the touch in the final third; (-1) Flaky Ash; (-1) Flat but centered burn cone
