Mel Shah and MBombay hit a home run last year with the introduction of the Gaaja Ecuador Connecticut desflorado blend. It met with rave reviews across the spectrum. Mel followed up that hit with the maduro variety of the Gaaja which is the subject of today’s review. The bar was set with the original Gaaja and I have to say, Mel has met the challenge with the new maduro. Even though MBomaby introduced the new Gaaja Maduro at last years IPCPR, it did not ship officially until of February of this year.
According to Mel Shah:
“..we used Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper..This wrapper has played a very important factor in increasing the flavor and the body to the cigar. Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper has definitely added more complexity into the mix.”
The blend is described as:
- Wrapper -Brazilian Mata Fina
- Binder -Ecuadoran
- Filler – Dominican Republic, Peru, Ecuador and Paraguay
I have to hand it to Mel for finding some interesting leaf to use in his blends, this time it is Paraguay, something you don’t see too often
The Gaaja Maduro is available in 2 vitolas:
- Toro 6 x 54
- Torpedo 6.5 x 54 (Box Pressed)
The MSRP is tagged at $15.50 for each. They are packaged in 10-count boxes.
For this review I sampled two of the MBombay Gajja Maduro Torpedos
Cigar Review Notes
- Gorgeous wrapper – box press and silky smooth with a decent level of marbling
- The foot shows a well packed cigar with various shades of leaf
- Exotic spice aroma on foot
- Cold draw seems open enough with a 3/8 inch cut to the head
- The prelight puffs offerered pepper and spice
- Once ignited, a gentle pepper enters on few first puffs, especially on the throat
- Coffee notes break in early in the burn as the pepper recedes
- Earth and cocoa notes join after half inch of burn with a light herbal note in the background
- Medium to dark ash on fairly thin char line
- Wrapper is oiling up well
- Enticing woody aroma
- Sweet ginger enters the profile keeping the palate tantalized
- Coffee prevails with a cocoa powder undertone
- Leather finds its way into the mix
- Spicy butter takes you to the finish
- Medium Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 30 minutes
Overall, the MBombay Gaaja Maduro is a terrific sibling to the original Gaaja and it certainly delivered on flavor, burn, and aroma. This is a cigar you could enjoy anytime of the day but I found it most enjoyable as an evening smoke paired with some aged rum. Since this was not a 2016 regularly available cigar, I am putting this as a top 25 contender for the Stogie Press top 25 of 2017. Great job Mel!
MBombay Gaaja Maduro