Smoked: Espinosa 601 Blue Maduro

Smoked at: West Chester, Ohio

Espinosa 601 Blue Maduro is box pressed with a Nicaraguan binder and filler and enveloped in a soft smooth Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper with numerous small veins and a smidge of oiliness.

A spice bomb to start with notes of oak, almonds & walnuts, cocoa, dried fruit (apricots?), a sweet candy taste like caramel, maple or Werther’s, hints of honey and coffee. Not long into the first third, pepper starts intruding on the general spiciness. Yeasty bread/toast. earthy, and vegetal notes pop in for cameos by the final third. Steady as she goes in strength – medium pushing toward medium-full by the finish. It is a medium-full bodied stick.

Construction: nice open draw, solid smoke production, white ash held tight and a decent burn line requiring only a couple of short touchups

The 601 Blue is not complex, but it’s balanced with layers of sweetness playing off the spice, bread, earth, and coffee. There are more than enough flavors in this cigar to keep me interested. The 601 Blue is an enjoyable smoke.