Herrara Esteli Norteno Brazilian Maduro Piramide Fino

Herrara Esteli Norteno Brazilian Maduro Piramide Fino has a Connecticut Broadleaf binder, Nicaraguan filler and a dark oily somewhat toothy Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper. The seams are tight and the veins are tiny but plentiful.

There’s an opening salvo of cedar, spice & pepper, then chocolate, dark roast coffee, creaminess, a touch of lemony citrus. almonds and – wait for it – it may be hazelnuts, but I’m thinking Brazil nuts, a flavor I have been anticipating but never could identify in a cigar’s flavor notes. In the interest of a first time for everything, I’m going with Brazil nuts. There are also subtle notes of bread or toast, butter, dried fruit, caramel and honey. The spice, wood, nuttiness and pepper are the dominant flavors throughout the smoke. The retrohale includes some earth, leather and a whiff of floral along with the wood and pepper. The leather and earth also push their way into the secondary flavor notes during the final third. It’s medium bodied to start and finishes medium-full. The strength is straightforward medium-full from the start.

The construction could use some work – orange cones should be placed at the foot. There were burn line issues galore, a slightly tight draw, minimal to decent smoke production – could have billowed more, and the ash fell off a few times.

This cigar has more than enough flavors, well balanced and complex to keep me interested through the entire smoke. The spice/pepper kind of explodes for a bit during the final third, but the flavor profile remains pretty stable otherwise. My only regret is that the flavors seemed muted when I really expected them to turn into more of a flavor bomb – if that makes any sense. I like the flavors, wanted more, but enjoyed the smoke. Give it a 4. This was a lengthy smoke so give yourself plenty of time to kick back and relax for a while.

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