The Cigar: Nat Sherman Metropolitan Selection Metropolitan Maduro

Nutritional information
Vitola: 7x50
Origin: Dominican
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican

The marketing:
From Nat Sherman:
Nat Sherman's great Metropolitan selection now has a dark side: the Metropolitan Maduro. A classic Maduro wrapper enhances the Dominican blend and Cuban seed binder. Not at all what one would expect. As rich as it is smooth, a pleasantly surprising exotic accent to enhance the still perfectly balanced smoking experience that one associates with a big leather chair, good company, and a snifter of cognac.

From JR:
A classic Dominican Piloto Cubano tobacco recipe manufactured in Santiago, Dominican Republic for Nat Sherman. Offered in your choice of either a pale blonde Connecticut shade-grown wrapper or a maduro Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, this is a mild cigar with subtle nuances. The maduro version has a bit more body with a slight earthy edge.

Prelight: This cigar looks big and tasty. It's got a very dark, leathery broadleaf maduro wrapper that, like many broadleaf maduros, is a bit bumpy and shows some veins. It still looks quite nice. My sample was the first from a box that I'd picked up at an auction for less than half the $110 MSRP. It had been in my coolidor for about 4-5 months but it must have had some aging time at the retailer because it was beginning to show some bloom. Nice! Well made, well filled, good heft. My nose picked up some spice, and the cold draw brought sweetness.

Burn: Outstanding. Straight and true from light to nub, despite the leathery broadleaf wrapper. The draw gave just a bit of resistance. The ash held well, tipping off in 1-2" pellets. It took me close to two hours to nub this cigar.

Flavor: I prefer fuller bodied smokes, and I usually think of Nat Sherman as a mild brand. About a year ago I enjoyed a Nat Sherman Omerta and thought I'd explore some of their other darker selections, especially because they tend to be available at auction at steep discounts from MSRP.

The filler blend in the Metropolitan is a bit mild, I think, but the wrapper does give it some zip. I tasted and felt the spicy tingle on my lips from the very outset. At first lighting, I tasted dark tobacco, wood, some cinnamon, and was surprised by a wash of sweetness on the back palate that complemented the spice nicely. I liked it! The flavors remained pretty consistent throughout, but there was some complexity. The warm cinnamony spice grew in intensity while the initial sweetness receded by the halfway mark. Very smooth, well-balanced. Medium in body and flavor.

Overall, I thought this was a great medium-bodied, flavorful maduro. I recommend it.

BlackIrish
[Reply]