Cigar: Alec Bradley Tempus Quadrum Maduro
Size: 5.5 x 55
Filler: Nicaraguan Cuban seed long filler
Wrapper: San Andreas Maduro
Price: $145/Box of 20
Pre-Light: Today’s “Flashback Friday” smoke is the classic Alec Bradley Tempus Quadrum Maduro. It is cased in a beautiful San Andreas Maduro wrapper that is dark chocolate in coloring. Minimal veining makes this cigar a thing of beauty. Alec Bradley has designed a highly intricate and wonderfully adorned banding for this cigar. Not only does it display the high level of quality found beneath it, but its gold foil work and understated colors speak of the elegance that this cigar possesses. A smell of the foot provides my nose with a very floral and fruit sweetness that I haven’t smelled on maduro cigars in the past. It is a very inviting and warm flavor. It makes me think of tropical regions and jungle settings, but I’m not sure why. I cannot seem to put my finger on the exact smell, but I cannot wait to find out by smoking this cigar!
1/3rd: The first few puffs exhibit a dry cocoa powder with lots of underlying leather and a subdued chocolate that seems to be fighting to be in the forefront of the palette. The cigar immediate starts a weird burn as a soft spot is found by the cherry near the tip of the light. It quickly corrects itself and regains an even burn. Midway through the first third the flavors open up into a rustic leather and hickory note flanked by ribbons of chocolate covered nuts. A sweet honey flavor comes in lingering on the palette with a retro-hale. Unfortunately, it is joined by a 1 in uneven burn that needs correcting.
½ Way: As I reach the cigars half way point, I notice that the sweet honey flavor and a slight coffee hint have come to the front of the taste profile now followed by further nuttiness and cream. It is a very flavorful and complex but delicate set of flavors that play very well together on the tongue. The cream is very milky is flavor, rather than the nuttier creaminess that is sometimes found in medium bodied cigars. A little bit of spice and a few cinnamon notes start to show up near the back of the throat. The bit of cream makes way for some deeper flavors as the cigar progresses and develops. A sweet raisin bread aroma coming through the nostrils from the side smoke leaves me wondering which flavors the San Andreas Wrapper has brought to the table of flavors.
Final 3rd: The final third of this cigar starts off with huge amounts of coffee peppering the tongue with roasted and nutty flavors. The flavors are what I had envisioned for this cigar from the beginning, but making a smoker journey through a host of other subtle nuanced tastes makes finding the coffee and chocolate notes in the end like finding the treasure at the end of a rainbow.
Final Thoughts: It is not hard to see why the AB Tempus is such a highly sought after blend, as the cigar provides what seems to be scores of different flavors and slowly building, complex taste and aroma combinations. From start to finish this cigar seems to build levels of flavor like Egyptians build pyramids, with a solid base, and continuing to layer more and more levels of strength, finishing at a peak of complexity and depth not found in many cigars under the $200 per box price point. This cigar is at the top of the heap in the Alec Bradley line in our opinion, and we would be hard pressed to find a cigar that would top this one from any cigar blender for that matter. Well done Alec Bradley, we look forward to what you have in store for our customers next.
Go to the Daily Tobacconist to see the pics and get the final score...
[Reply]
Originally Posted by longknocker:
Nice Review! Only Smoked The Regular Tempus & It Was Just OK, IMO. I Trust These Are Much Better?
Agreed....can't for the life of me understand 90+ ratings for these....but then I remember that CA is a joke and ratings are driven by advertising revenue!
[Reply]
