5 Vegas Gold Maduro / limited 1890

Size: 5×50, Robusto

Wrapper: Pennsylvania Broadleaf Maduro

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan and Honduran

Strength: Mild/Medium

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The Nicaraguan Nestor Plasencia, 5 Vegas Gold Maduro comes dressed in a dark and oily Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper. The firm dark brown wrap has the firm and oiled feel. The gold, chocolate, and black band is well suited for the almost-black scheme, and presents very well. The scent is light barnyard with light coca bean or coffee, which I hope will stick around.


First Third - Lightup after a proper toasting and a good couple puffs, and the 5V Gold Maduro alerts with a good glow, straight burn, and a somewhat medium volume cloud. There was no sharp pepper greeting. The cigar introduces in the first stage as a medium, which somewhat surprised me because I expected a darker leaf to be a fuller smoke. About an inch into it, I begin to detect the hay notes. And a toasted berry. So this is my first earth based smoke with berry notes in a profile. The retrohales report quite sharply, so I began to experiment with sending about 50% of the volume through my nose, or doing fuller volumes slower. Regardless, the barnyard earthy tones with hay were the strongest here.

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After a while I stopped retrohaling and while holding some big draws I found the toasted bean, coffee or cocoa, again. The ash is almost 2" and a flaky consistency, of grey and black. The most current ash at the burn line is a lighter grey.

Second Third- I can see this cigar is going to be a long burner. It apparently is a medium, however, a lighter medium, if there is such a thing. It is still a very firm cigar, holding nicely. Into the second third, a flavor I have been noticing soon after lighting up is getting more prominent now, and is clearly leather.

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So we have leather, and an earthy “hay-noted” flavor baseline, with some toasted bean flavor. The berry notes in this stage, are faintly there, and seems to be “berried” in the grander scheme of the profile. The cigar has used its second stage to even off nicely. There are no new discoveries in the flavor profile, and the construction and burn are staying consistent. I do not expect much transition flavor wise, but the robusto's current profile and performance are providing a worthy smoking experience.

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Final Third- Some light pepper notes, the earth and leather follow the cigar to conclusion. Construction stayed consistent as well. The ash had some inconsistencies, such as some flaking and looseness, but it was late in the game and was nothing that interfered with the final phase of this cigar. Could have been the environment.


Notes:
1 – dark oily wrap delivers lighter than it looks.
2 – good construction and build
3 – cigar not too complex, however consistent

In my opinion, the 5 Vegas Gold Maduro presents itself as a fuller bodied and complex smoke than it actually is. However it looks classy, is well constructed, and delivers a consistent flavor, and there isn’t really anything undesirable about this smoke. I feel a more seasoned smoker may find the cigar a little “ho-hum”, while a noobie such as myself would probably find the 5 Vegas High Primings or the 5 Vegas 5 Miami, having more to offer.

Burn time 140 Minutes / Rating 3.75 out of 5 ( 75 % )
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