Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Maduro Especial
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan/Honduran/Dominican/& AJ Fernandez Secret Filler
Size: 6 x 52 “Toro”
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $9.00

I’ve got several sticks simmering sent to me from manufacturers that they debuted at the 2013 IPCPR trade show. So, I dug out something I hadn’t reviewed. And shame on me. The San Lotano Oval Maduro. I’ve made no bones about it here that I am a huge AJ Fernandez fan; and I’m guessing you are too.

So I did some research and off we go. First of all, I learned that the Oval spent 5 years in the design phase. And the Ecuadorian wrapper is aged for 4+ years. And that the Maduro receives the same respect.

The birth of the Oval Maduro goes back to April of 2012; prior to the IPCPR show.

The stick comes in six sizes, but curiously, not everyone has all six sizes. Different big online stores have some variation of that number:
Corona: 5 x 44
Robusto: 5 x 52
Toro: 6 x 52
Churchill: 7 x 52
Torpedo: 6.5 x 52
Gordo: 6 x 60

The Oval is an amazing marketing scheme. Not to mention a very impressive shape. I’ve been unable to find whether AJ found a warehouse of ancient oval presses from back in the day and decided to use them; or he had them all custom made just for this line of cigars. No one can seem to answer that for me so I guess it’s a secret.

The San Lotano line has impressive construction. Its presentation is nothing short of gorgeous. Those sleek lines catch your eye first. Then the beautiful dark chocolate brown wrapper. Seams are invisible. Veins are near nonexistent. The cigar is solid with the right amount of give. The cap is impeccable and while I am not sure from its appearance, I am guessing it is a triple cap. There is a gorgeous bright oily sheen and it’s as smooth as my tushy.
There is also some mottling on the wrapper which I think is attractive.

I clip the cap and find aromas of strong spice, cocoa, coffee, cedar, leather, hay…the standard Nicaraguan leaf aromas.
Time to light up.

The cigar starts off with a bang. Red pepper hits the palate like being slapped in the face by a beautiful woman. The draw is perfect and spews smoke like Mount Vesuvius.

The char line is a bit wavy and may need touch up. My previous two cigars, both, needed touch ups.

The cocoa is stronger than the sweetness. It’s fruity. Undetermined at this point. There are strong flavors of cedar and leather. A very deep and rich earthiness. And the body is at classic medium from the get go.

I should add that as I read other reviews of this cigar, I noticed a dichotomy of palates. Some reviewers made it very clear that the Habano version is much better. And the other way around for others. Obviously, palates are different.

I like both. Some slammed the maduro pretty good. And I don’t see their side of the story through my experience with this blend. I find it very nuanced and complex. Just like the Habano. Which I just realized I haven’t reviewed. That oversight must be cured and remedied. But memory serves me well and I am just a plain smoker who found that mood dictated which blend I chose to smoke. Back when I was un-retired, I had the dough to have a box of Habanos and Maduros in my humidors. And chose on a whim.

The pepper evens out and finds a comfy home at medium hot.

An inch in, the creaminess appears. It livens up the entire flavor profile. I grab a Diet Coke for my NYC Egg Cream experience. You should try it. Anytime you get a cigar laden with cocoa flavor, get a Coke and sip it while you smoke. It gives off the illusion of a chocolate soda. The egg cream is a Brooklyn invention of chocolate syrup, seltzer water and milk. Over ice. No ice cream. I grew up on that stuff and it was always a special treat. My dad always had a crate of the huge seltzer water bottles and the spigot that would change with the opening of every new bottle. I wasn’t spoiled as a kid so when my father would ask if we wanted an egg cream, you had to pull me off the ceiling.

A bitter old friend whose politics don’t mesh with mine made a nasty comment about me on FB. He told me “So what. His reviews are all about him anyway.” This was in response to me posting a link to one of my reviews. And to some extent, yes, I interject myself into my reviews. It’s just the way I write. If you want just the facts, go somewhere else. Go right to the bottom where the “Bottom Line” is and get all you need to know about the cigar. Quick and easy.
The first third comes to an end with a nice flourish. The cocoa, creaminess, sweetness, coffee, cedar and that fruitiness are pedal to the metal.

The fruit component becomes clear, finally. It is a combo. There is that Nicaraguan raisin. And there is a stone fruit….tart apricot. Almost citrusy. A sweet honey element shows up. Making this cigar close to being a Godiva chocolate truffle.
The spiciness lessens. It lays steady in the background while the flavor profile continues to be bolder. At this point, the cigar becomes quite complex and well balanced. It has a very long finish and the sweetness creates the illusion of sticky lips…especially, from the honey element.

The maduro is richer than the Habano. I haven’t mentioned the Oval Natural because it is a different blend. I did review that stick here: Cigar Review- San Lotano Oval.

I also reviewed the San Lotano Maduro, not the oval, here: Cigar Review- San Lotano Maduro.
And I reviewed the latest addition: Cigar Review- San Lotano The Bull.
And lastly, Cigar Review- San Lotano Oval

The char line is a mess and requires some serious touch up. I think I have rectified the problem.

The halfway point brings even more complexity to the character of this stick. The flavors settle down into even keeled balances. The only two flavors still ahead of the pack are the cocoa and creaminess. And the deep richness and earthiness have given this stick a real backbone.

Usually, I prefer robustos for their intense flavor profiles. But with the San Lotano, I prefer the Toro. Since I am guaranteed a flavor bomb experience, more is better.

The cigar is a bona fide flavor bomb. One of the attractive elements to this line of AJ cigars is that they need very little humidor time before one can dig in. A week at the most. Of course, a longer period just enhances everything about the cigar, but if you are like me; you pick most of your cigars for their jack rabbit start. When you don’t have a lot of sticks in the old humi, you don’t pick old school sticks like RYJ, Patel, Gurkha, or Punch. These sticks take forever to age properly.

The New Breed of blenders; which requires the man in charge to be covered in tattoos is having an effect on the old school blenders. They are beginning to come out with cigars like theirs. Flavor bombs that are ready to smoke in a very short time.
Now the stick is on cruise control. It is a delicious mélange of flavor and character and balance.

I am forced to touch it up once more. If I have one criticism about this line, is that the char lines require constant attention. I smoked a Tatuaje Havana last night and it had a perfect char line the entire time. It was nice that id didn’t require constant touch ups. In fact, it required no touch ups whatsoever.

The last third begins with the power of the cigar strengthening. I begin to feel the nicotine in my gut.

The secondary band with the word, “Maduro” on it is removed easily. I have a cigar I plan to review shortly: The Casa Magna Oscuro. I bought a 10 pack on Cbid. I have gone through 5 of them and each one required me to shred the bands to remove them. Therefore, I have anxiety about getting a good photo.

The strength is officially full bodied now. My vision blurs. And there are now two laptop screens before me.
I take a sip of my Coke and the flavors explode.

The rest of the cigar is pretty more of the same. The only difference is that the flavor profile gets stronger as the body gets stronger. I slow down puffing on it so I don’t have to don my crash helmet and affix the seat belt on my reviewing chair.
The main cigar band fights me as I try to remove it. I a forced to use a sharp knife to get it off. I manage not to cut the wrapper.

It is an unusual Wisconsin day. The sun is out. I depend heavily on sunlight through the dining room window for my photos.
The price point on this cigar is a little high for me. But I got a five pack on Cbid for less than $5 a stick. I believe that AJ would be doing the customers a favor if he lowered the price on this cigar. $7 is a much better price.

I finish the cigar completely sated. It was a wonderful 90 minute experience. I recommend that you keep some Habanos as well as Maduros in your humidor. It’s a nice change up.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS