Wrapper: Maduro
Binder: Undisclosed
Filler: Undisclosed
Size: Robusto (5 x 50)
Strength: Medium → Medium-Plus (final inch)
Body: Medium → Full (halfway)
Price: $8.00 USD; $6.00 each with 3+1; $5.71 each with 10+4
Factory: Undisclosed, Estelí, Nicaragua
Blender: Undisclosed
Release: June 2026 (Regular Production)
Smoking Time: 1:10
Experience Rating: 96
This is the third cigar from the STTM line I’ve reviewed. When I covered the Connie, I said outright that the Maduro is every bit as good as the others in the line. So rather than go full analytical this time, I’m going to shoot from the hip for a change of pace. Besides, you already know I love the cigar, so all you need to know is why.
I wish you could see how toothy the wrapper is. Handling this cigar is like applying grip tape to a skateboard. This Robusto has some heft, which is surprising for a $6 stick. It reminds me of the Paul Stulac Post Script San Andrés. There was no skimping on the tobacco with that one. This one’s packed, and you can even see it in the density of the bunch at the foot.
It drives me crazy that the blend stats simply say “Maduro” for the wrapper. Is it a Habano, San Andrés, or Broadleaf? The whole blend is undisclosed except for a generic wrapper type. I know that’s the “Trust Me” part of the name.
But having smelled thousands of cigar wrappers, I’m going to lean toward San Andrés because it smells fruity and caramelly, with a deep tobacco sweetness. The foot smells like custard topped with orange marmalade. Damn!
The smell made me sentimental. That custard note reminded me of a Filipino dessert called leche flan, which Filipinos probably adapted from the Spanish flan when the conquistadors invaded the Philippines. History aside, it reminded me of my mother, who was an incredible woman. That woman could cook like it was nobody’s business. I learned to cook by instinct from her, and I’ve carried that into everything from gourmet dishes to barbecuing whole pigs.
Sorry… I had to take a few moments to compose myself. Back to the cigar!
I toast the foot and take a puff. Good Gawd! I get a dose of breakfast: black coffee, buttered toast sprinkled with a little sugar, and the consistency of egg yolk. This is my fourth, and I’ve gotten something different at ignition every time, probably because I smoked them at different times of day. But the start has always been explosive.
There’s no settling-in period with this cigar. You light it up and it’s off to the races.
After breakfast, an orderly progression of flavors files in: cream, nougat, roasted cashew, cedar, and sourdough toast. A distinct floral sweetness punctuates the finish. You don’t expect this kind of complexity and structure out of a budget-priced cigar, but you don’t see me complaining.
I love it when a cigar doesn’t waste any time finding its footing. It’s fun to observe how a profile comes together, but there’s always the risk that it never finds its way and leaves you asking: What the fuck did I just smoke?
That’s not the case with this cigar. It takes you by the hand and, like an impatient spouse, says, “Let’s go.” It’s not forceful, but you get the drift right away.
Shit! I’ve spent so much time ruminating that I’m already halfway through the smoke. To me, that’s the sign of a great cigar. It compels thought or conversation and makes you think about everything but itself.
What about flavors? I hate to say it, but I got so caught up in the experience that I stopped tracking them. I’m with Katman on this. We’ve been so conditioned to track flavors that it’s easy to lose sight of the experience. This cigar just gave me one hell of a reminder. Flavors help explain our affinity for a cigar, but what they trigger matters more.
The most notable thing is the lingering sweetness after each puff. It’s rare that I find sweetness as a structural element. That job usually falls to the usual suspects: coffee, black pepper, cedar, etc. But with the Maduro, sweetness is part of the profile’s structure.
The second half begins with the tone of the smoke turning a little darker, but it doesn’t affect the strength, which has been a solid medium the entire time. Coffee seems to be the leading lady, and I get a distinct taste of burnt sugar. Everything sits on a bed of luxurious cream. The other flavors I mentioned before are all present and accounted for, but slightly muted by the coffee and burnt sugar.
No new flavors enter the mix, but the profile still feels uncannily complex. Though the overall profile has taken a darker turn, the sweetness keeps it from getting dense, essentially mitigating the smoke’s power. It’s pretty fascinating when I stop to look at what it’s doing.
I almost forgot to mention the spice.
There has hardly been any, just a featherlight touch. That’s where the sweetness comes into play. Spice normally acts as a foil within a profile, but with the Maduro, that structural sweetness takes its place. If the spice had been more intense, I’m not sure I would’ve had the same experience.
Speaking of which, I have to admit that I’m a little confused by how completely I lost track of the cigar. It reminds me of a gig a few months ago when my band was performing “Sweet Home Alabama.” Our normal lead guitarist was on a business trip, so I had to take over lead guitar. When my turn came to solo, I don’t know what possessed me, but I felt in tune with the universe. It was like I was watching someone else play. When we finished the song, my bandmates looked at me, and our drummer asked, “That was AWESOME! But where did you go?” I replied, “Honestly, I have no fuckin’ idea. When I started playing the solo, I was outside myself.”
It was a disorienting feeling. I had that same feeling when I hit the halfway mark.
I’m well into the final third now, and I’m still feeling it. It’s a little unsettling, but it also occurs to me that not many cigars have the ability to distract me like this. This cigar has done exactly that.
As I approach the end, the cigar is on cruise control, having already made its point. Strength has finally ticked up to near medium-plus, but the increase was almost unnoticeable.
Now that I’ve smoked and reviewed all three cigars in the Smoke This Trust Me line, I can say there isn’t a weak link among them. I still don’t know who blended them or what’s inside. At this point, I don’t care.
Smoke this. Trust me.
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Buy any of this great lineup of cigars from CigarHustler.com. Cigar Hustler is the retail store owned by the same brothers who own Pospiech, Inc.
Katman here: I love the way the man thinks so if you would like to read more from Unco B (Brendan Delumpa), click HERE.
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
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