Cigar Review: Lou Rodriguez Maduro Edicion Premiere Bom-Bom

Lou Rodriguez

With more and more people preferring larger ring gauge cigars, I am going the complete opposite direction, and going for cigars that are more in the Petit Corona and traditional Corona Gorda vitola spectrum. I have always felt that with a smaller ring gauge you could truly enjoy the cigars flavors, and also get the great wrapper flavors as well. I know that this is not the norm with today's society, but oh well. Along with that, there has been one company that has been capturing my attention of late, and while they are not brand new, they are fairly new to the market, and new to me. The company is Lou Rodriguez Cigars, and they are a company that is capturing everything that I look for in a cigar company, and in their cigars. Just recently their Marketing Head was in Havana Phil's and I had the pleasure of sitting down with him and discussing their cigars, and also sampling some of their cigars.    

San Andres Mexico Wrapper

Quoting a great line from their website, Lou Rodriguez states that "if you believe that Pinar del Rio and the Vuelta Abajo region in Cuba are the Bordeaux of tobacco, then we believe we have found the Napa Valley in Nicaragua." I couldn't agree with more with this line, and it shows in their cigars. Manufactured in Esteli, Nicaragua, Lou Rodriguez Cigars are definitely a boutique cigar company. The company has their own factory and farms, and the companies production is limited to their tobacco yield. They use Nicaraguan tobacco from the Jalapa and Esteli regions, and I think those two are the best regions, and their production is limited to just 5,000 boxes a year. They currently have four lines, one sort of a sub-line, yet different from the other, and all unique in their own way. They are a company that emphasizes Nicaraguan tobacco in the filler and binder, and have used really the best choices of tobacco for their wrappers. For this first review of their line, I am going to be smoking the Lou Rodriguez Maduro Edicion Premiere.

Though the Edicion Premiere is listed as having the same tobacco country origin breakdown as the Edicion Reserva, the tobacco is a different blend than the Lou Rodriguez Maduro Edicion Reserva. Composed with proprietary Nicaraguan filler and binder tobacco, the cigar features a Maduro wrapper that is from the San Andres region of Mexico. The line share some vitolas, and for this review I chose the smallest vitola, the Bom-Bom. The cigar is a petit corona in sizing, and measures 4 3/4" with a 42 ring gauge. It is extremely box pressed, almost pressed like the Factory Press by Litto Gomez, the wrapper is fully stretched to show all the great flavors. It has an incredibly dark Maduro wrapper, almost Oscuro, and there are no veins present throughout. It is a firm cigar in hand, and it has a great aroma that is incredibly rich, showing earth, wood, coffee and cocoa notes. Because of the cigars size, I will be reviewing it in halves.  

Edicion Premiere

The first half begins like a powerhouse, and you get all those great Nicaraguan and Maduro flavor profiles. I am getting some awesome spice flavors on the forefront, and also some damp wood, rich earth, espresso beans and dark cocoa flavors. The spice notes are really not peppery but more rich Asian spices. It really has some kick ass flavors to it, and along with that it has an awesome strength level. I would say the strength level is at a solid medium full level, and perfect for me. The cigar is burning wonderfully, razor sharp, and it is leaving a nice solid light gray ash. Even with the cigar being slightly smaller ring gauge and length the cigar is burning very cool and offers a terrific draw.

When I get into the second half of the cigar I am still getting all those great flavors from the first half, and the spice level has increased along with that. Those flavors of damp wood and rich earth are really present right now, and it is very robust. There are still lots of dark cocoa flavors present with some espresso beans  as well, and there is a hint of stone fruit notes present as well in this half. The strength of the cigar is still at that medium full strength level which is perfect for me, and the construction is perfect. I am still getting that perfect burn line in this half, and it is leaving that solid light gray ash on the end firmly. I dropped the ash from the first half, but I was hoping to hold on to it and get a very long ash. The cigar smoked cool all the way to the nub, and even on the nub I am getting a cool and flavorful draw. 

This was a terrific cigar, and this is what I look for in a petit corona vitola and a Maduro wrapper. It was incredibly rich and enjoyable from beginning to end, and it offered a perfect strength level for me throughout. Construction wise this cigar was made impeccably, and I loved the light gray ash that the cigar possessed. I think this vitola is the best in the line, and it comes in boxes of ten, so they are worth buying as a box. This is possibly the best Lou Rodriguez Cigar I have had, along with the Connecticut Lancero, and will be a cigar I go back to over and over again. If you have these in your local cigar shop you need to pick them up, because they will not disappoint. I give this cigar a solid 93, and it will definitely be remembered towards the end of the year. 

Bom-Bom

*Cigars for this assessment were provided to me by Lou Rodriguez Cigars