The Quesada Espana is currently available only in Spain, but there were some floating around the Pro Cigar Festival. Thanks to a friend I was able to get a sample of these to smoke. As of now the Quesada family is undecided if they should release these in the American market as well. The cigar is blended to fit what the Spanish smoker wants. They prefer cigars with lighter wrappers and smaller ring gauges. As a result these come in a corona (5.5 x 42); short robusto (4 x 50); and a traditional robusto (5 x 50) The cigars sell from €5.50 to €6.35.
Although the cigars were aimed at the Cuban taste profile, the cigar is meant to stand on its own, so that the Spanish smoker will find it comparable with his regular Cuban smokes.
Cigar: Quesada Espana
Size: 5 x 50 (Robusto)
Wrapper: Arapiraca from Ecuador
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican & Nicaraguan
Strength: Medium
Cigars Smoked For Review: 3 different sizes
Quesada Espana
Flavor & Notes: Prior to cutting & lighting the cigar the foot served up some notes of butterscotch and earth to the nose. The cold draw had some notes of raisins and earth with a slight hint of cedar. As we smoked the first third of the cigar, I was a little disappointed by the flat profile of leather that the stick delivered. Thankfully, the second third the cigar really opened up and became more complex. There was a rich coffee reminiscent of Cuban Coffee or Cafe Bustelo at the very least. The cigar also had a meatiness to it which had me salivating. The final third of the cigar continued with the strong coffee that bordered on bitter and left me craving more.
Smoking Characteristics: Each of the samples burned very well with a medium to dark colored ash that was reminiscent of a good Cuban cigar. There was some flake present on the ash of my corona sample the ash flowered some, but I will chalk that off to shipping. The ones I aged a few extra days the ash was stronger, and the draw was exquisite.
Conclusion: It is sad to me that the American market has moved to larger ring gauges and stronger cigars, but this smoke was right in my wheelhouse. Sadly, I don’t see them selling as well as they should in the USA unless they were done as a limited release to only a handful of shops. I know I would line up to buy a couple of boxes of these because they are that good.
Rating: 92
Price: €6.35
Disclaimer: This cigar was gifted to me from a friend, but that has not effected this review in one way or another.