Casa Magna Video Cigar Review

[Colt45]

Just getting back at Colt for years of abuse.

I suppose I've earned it. Thank you for your candor.

[brutusthebuckeye]

Great review guys...i have not smoked the Casa and i don't plan on it...

Your review summed up about 95% of NC cigars.....

Blind or Non Blind i think the outcome would have been the same....jmho....

[Ken Gargett]

[quote

I also felt seeing my palette is so used to Cubans that it may miss some of the softer delicate notes that come with NCs. But when I mentioned that to El Presidente he just laughed and told me, 'Shut up Wookie Boy'

which i could not help noting was edited out!

[asmith]

which i could not help noting was edited out!

Ken please, I think I am owed an apology right about here, or should I just go back and re-edit the review to include all those bits I 'edited out' that had you discussing the correlation between cigar ratings and advertising. I have saved them for future reference!

I'm still waiting..

[olotti]

Great review guys. I've always wondered how you guys would rate some of the NC cigars that get high marks from us over here ie. Padron Anniv sereies, Tatuaje's or the Opux X's. I do have to agree with your assessment in that from the NC's I've smoked while I have some definitive favorites it seems for the most part like the Prez said they pick a direction and stick to it, not a tremendous amount of complexity like some of the Cubans I've had the pleasure of smoking. This is not to say that the overall flavor profile was not good but that it never really vereed from the centerline of which they started on. I also must say I've never really tried to age any non cuban cigar so who knows maybe with some age they will gain complexity.

[ironpeddler]

Once again gentlemen, very entertaining.

This video has all the traits of a Quentin Tarantino movie...with the repetitive, annoying, choppy edits. I was waiting for the obligatory camera angle from the ceiling.

Rob, you were right on the money...it's a typical Nic cigar...one dimensional. They (Nicaraguan) all seem to go in the same direction, flavor wise, and stay there. Like you said, a limitation of the tobacco and blending.

I always say this, there are times when I'm preoccupied and want a one dimensional cigar ...and all I ask the cigar to do in these cases is 'not suck'. This is one I put into that category...as Smithy so eloquently put it, a feeshing cigar....or as we say over here in the States, a yardgar.

Let me close by saying...Ken, thank God you weren't wearing a skirt. Wasn't "Just Shut Up & Fish" the name of a tour that 'Men at Work' did in the 80's?

[Van55]

Van, I am always happy to do a blind tasting but hold off until I return in March and we can review then. What we can do is get in some NC Lancero's but address it to Lisa. Lisa can deband them and similar Cubans and put paper rings on them 1-5 for the tasting. She will be the only one with the code.

That's exactly what I had in mind, Rob. Except I would supply a total of size lancero cigars, perhaps three of which would be non-Cuban lanceros and three of which would be Cuban lanceros. I would unband them and number them and ship them off for you to review. Your challenge would be to smoke them in a couple of sittings and review them without knowing for sure whether you were smoking two identical Cuban cigars (perhaps of different age, but the same marca and vitola) or two identical non-Cubans or one of each etc, etc.

When you are back from Nicaragua and Cuba I'll get them off to you and wait for the fun of another day of the boys on the deck and on video. And after the reviews, I will reveal which cigar was which.

[PigFish]

That's exactly what I had in mind, Rob. Except I would supply a total of size lancero cigars, perhaps three of which would be non-Cuban lanceros and three of which would be Cuban lanceros. I would unband them and number them and ship them off for you to review. Your challenge would be to smoke them in a couple of sittings and review them without knowing for sure whether you were smoking two identical Cuban cigars (perhaps of different age, but the same marca and vitola) or two identical non-Cubans or one of each etc, etc.

When you are back from Nicaragua and Cuba I'll get them off to you and wait for the fun of another day of the boys on the deck and on video. And after the reviews, I will reveal which cigar was which.

We need a pool!!! I'll put my money on the Aus'bornes! The Lanceros is a hard cigar to mistake. I could see tripping the boys on a straight tobacco tasting corona or similar cigar. You might be able to fool a CC smoker with a stronger monotonic NC but I think they will catch the Lanceros. MHO.

I'll bet in a blind tasting the boys might have rated that crappy RyJ #4 a NC. It is common practice in some parts of the world to accuse poor performing CC's as fakes. You could trip me with a bad CC becasue in my book that is what NC's taste like; crappy CC's. I don't think you would get me with a Lanceros however and that is why I don't think trip up Rob either.

[El Presidente]

We need a pool!!! I'll put my money on the Aus'bornes! The Lanceros is a hard cigar to mistake. I could see tripping the boys on a straight tobacco tasting corona or similar cigar. You might be able to fool a CC smoker with a stronger monotonic NC but I think they will catch the Lanceros. MHO.

I'll bet in a blind tasting the boys might have rated that crappy RyJ #4 a NC. It is common practice in some parts of the world to accuse poor performing CC's as fakes. You could trip me with a bad CC becasue in my book that is what NC's taste like; crappy CC's. I don't think you would get me with a Lanceros however and that is why I don't think trip up Rob either.

I just hope Ken gets the vitola right ...or close

[Ken Gargett]

I just hope Ken gets the vitola right ...or close

round and brown. got this game sus'd.

and smithy, i gave you your due kudo's. nothing has changed.

[trumpetchris]

Well done guys. Enjoyable banter, good tasting notes, and trashing Bob Dylan. Good 9 minutes of video there.

[Monk]

Thanks for a fine review guys. I sampled two of each size Casa Magna, and would have to strongly agree with the impressions you've mentioned. This is a decent cigar that can have moments of "hey this isnt bad" but does nothing to scream out "I'm special".

I'll refrain from saying too much about CA, except that I agree that their method of rating a cigar is very flawed.

What they do have to their credit is that they smoke a very broad sampling of cigars over the course of a year.

I would like to address the term "complexity" used during the review to suggest that we do need to clarify how we use that term, and that it can be misleading without amplification. Just what is a complex cigar?

To me the word can mean that one draw can exhibit several nuances of flavor. Subsequent puffs will have these nuances taking turns coming forward and receding. The main profile, may stay fairly consistent as you smoke the cigar. Some seem to say that this is one dimensional, I call it consistent character. I have smoked cigars where there was just a very dominant flavor, such as leather, and just nothing else. That I would call one dimensional smoke.

Then there are cigars whose smoke changes as you progress. Total changes of the character of the cigar, going from one dominant flavor to another for somewhat long periods of time. Each of these transformations may or may not have complex puffs. The ones that do are heavenly.

That said, for me the Casa Magna had a ligtly complex puff, with a fairly slight change in character as the cigar burned down. I would not classify the cigar as one dimensional.

On another note, I do find certain similarities in cuban and nicaraguan tobaccos that the tobacco from other growing regions do not seem to have so readily. One is plentiful, and appealing, flavor that is effortless to taste. Other than that, I do not have a lot of experience with cuban tobacco to say anything with any confidence. I wish I could sample many of the Cuban brands, fresh, and aged, to really gain intimate knowledge of the flavors this tobacco can deliver.

I just did sample a cigar by General (blind review of 3 to determine marketability of a new Nicaraguan Puro) and one of the cigars was one of the most complex puff and overall character cigars I can remember smoking in a long time. I'm hoping that it is the one that makes it to the Market, and that what I tasted wasn't a fluke. If it was a Nicaraguan Puro, it is a masterpiece.

[GoSteelers]

I think you guys were way too kind.

i smoked a couple of these several months before the cA rating and was unimpressed to say the least, mine was bland and lacked any complexity whatsoever.

[zion698]

I bought a five pack when I saw CA's number one ranking. I figured with the price I couldn't take much of a loss. I have to agree with the review .... "good cigar, not great".

[maalouly]

Thank you for a great review! I actually stopped buying the mag for a while now as I reckon their rating is not accurate and biased. I really believe any cuban cigar will over rank any of the cigars they rank as top 25 ... not sure if you guys saw their 2007 but only 5 were cuban! Comonnnnnn give me a break!

That magazine might work in USA as alot of americans haven't experienced the cuban seed and I feel sorry for them as for the ones who have they will know that CA are crapping their way around to get advertisers on board.

Plus most of the cigars that aren't cubans DO NOT change in flavour they usually remain the same throughout. Even most of the Padron's line remainds the same. I smoked the # 9 two weeks aog and I will never pay that much for a such a cigar i prefer to waste my money on a lusi or even for a quarter of the price you can buy RASA that taste 10 times better.

I dont think it is going to be hard for Rob to figure out wich is the cuban and which isn't .. and if he doesnt' I will be very surprsied!

Cheers,

Elie.

[Guest RobertU]

Sorry, late to the party...thanks for the great review. When I saw this was CA's #1 cigar of the year I was more than a little surprised. I thought it was just okay - mellow but not necessarily complex or dynamic. I think of this a barbecue day cigar - it's hot outside, you're socializing and eating, you want something that you can smoke without focusing on it, that's not going to challenge or demand your attention. To me it might be a decent cigar for its time and place, but it's not one I would name the best of the year.

[cubanoamor]

This is by far my favorite video and discussion topic to date. Living in California I spent the past years smoking what is available in cigar shops here. Have had some great cigars along the way but I wish I had been a believer in the Cuban market sooner. Hands down some of the best cigars on the market. Complexity is where they win, a cigar can only really be considered great when it starts and finishes on two different notes, not the exact same.

[samb]

I never really had the interest to try it.

[Disburden]

I didn't have the Casa Magna Colarado, but I did have the Oscuro in a local shop about three months ago. I actually liked it, it was pretty full bodied compared to what I've tried in the past. I am a newb though and I may think they were total crap in the future. A lot of cigars in American targeted magazines are supposed to be really good and I have been disappointed even as a new smoker of cigars.

For example there is a stick called Nica Libre that's supposed to be in the same flavor region as a Padron 1964. This is a total joke and I wouldn't rate these things over a 74, they taste like a chicken bone with no finish.

Good to see NC reviews from the guys anyway! I am a US resident and it's good to see you guys will venture that way from time to time!

Have fun!

[Plato]

The Casa Magna was the first above average NC I ever had. In fact, it was the cigar that got me into cigars. So naturally, I have a soft-spot in my heart for them. It was also my first box purchase. I have a 3/4 full box thats been in my humi for a few years now. I haven't touched one in a long time. Maybe i will smoke one just to see how much both my own tastes, and the cigars, have changed.

It would be interesting if one a year if you guys reviewed one of those over-hyped NC cigars that Cigar Aficionado gives 94-95 points to. I'd love to hear you two's thoughts.

Cheers,

Mike