Do you remember your very first cigar? I bet a lot of you do. Unfortunately, that isn't the case for me. Once every couple years there would be a random moment when someone would offer me a cigar and I would join the festivities. I'd pay no attention to the actual cigar though. At the time, it was just something to smoke and socialize with. There were even a few occasions when a friend would want to visit a cigar shop and I'd grab one too. What I do remember though are the two cigars I bought on the day that sent me full-blown down the rabbit hole. One was a Camacho Triple Maduro and the other a Macanudo Vintage Maduro. I fell in love with cigars that night. Macanudo cigars are very easy to find as they seem to be in every shop and I had plenty of the brand in my early days of the hobby. I smoked a lot of Crü Royale as I found them to be pretty good. Many moons pass and I had sort of forgotten about the cigar. When one of these came in for a review I was looking forward to a blast from the past. As it turned out, I had one Crü Royale floating in the humidor with about 2 years age on it. Nap time was over. It was time to smoke them both and perform a true analysis.
The Deets
Cigar: Macanudo Crü Royale Robusto
Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: General Cigar Dominicana
Size: 5 x 50
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Dominican La Vega Especial
Filler: Dominican Viso, Nicaraguan Viso, Brazilian Mata Fina
Appearance 8/10
I like the leathery thick wrapper here and there is an oil spritz gleam. The cigar feels solid and the seams are acceptable. The bands on both samples could slide around a little and are borderline too loose. Caps are minimal. My largest issue is the lack of uniformity. All the bumps are like a tobacco acne feel. Not pleasant. The foot also reveals a number of large veins in the filler. Not a bad looking cigar, but would have liked to see more time spent.
Draw 8.5/10
I remember these being hit or miss and it was the same with these two. The first was pretty snug and needed some poking. The other one was excellent, leaning firm. There does always seem to be ample smoke output.
Burn/Construction 8/10
As with the recollection of the draw, the burn lines are consistently wavy. Some are wavier than others, but they're never straight. Touchups are a given, but the no-flake ash clings pretty tight.
Taste 9/10
1/3 - I must say, the 2 year nap did wonders for this cigar. I could tell the aged sample had found a balance that the fresh one was lacking. Starting out I get toasty walnut, oily leather, and a hint of honey. The retro is very soft with a subtle floral note. Moving inward there is a spice that creeps in, along with some hickory.
2/3 - Hickory and leather pull forward. The retro is still soft & gentle and the floral has included a white pepper note. I'm picking up traces of sweetness on a lengthy finish. The spiciness remains mild and in the back throughout the 2nd third.
3/3 - The final third brings dusty walnuts, jerky leather, and bold earth. Those seem to be the dominating notes and hovering in the Medium+ body range. The floral note has vacated the retro and its now sugar sprinkled dust with white pepper.
Overall 8.4/10
The blend used for Crü Royale is a great blend in my book. It's not a one-trick pony and has decent amount of depth to the profile. The problem is, these are likely shuffled along too quickly to meet production volumes. So grab a fiver and sit on them for a while. In fact, smoke one now and then in a year or two. You'll certainly notice the difference.
**Number of cigars smoked for the review: 2
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