Robert McConnell Maduro

I want to be clear and for this reason I try to answer the doubts concerning this tobacco. First of all the name Maduro is misleading: there is no cigar leaf in this blend. Not at all! Second, without any doubt there is Perique in this mixture and you can taste it from the beginning to the end. Third, maybe there is a sprinkling of rum but it is not leading and it is not so evident. Fourth, Virginia is certainly predominant and there is not only steamed Virginia, but also stoved and toasted Virginia. Fifth, there is a little casing and also a final topping. But the real problem is to establish which kind of mixture you are smoking. I mean Maduro can be a Virginia/Perique mixture; but it could be better a flavored mixture or a simply aromatic blend. And for the reason that Virginia is leading, overwhelming, it could be interpreted as a straight Virginia. To you the choice. In my opinion Maduro is an aromatic flavored mixture, but I have to admit that for the first time I’m struggling (I often think to a Va/Pe slightly flavored). Finally, because of the taste and of the hybrid nature, in my personal system rating (from 1 to 10) my score is 7 and two stars

Well, I pay quite frequent visits to Maduro and just going to finish this current tin, maybe 2/3 years old. The smell of the tobacco in the tin I say it's "elegant". I can smell both the rum topping and the Perique (not of stewed fruits, but vinegarish). I really like it. Instead, the smoke I say it's "understated", which is not necessarily a bad thing. I'm forced to search all the notes - sweet, piquant and liqueurish - with attention, and dedicate myself to the pure act of smoking a pipe. In this way, as soon as I get the right rythm, those very delicate nouances make their appearance and make this tobacco pleasant and fascinating. This makes Maduro be a leisure tobacco, not an all-day stuff. Unattentive smoking makes it flat and bitey. Three stars.

UPDATE JAN30/2009

well, I should confirm my previous considerations. Nevertheless:

1. in the pamphlet of the importing company for Italy the description of Maduro doesn't include Perique anymore, it's described as Virginia + Carolina (?).

2. Maduro is still fascinating me (beautiful the almost black weed colour, heavenly the tin aroma), and sure I will smoke it occasionally, but I have to revise my recommendation and cut one star off. Too difficult to get a completely satisfactory smoke.

Black Cavendish, Burley with some Virginia and a sprinkle of Perique. The rum topping is subdued but complements nicely the fig and raisin flavors. Too aromatic and weak for me but probably a good tobacco for Black Cavendish smokers.

Virginia lover

I was drawn to this because I liked McConnell's "Oriental" and thought that the same pure approach would impress me with "Maduro". Unfortunately, the bests part of this blend are how it smells out of the tin and the room note it creates. It is bland. Not much taste of rum or perique. Though, for being bland, it is a very smooth and inoffensive smoke.

This appears and taste very much like a rum cavendish, I was a little disappointed by it, even though the store owner sold it in large quanities. A good blending tobacco in my opinion, adds a very natural rum taste to any other blend and beats the pants off most other aromatics. Quite mild in strength.

Curiously, the tin note is vanilla with a little sweet rum, like some Appleton 12.

First smoke comes with the cavendish, then there’s a sweet, hay, bready virginia. The perique is there, don’t worry, has a tangy feel to it but not much, just in the background, bit peppery when you retrohale. Some citrusy notes as well, some dark fruit... But where’s the rum? Has a sweetness there, maybe it would be a light and sweet rum, but not a navy rum like the description tells us. It goes more towards a natural taste and a good blend of the tobaccos.

After you light it up and smoke a bit, for like five minutes, let this baby sit in the bowl for 10 minutes and relight. The aroma will intensify and will become an aromatic with dark fruits and molasses and a pinch of perique.

It’s good that you dry this tobacco before smoking if you want to get the best out of it. The perique will be more prominent, there will be sweetness and nutty flavor.

By the end of the bowl there is some nuttiness and earth, but still sweet.

Burns very well, delivers a cool smoke. Not much aftertaste. After you sip, the next moment the taste is gone.

Has a light to medium body. Strength is light.

Room note is pleasant though.

People keep talking about the connection to the cigar leaf. Well, a cigar does have sweetness, spiciness and nuttiness and I could compare this to a certain extent to some cigars I’ve smoked, but it definitely does not have cigar leaf. It has, however, a little resemblance to a connecticut cigar.

Easy one, this is a tobacco I would suggest to the newbies, or to those who are willing to come out from aromatics. Nice chocolate/havana/nuts scent in the tin, but also a slight reminiscence of natural leaves. Perique? Huh... Easy to pack, will smoke creamy and constant. Cavendish takes the lead before half bowl. Perique? Huh... An overall sensation of cuban cigar, that is the reason I think Maduro can be a good help for those passing from cigars to pipe, or from flavoured to aromatics, or from cigarettes to pipe... Not for my rotation.

Recd this tin from the Better - 1/2 as part of gift package...b4 she learned how to navigate to this site's Wishlist option. I would not have sought this blend out on my own. Positives: An old school blend, circa 1850, nice Navy tin note (rum-hardy har har...har). Not prone to be bitey, slightly flavorful but only at the bowl's beginning.

Negatives: Everything else...boring, placid, insipid...yawn-promoting. Oh and by the way, I have no idea how or why it's labeled as Maduro, neither in reference to the leaf nor the wine-as neither is an ingredient in this blend...it's a VaPer that doesn't taste like anything discernable...

It has a wonderful aroma out of the tin, but that's about where it stops. Hardly the 'full strength' blend advertised. I could barely sense the presence of a rum topping, let alone Perique. It is a mild, innocuous smoke that one could puff away at all day. Unfortunately, it is unremarkable and, for that reason, not worth the price.

Note: The tin I purchased is labeled "The Original Maduro".