Xikar HC maduro Robusto

While at Cigar Train the other day I picked up a budget stick to smoke on the way home and then didn't smoke until days later. I've seen these Xikar HC maduro cigars advertised but never took the time to pick one up. That was a mistake on my part. Read on and you'll find out why.

Quick Details

• Cigar Size: 5 x 52 Robusto
• Origin:  Honduras
• Wrapper:  Connecticut Havana Oscuro
• Filler: Nicaraguan / Dominican
• Price: $3.99 @ CigarTrain

At first glance you can tell the HC maduro is well constructed for a budget cigar. You can see a few medium to small veins in the maduro wrapper but feeling down the length of the cigar it is packed well. I didn't find any overly hard or soft spots. The cold aroma from the foot and body was a faint mix of toast and oak. Once the end was punched the flavors from the cold draw were another story. With the first draw I could taste notes of bold chocolate mocha. The draw was a tad bit tighter than I like but it should smoke just fine and I was anxious to light this baby up.

With the first few draws the predominate flavor was earthy but I did notice a nice mocha aftertaste and notes coffee on the retro hale. After the first few draws the chocolate mocha flavors began to get stronger and the wrapper had developed a nice sweetness.

The light gray ash fell around the 1/3 point of the cigar and it was producing plumes of earth scented smoke. Around the mid point, oil began to appear just above the burn clean burn line and the flavor shifted a bit adding notes of nuts and oak as the mocha sweetened up a bit. As the burn got into the final third the HC maduro put out a few puffs of bitterness but I purged the cigar and it was gone.

Overall this was a very good cigar, with a great price, that didn't smoke like a budget cigar. These can be found online for around $2.50 each and that's a sweet deal for a really good cigar. I will defiantly be smoking more of the HC Cigar line.

Rated: 93