Xikar HC Colorado Maduro

With cold weather right around the corner here in the Northern Hemisphere I figured it was time to start reviewing some smaller sizes for those who can’t smoke in the car or in the house and are looking for a shorter smoke. Today’s cigar is available in a few sizes but I went with the shortest one to begin my cold weather smokes series.

The Xikar HC website states the Xikar HC Colorado Maduro is wrapped in a beautiful cocoa colored wrapper, the Habano Colorado is a smooth, rich tasting cigar with chocolate notes. The well aged tobacco makes for an interesting medium to full bodied cigar that is moderately strong with just a hint of sweetness. It is available as a Robusto, Toro, Belicoso, Churchill, Lonsdale and a Petit Corona.

The press release states, “Made from the tobaccos of five countries and rolled at the Nestor Plasencia owned Tabacos de Oriente factory in Honduras and Segovia Cigars in Nicaragua, each line will offer Robusto, Belicoso, Lonsdale and Toro sizes. The Habano Colorado line will offer two additional sizes: Churchill and Petit Corona. Jesus Fuego, a 5th generation Cuban cigar maker, former instructor of post-harvest tobacco at the University of Pinar Del Rio (Cuba), and rising star in the cigar industry, remarks about the complete variation of tastes and strengths in the 14-total cigar collection, “No matter your time, mood or your preference, the HC Series has the perfect blend for every cigar lover’s palate. More importantly, each smoke is consistent and full of flavor from start to finish. You always know you are getting a truly satisfying and relaxing smoking experience with a HC Series.”

Cigar: Xikar HC Colorado Maduo
Size: 4.5 x 44 (Petit Corona)
Wrapper: Habano Colorado (Jalapa Valley)
Binder: Nicaragua (Esteli)
Filler: Costa Rica, Nicaragua (Jalapa), Honduras
Strength: Medium to Full

Appearance and Construction (18/20): The Petit Corona size is one I rarely if ever, reach for so while I have nothing to compare it to the roll of the cigar appears flawless. The toothy wrapper has some minimal veins and some nice tooth. The cigar has a nice weight to it and no soft spots anywhere. The cigar utilizes a 2 band system with the primary band showing yellow, green and red with the letters HC and a palm tree. The secondary band is at the foot, with a similarity to the Xikar Havana Lighter collection with notation of the type of wrapper.

Flavor & Notes (26/30): Off the foot of the cigar there are notes of spice while the prelight draw offers sweet caramel notes which for me seems to be the trademark of cigars made by Jesus Fuego who produces these sticks for Xikar. Despite the size I’ll break this down in thirds. The first of which starts off with some nice spices which are most prevalent through the nose. There is some leather notes that quickly fade revealing some sweet chocolate and caramel notes. The second third of the cigar the notes remain similar, but the caramel is the dominant note with some chocolate/mocha in the background.

Burn/Ash/Draw (19/25): The stick burns very erratic and jagged throughout. While I never needed to touch it up, it just looked plain ugly. The ash was dark and held well but the it was a tad flaky. The draw was an issue with it being difficult from start to finish.

Overall (21/25): Despite the tough draw the cigar was enough to fill the urge for a smoke. The cigar lasted 30 minutes but was nothing special. I would smoke them in a pinch, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for one.

Rating: 86
Price: $7.00