While in New Orleans the place to be as the day came to a close was Don Leoncio located on Canal Street. The place which is owned by the guys behind Pinar Del Rio is a cigar lounge with a good air conditioning system which was needed to beat the oppressive heat & humidity the city had to offer. As I made my way to the cigar store in the evening and night time hours I got to mingle with some good guys who own shops and many people I have becoming friendly with online not to mention the manufacturers who showed up as well.

While there I got to speak with Abe Flores and he offered me up some smoke to try and one of which was the PDR 1878. Before I left I purchased a few more of these to show my support and for the simple fact that I enjoyed them.

Cigar: PDR 1878 Cubano Especial Capa Madura
Size:5 x 52 (Robusto)
Wrapper: Brazillian
Binder: Dominican Criollo ’98
Filler: Nicaraguan & Dominican Criollo
Strength: Full
Twitter: @pdrcigars
Facebook: Pinar Del Rio
Official Site: http://www.pdrcigar.com/

PDR 1878

Appearance and Construction: A dark looking cigar with a lot of oils and an incredible looking Brazilian wrapper that has one vein of note and a seamless roll. The cigar had a nice weight to it with no soft spots and a well packed foot. The band on it is a dark gray with silver lettering and bordering. The dark band on a dark cigar looks modern, but classy. The top of the cigar has a beautiful big tail which I decided to unravel and took a picture of the stick holding it by the rat tail.

Flavor & Notes: Once the cap is removed which came off cleanly using my Xikar Multi Tool Scissor I put the cigar through the pre-light ritual. The draw offers up a nice raisin while the foot is slightly musky with some notes of hickory. Once the cigar is lit the there is a some spice, that is noticeable more so through the nose and some wood notes with a touch of leather. As we enter the second third of the cigar there is some complexity as the notes become a little citric and remind me of orange peel as the wood continues and some bitter chocolate begins to develop as well. As we close out of the the final third of the cigar the wood remains, and the bitter chocolate smooths out some with a slightly leather like finish.

Smoking Characteristics: The PDR 1878 Capa Madura is a well made cigar with a perfect burn all the way through with one of the best holding ashes I am come across. If I didn’t have to remove the bands I felt as if the ash would of remained for the entire stick. The draw was ideal and the cigar produced massive amounts of smoke so be sure you are in a well ventilated area if that isn’t your thing.

Conclusion: Don Leoncio is a place I miss in New Orleans but thankfully I can reminisce about the experience by lighting one of these up. The MSRP of these make it an affordable cigar and the profile of the cigar is enjoyable to say the least. To me it seems as if Pinar Del Rio has really stepped up their game a notch and it is very noticeable in this stick.

Rating: 90
Price: $5.00

PDR 1878 Cubano Especial Capa Madura