A Brief Cigar Review – 601 Reserva Limitada Maduro

A lovely box press cigar at a decent price.  I received two of the blue label maduro as part of a free 601 variety 10 pack with my latest cigar purchase.  That was a coupon offered at famous-smoke.com if you spend $150 or more.  Famous Smoke is my go-to online retailer.  I love their online coupon section that will give you freebies starting at $50 orders.

Wrapper:  Habano Maduro
Binder:  Nicaraguan   
Filler:  Nicaraguan
Size: 5.2 x 52 (box-pressed robusto)
MSRP: $7 

One thing I love about box-pressed cigars, besides the hand feel, is the draw.  I rarely encounter one that has a tight draw.  Oh, and a box press won't roll off the table and crack before you have the chance to light it  ;-P

The first thing I notice when I light up is that the smoke output is incredibly cloudy, it calls for some smoke ring practice ;-P   

A few minutes into the 601 a basic flavor profile emerges of cocoa, espresso, and spice. The 601 maduro is not super complex.  This can be a good thing if your mood requires this, however for me this would generally be the case for such a time when you just want to smoke, and not really think about it.  Times such as driving, playing poker with buddies, mowing the lawn, etc.  

Towards the halfway point, the flavor profile remains unchanged.  I have noticed the 601 maduro isn't all that smooth.  It's not harsh either, but a retro-hale through the nose might cause a little eye watering.  Of course, a full retro-hale of smoke out of the nose is never required to get the extra benefits of flavor tasting.  With the 601 it might be best to get just a little smoke up to the nose with little to no exhale.

I have had a few of the 601 Reserva Limitada Maduro in the past.  If my memory serves me correctly, it seems they were always on a weekend summer afternoon with an iced coffee.  I remember enjoying all of them.  This time I started with iced coffee, and switched to a whiskey and coke.  

The 601 has an unusually long smoke time for even a robusto, the burn rate is not very fast.  My smoking session was a little over an hour and a half.  

Even to the nub, there is no new flavor changes to report.  It is a solid consistent smoke all the way through.  Maybe this is why it tends to be a day-time cigar for me, more activity and mental stimulation going on around me during the day.  These type of cigars do not require a lot of thought.  You have your basic flavors, and they are either good or they are not.

I didn't encounter any construction issues, the burn line had some slightly uneven points, no big deal.  I touched up with the single flame once or twice purely out of OCD.  As far as price, I would like to see it more at a $5 range, but hey mine were free, as were last time with the same coupon.  

I rate the 601 Reserva Limitada Maduro 7.5 out of 10