Country of origin: Dominican Republic Color: Maduro Length: 6" Ring gauge: 50 Wrapper: Brazilian Arapiraca Binder: Dominican Filler: Dominican/Peruvian/Colombian Rating*: ★★★★
My first introduction to The Mogul by The Maldonado Dynasty was close to three months ago, as I exchanged a few Tweets with the company's founder and President/CEO, Paul Maldonado. After exchanging a few messages, I found him to be quite an interesting guy. According to the company's press kit, Maldonado is a world traveler, inspired and driven by his love of premium cigars, leisure, elegance and all things luxury. Based in Beverly Hills, CA, his goal was to give the town its own cigar line and utilize his experience as a director/producer in all creative marketing campaigns to build The Maldonado Dynasty into an luxury brand with global affluence. Branded as "World-Class Luxury & Elegance", the company's offerings include signature fragrances, stylish handcrafted eyewear, and fine mens and womens apparel. The Mogul was the result of over a year of testing different blends, in efforts to create a unique blend with rich and complex flavors, a robust body, a sinfully delicious aroma, and a smooth finish. Once I was informed that the cigar was manufactured by La Aurora, that's all I needed to hear - I knew I had to get my hands on this blend.
The Mogul Toro is a gorgeous, slightly rustic, dark chocolate brown cigar. It has a blotchy and slightly toothy maduro wrapper with prominent veins and slightly visible seams. The cigar is adorned with a regal gold band embossed with the large "M." logo. I received three cigars from Maldonado; one smoked using a V-cut and the remainder using a straight guillotine cut, after resting for about two and half weeks in one of my humidors. The cold draw provided earthy, barnyard, and slightly musty flavors, matching the aroma emanating from the foot. The cigar lights very easily and has excellent construction, producing a very good, tight ash and nearly perfect burn lines. Only one cigar required a re-light during the smoke.
The Mogul Toro is a full-bodied smoke with medium strength, that produces extraordinarily thick aromatic smoke with each draw. The smoke starts with a very dominating earthy flavor with leathery notes and moderate black pepper, totally enhanced on retrohale. The second third transitions nicely with the addition of robust elements of espresso, occasional cedar, and some molasses-like sweetness, which remains unchanged (but with increasingly bold expressions) throught the remainder of the smoke. With a cool burn, each cigar was smoked to a tiny nub, leaving a great long, sweet finish. Total burn time averaged approximately 1 hour, 15 minutes.
What an incredibly smooth, tasty, and well-balanced cigar! As I didn't expect anything less from a La Aurora-inspired blend, The Mogul Toro does not disappoint. I did not pair The Mogul with any spirits or coffee; however, Maldonado suggests pairing with a full-bodied wine, such as port or rioja, as well as cognac. In an exchange of messages with Maldonado, he mentioned his favorite pairing of The Mogul with rosé champagne (a must-try!). In addition to the Toro, The Mogul is also available in a 4¾" x 52 Robusto.
More information about The Maldonado Dynasty may be found at www.maldonadodynasty.com. On social media, follow and 'LIKE' on Facebook (The Maldonado Dynasty), on Twitter (@MaldonadoDynsty), and Instagram (the_maldonado_dynasty).
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*Rating legend:
★★★★★ Excellent/Outstanding
★★★★ Very Good
★★★ Good
★★ Fair
★ Poor