Friday, April 10, 2009

Red Hot Tamale: Camacho SLR Rothschild maduro

A few weeks ago -- back in the good old days, before the SCHIP cigar tax -- I was able to win a 5-pack of Camacho SLR Rothschild maduros on cigarbid for a mere 13 dollars. Woo-hoo!

I let them rest for a couple weeks in my humidor, anticipating them with glee. But I guess two weeks wasn't long enough, because the first one I smoked was as hot and harsh as a rubber tire squealing on the pavement. It never settled down, from beginning to end.

Locked away deep in this cigar, I kept telling myself, is a core of meaty flavor just yearning to break free. Unfortunately, it didn't.

Out of curiosity, I read some other customer reviews of this cigar on the blogs and retail sites. The majority of the reviews were ravingly positive. A few, however, were dismissive for the same reasons: Hot and harsh.

I'd like to give the SLR Rothschild maduro the benefit of the doubt, and chalk it up to a need for rest & mellowing. I'll keep the other four in my humidor for a long, long time. I'm hoping this will allow their true nature to reveal itself.

As you can see, I have a lot of faith in Camacho and am reluctant to condemn a single specimen. Someday I will do a second review. If the next one doesn't improve, I'll have to change my tune.

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