About.com Rating

Quesada Cigars (formerly known as SAG Imports) are made by Manuel Quesada in the Matasa factory in the Dominican Republic. Quesada Tributo cigars were created to honor the deceased members of the Quesada family. This cigar features a hybrid HCHS wrapper (Habano 2000, Corojo, Habano Vuelta Arriba and Sumatra) that is grown in Ecuador, a Honduran ligero binder, and a blend of Dominican and Nicaraguan ligero filler tobaccos.

Tributo cigars are available in four sizes which are named after the late ancestors of the family: Manolin (6½ x 60), Julio (5 x 50), Alvaro (6 x 52 Belicoso), and Alvarito (4½ x 40). The cigar sampled for this review was the Manolin, which is the largest Quesada Tributo size available.

The Quesada Cigar Company also makes several other popular brands of cigars, including Fonseca and Casa Magna, which was Cigar Aficionado's number one cigar of the year for 2008.

Flavor

The Quesada Tributo Manolin cigar began with a full and rich tobacco flavor with just a hint of spice. Then a little bit of natural sweetness emerged with the taste of cocoa as the smoke progressed. The cigar was full bodied, but well balanced and very enjoyable. I rate the flavor with a solid 4 stars, bordering on 4½. However, this type of cigar (full and large) would most be enjoyed by cigar connoisseurs, and is not recommended for beginners.

Draw and Construction

The Quesada Tributo Manolin cigar was well made and had a great draw after the first few puffs.

It is not unusual for a large cigar of this size to take a little while to really get going. The cigar held a long ash and had an even burn for the first 35 minutes, when a touch-up light was applied to keep it burning evenly. After that point, one more touch-up and a couple of relights were needed during the remainder of the smoke. It took me a whopping one hour and 50 minutes to smoke the cigar down to two inches remaining.

Value

The Quesada Tributo Manolin sure is a lot of cigar for the money, and based on the amount of time that it takes to smoke one, you are really getting two cigars for the price of one. A single stick will cost you about $8, but boxes of 24 are available online for about $172, which works out to an average of $7.17 per cigar. This is a good value for experienced cigars smokers who enjoy large full bodied cigars. However, if you do not usually have two hours available to smoke just one cigar, I would recommend one of the other sizes, which are smaller and less expensive.

  Quesada Tributo Cigars