2019 Cigar of the Year – Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Maestro: A party worth attending?

Back in 2019 Cigar Aficionado magazine named the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Maestro by A.J. Fernandez its Cigar of the Year giving it a whopping 96 points out of 100. There have been occasions when I have found their Cigar of the Year hasn’t lived up to its reputation for one reason or another, but fashionably late as I always am, does this box pressed torpedo with its seductive maduro wrapper still deserve the accolades heaped upon it?

The first thing I must confess is that a boxed pressed torpedo is just about my favourite vitola alongside the lancero and perfecto. As a result, the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Maestro had already started with a good score for pre-light before I even took it out of my humidor. As I slid it out of the cellophane, the wrapper felt lustrous and smooth with no blemishes or defects in it. The aromas that tickled my nose took me back to the best humidors I’ve had the pleasure of walking into. The cedar and sweet tobacco with hints of cocoa was enticing and I was eager to cut, light and savour the delights that awaited me.

As is my want with a figurado head, I chose a straight cut at a 45 degree angle. I find that this gives me the greatest satisfaction with this vitola. The cold draw was very easy and filled my mouth with cedar and leather. Lighting the cigar released smoke that was amazingly creamy and silky and a lovely peppery spice danced over my palate.

A few draws later and the cigar started to give up some of its secrets. The taste was beautifully long and developed around my mouth as I savoured every puff. The pepperiness was joined by a leather taste. As this subsided, coffee and cocoa began to develop before sweet spiced fruits took over at the tail end of the flavour.

Towards the middle, the ash on this particular cigar did drop rather spectacularly but it landed in a perfectly formed ball in my ashtray. This is probably because I was gesticulating with gusto about just how great the flavour was and the exciting way in whish it was developing. By this time, the pepper had started to subside and in its place I was getting notes of a deliciously juicy, rare steak. I had chosen my cocktail – the Irresistible Manhattan – and the warm, sweet earth and nut flavours of this drink played a delightful symphony with the taste of the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Maestro.

Reaching the final third, the cigar had noticeably sweetened up. Very often at this point in a torpedo cigar there can be a build up of bitterness at the head. This can be quickly remedied by re-cutting the cigar and giving it a blow-through. However, I didn’t have to do this with the Quattro Nicaragua Maestro. There wasn’t any sign of blackening and the flavour tasted just as clean as it had when I had lit up.

Smoking it right down to the nub, the coffee from the beginning of the cigar reappeared with a cheeky hint of sweet chilli. By the time I laid the Aging Room cigar to rest in my ashtray, I had attended a vibrant flavour party where all the guests danced in exquisite synchronicity, each having its moment to shine in the spotlight. So, without doubt, worthy of its mantle of 2019 Cigar of the Year, and a strong contender for my personal shortlist of the best smokes I have had this year. Overall: definitely a cigar that I will be delighted to smoke again and would recommend to anyone that appreciates a complex and full bodied cigar.

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Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Maestro Cigar Details