Stogie Reviews: Camacho Diploma Diploma Maduro
Wednesday, February 25th, 2009
As a big fan of the regular Camacho Corojo line, I was excited to review a cigar from one of the Honduras-based company’s ultra premium blends. Unfortunately, my recent experience with three sticks from the Diploma line—a “monster cigar comprised of the finest authentic corojo crop”—left me disappointed.
Also the name of a vitola in the blend, the Diploma features corojo binder and filler tobaccos and, in this case, comes wrapped with a dark and oily maduro wrapper. It’s a classically sized robusto at five inches with a 50 ring gauge, and the three I smoked for this review were very similar across-the-board.
Prelight I found a rich tobacco aroma with a little hint of cocoa. The cigar feels overly soft and spongy from top to bottom and the bunch of tobacco at the foot looks loose. Not exactly what you expect from an $8 cigar.
It lights easily and the initial burn is razor sharp. The draw is too easy for my taste, sort of like drawing air through a straw with no resistance at all. The taste offers up lots of leather with a hint of cocoa on the finish.
At about the one inch mark, the burn starts to go ragged and eventually demands a correction from the torch. Then, at about the halfway point, the leather and cocoa fade and are replaced by woodiness and spice that remain until the end.
All three Diplomas suffered from the same construction and burn flaws and overall the experience was underwhelming. While the flavors were enjoyable they weren’t overly complex, and once the burn problems started they continued through the majority of the smoke. I expect better construction and a little more complexity from the flavors for the money. For that, this high-end offering from Camacho earns only two stogies out of five.
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photo credit: Stogie Guys
It’s the Camacho Maduro counterfeit test: if it burns straight, it’s a fake!
By the way, guys. I think you could use a few more Patricks on staff. Maybe you could make George an honorary Patrick?
It’s official from now on: When it comes to StogieGuys.com, Patricks need not apply.
In all seriousness, though, we’re excited to have Patrick M on board and look forward to the perspective he’ll offer on the many cigars he’ll review. I hope you will join me in welcoming him to the Stogie Guys family.
Welcome, Patrick M! The more Patricks the better, if you ask me…
Sorry to hear you too had a bad experience with the Diploma maduro. I also thought the burn sucked and the draw was way too loose.
Thanks, for the welcome. It was an unfortunate experience with this cigar. The flavors had promise and with better construction it would probably be a good cigar at the $5-$6 price point.
I am thinking about changing my name.
I’m done with Camacho. I’ve been burned with bad SLRs and even worse 1969s. The Coroylar can be good, although too strong for my taste.
The only Camacho I would consider buying are the CI Legends. They’re not ultra-premiums, but at least they burn straight.
oops, meant to refer to the horrible Camacho 1962s, not 1969s
I was also very disappointed in the new Diplomas after a BOTL sent me a few to try. The old Diploma was the only Camacho I thought was worth the extra dough. Camacho also made a cigar for CI called the Camacho Corojo 08/22 Ltd. that was top notch. Now they don’t make a cigar I truly enjoy. The Coyolar is OK.