Cigar Review: Aquitaine Mode 5

Last year, two of my favorite cigars happened to be Abaddon and Ouroboros, both of which are made for Blue Havana, a tobacconist in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. They are crafted at Fabrica de Tabacos Nica Sueño in Estelí by Skip Martin of RoMa Craft Tobac.

I was so impressed by these cigars that I decided to better acquaint myself with RoMa Craft and its core lines: CroMagnon, Intemperance (EC XVIII and BA XXI), and Aquitaine. If you haven’t already done so, you should do the same. After all, Skip Martin’s Estelí operation may be small with limited production, but he’s undoubtedly making some of the best cigars in the world.

Aquitaine is the last RoMa Craft line I haven’t yet fully delved into. It has the same filler blend (Estelí, Condega, and Pueblo Nuevo) and binder (Cameroon) as CroMagnon. But instead of featuring a Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper, Aquitaine has an Ecuadorian Habano Ligero wrapper. “This eighth and ninth priming Ligero leaf is thick, oily, and has amazing texture,” according to RoMa Craft.

Only in February did Skip Martin add the Mode 5 vitola to the Aquitaine portfolio of sizes. A short perfecto measuring 5 inches long with a ring gauge of 50, Mode 5 is a favorite of his in the CroMagnon line—and it’s often in short supply—so adding it to Aquitaine was probably not a tough decision. The Aquitaine Mode 5 costs $7 and sports a velvety, oily wrapper with minimal veins. It has a well-executed, sharply pointed cap at the head, a tapered foot, and bready pre-light notes. The cigar feels firm with no soft spots and has a clear cold draw.

As one might expect given Mode 5’s makeup (Ligero wrapper, plenty of Nicaraguan tobacco), the initial flavor is full-bodied and spicy with rich notes of black pepper and espresso, which are accented by a background sweetness that I attribute to the Cameroon wrapper. A smoky mesquite taste joins the fray approximately where the burn line passes the gentle taper. There’s also a noticeable nicotine kick (which is worth mentioning, especially since I rarely notice the nicotine in a cigar).

Into the midway point, some of the spice dissipates and a creamy nuttiness becomes prevalent. But espresso and pepper are still at the core, and I don’t think the body ever meanders into the medium spectrum. All the while the combustion qualities are nearly perfect: a straight burn that only requires a light touch-up here and there, a solid ash, smooth draw, and good smoke production.

Let me put this plainly: At $7, the Aquitaine Mode 5 is an incredible buy. That should come as no surprise since I seem to love almost every RoMa Craft cigar I get my hands on. Do yourself a favor and snag some of these when you can. This short perfecto is worthy of a stellar rating of four and a half stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys