Paulie’s Quick Ash Cigar Review: RoMa Craft La Maestranza Caballeria Valencia
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Sometimes inspiration comes from the unlikeliest of places. Take, for example, the catalyst behind La Maestranza.
According to RoMa Craft co-founder Skip Martin, “In an early episode of Chef’s Table (Season 1, Episode 3) Francis Mallmann uses the word maestranza, defining it as ‘the people who are around you helping.’ It had resonated with me ever since.”
Literally translating to a group of artisans or skilled craftsmen, La Maestranza is built around those who helped build RoMa Craft Tobac and their Nica Sueño factory. To underscore the sentiment, the secondary band features the initials of every employee of the factory. Without a magnifying glass or younger eyes, I’ll have to take their word for it. A nice touch, nonetheless.
So, is this boutique blend a worthy homage or does the tribute fall flat? That being said, it’s time to find out a bit more about La Maestranza.
RoMa Craft La Maestranza Caballeria Valencia Quick Ash Video Cigar Review
The Specs
Factory: Fábrica de Tabacos Nica Sueño S.A., Nicaragua
Size: 6” x 52 Toro
Strength: Full Bodied
Wrapper: Mexican San Andres
Binder: Brazil
Filler: Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua
Presentation: 40-count box
Behind the Blend
La Maestranza’s 5-country blend starts off with a Mexican San Andres wrapper. While dark, RoMa Craft categorizes this leaf as Spanish Market Selection (SMS). Don’t sweat the small details, just know that SMS is a color classification more than anything. So, basically, it’s a shade lighter than the San Andres Maduro found on company’s Neanderthal line. Enough said.
The luxe blend is capped off with a Brazilian binder over long fillers from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and Honduras. Hearty fare to be sure. But enough with the pillow talk already. It’s time to fire up the RoMa Craft La Maestranza and put it to the Quick Ash test.
The Cheat Sheet
Rather than breaking RoMa Craft La Maestranza down the way everyone else does, I’m going to use three benchmarks: high, low, and whoa (what surprised me).
- High: While the ring gauge is a beefy 52, the La Maestranza sports a deceptively slender profile. It’s kind of the best of both worlds, slim enough to clench in your jaw yet beefy enough to pack in loads of flavor. And speaking of flavors, expect earth, creaminess, cedar, pepper, and baking spice. Soft pretzel as well—think bakery doughiness with some salt. These don’t arrive in a linear order but rather come together in various combinations. While full-bodied—a big boy blend, to be sure—La Maestranza won’t have you seeing God. It’s refined power. Subtle and a bit sneaky.
- Low: As often the case with box pressed cigars, La Maestranza can exhibit a wonky burn at times. No need to get your pantaloons in a bunch though, if left to its own devices the burn will self-correct. Patience is key here. The only other potential issue is that the cigar tends to extinguish itself. It needs a smidge of attention, or it’ll go out. Barely worth noting, but I’ll mention it anyway.
- Whoa: The consistency and balance caught me off guard. In a good way. Ok, I’ll dive a bit deeper—La Maestranza didn’t have any boring moments. It was good throughout. On top of that, the flavors worked with what I can only describe as mathematical harmony. No one-hit wonders here. And the smoke was chewy. Rich. Sophisticated without beating you over the head with sophistication. All in all, yummy.
The Last Word
RoMa Craft La Maestranza is a personal cigar. And I’m not talking about cigars like the Tatuaje Black (which is reported to be Pete Johnson’s personal blend) either. What I’m getting at is the level of personal investment and involvement that went into the La Maestranza blend. From the initial concept to the level of care paid to the secondary band’s design, Skip Martin’s fingerprints are all over this RoMa Craft offering. All this adds up to an attention to detail often found lacking in larger labels. But should you smoke it?
The short answer is yes. With qualifications. It’s not a blend for those who favor a mellow cigar. La Maestranza is full-bodied with equal strength. It’s not going to be the strongest cigar out there, but I wouldn’t suggest taking it lightly.
Then, there’s the wrapper—while not classified by RoMa Craft as a Maduro, the Mexican San Andres Spanish Market Selection basically smokes like one. It tastes similar too. If it sounds good so far, then make haste and pick up the RoMa Craft La Maestranza at Famous Smoke Shop pronto.
Pro Tip: Rotating the cigar as you smoke will help keep the burn line in check. Don’t go overboard here, just a quarter or half turn every once and a while will do the trick nicely. Also, don’t feel obligated to burn La Maestranza to the nub, it’s advisable to stop if it starts burning hot or becomes too intense.