Casdagli Grand Café Maduro Prelight
Casdagli Cigars was founded back in 1997 by Jeremy Casdagli. Casdagli was formerly known as Bespoke Cigars, but they rebranded under the family name in 2018 to celebrate the growth into a worldwide brand. The Grand Café is part of the Traditional line, which was inspired by the Casdagli family’s time spent in Egypt in the early 1900s.
The Grand Café Maduro is an extension of the original Grand Café line. It comes in one vitola 7.5″ x 39 Lancero with a blend of filler leaves from The Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Peru, Dominican binder, and an Ecuadorian Corojo Wrapper. The cigar was blended by Hendrik Kelner Jr, and rolled at the Kelner Boutique Factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic. This cigar has some really nice finishing touches, a closed foot, and a pigtail cap. The rolling looks near perfect, and a punch cut reveals a great draw, especially considering the narrow ring gauge. Not very much going on in the cold draw, but I do get just a bit of stale coffee. I lit this cigar with a cedar spill. I’m already seeing an impressive amount of tooth on the light.
Casdagli Grand Café Maduro First Third
First puff is already showing big notes of rich chocolate. I’m picking up on cocoa biscuits and toast on the palate. The retrohale is showing bright black pepper, cedar and dark chocolate. The pepper is already beginning to fall off, which is revealing tones of creamy coffee, and vanilla. This flavor profile is reminding me of a bowl of cocoa puffs with milk so far. This is a great start to the experience. The ash and construction look stellar!
Casdagli Grand Café Maduro Second Third
The flavors are remaining relatively consistent here, but their arrangement in the blend is changing. The backbone of the flavor profile is the cedar, creamy coffee, and a tinge of black pepper. Where it gets really interesting is this interplay of chocolate milk, cocoa biscuits, and vanilla. Those three flavors are dipping in and out as the dominant tones from puff to puff. I’m very impressed by the balance and complexity right here. Every pull is slightly different, but highly enjoyable.
Casdagli Grand Café Maduro Final Third
Not very much in terms of transitions here, but the overall profile is leaning more dry. There’s less dark chocolate and more cocoa powder. Cedar has taken a step forward in the profile. There’s also the appearance of a molasses note. The palate is all toast, cedar, vanilla and oak. The retrohale is showing cocoa powder, molasses, and only a touch of black pepper. The interplay from the second third is no longer present, but it’s still a very tasty profile here in the final. I put this one down with just under an inch left.
Casdagli Grand Café Maduro Conclusions
According to Casdagli’s website Jeremy Casdagli’s favorite cigars are “all his lanceros”, and I can definitely agree. The biggest take away for me on this Grand Café Maduro was just how dynamic that second third was. The interplay of the chocolate and vanilla, with the undertones of cedar, coffee, and spice really made me wish the second third lasted forever. I can see this being equally fantastic with a cup of coffee in the morning, or a fortified companion at night. Long story short – buy some. I’m looking forward to trying to original Grand Café, and all the other lanceros I can get my hands on from Casdagli.
