About Matilde
Matilde was originally born in 1876 in Santiago de los Caballeros. The brand eventually shut down in the early 1900s, only to be revived by Jose Seijas in 2014. Seijas’s tobacco journey began in 1974 when he was hired as an engineer at Consolidated Cigar Corporation. Seijas familiarized himself with the production side of tobacco before settling down at Tabacalera de Garcia. Seijas worked his way up to VP of Operations and Master Blender at Tabacalera de Garcia, overseeing the production of Altadis U.S.A. brands such as Romeo y Julieta, Vega Fina, and H. Upmann. Jose Seijas retired from Tabacalera de Garcia in 2011, but he could not stay away from the cigar industry. In 2014, Jose, along with his two sons, Enrique and Ricardo, began a new journey in the cigar world under the Matilde brand.
Blend Details
Matilde released the Limited Exposure No. 2 in 2022. It was originally released as a 6 x 50 Toro, with a 5 x 50 Robusto, and a 6 x 42 Lonsdale released later. The blend is made up of an Ecuadorian Corojo wrapper over a Dominican binder, and Dominican Criollo 98, Corojo, and HVA filler leaves. Matilde’s Limited Exposure 2 is rolled at Hostos Fernández Quesada’s Tabacalera La Isla in Santiago, Dominican Republic.
Visual Inspection & Pre-Light
The wrapper is an earthy brown with some black mottling throughout. The aromas are of cedar and cinnamon on the foot and wrapper. The draw is snug with notes of wet leaves and brown sugar.
First Third
Matilde’s Limited Exposure No. 2 starts with medium smoke output. The palate has tones of fresh bread, charred oak, burnt sugar, and minerality. The notes on the retrohale are of pastry dough, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cayenne. The strength of flavor is medium-full. The finish is medium with notes of bread and baking spices. The overall profile is firing on all cylinders; it’s sweet, smoky, and spicy. The ash is tight, the burn line is razor sharp, and the construction seems excellent so far.
Second Third
The palate flavors are fresh bread, apple wood smoke, and mineral-rich earth. The retrohale shows pastry dough, cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a touch of cayenne. The strength of flavor has decreased to medium. The smoke output remains medium. The finish is medium with notes of apple wood and baking spices. The cayenne settled to a comfortable level. There’s a lot of sweet-and-savory interplay and culinary flavors. The ash, burn, and construction remain excellent.
Final Third
The notes on the palate are fresh bread, charred oak, and mineral-rich earth. The retrohale has tones of shortbread, cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cayenne. The strength of flavor remains medium. The smoke output remains medium. The finish is medium with notes of charred oak and nutmeg. There’s been a slight downtick in sweetness; the baking spices and smokiness are taking center stage. The ash, burn, and construction have been perfect. Past the band, the flavors remained remarkably consistent. I smoked this one down to the nub.
Conclusions
Matilde’s Limited Exposure No. 2 is an engaging Corojo blend with a captivating flavor profile. The blend opens up with a strong interplay of sweet, smoky, and spicy flavors before settling just above medium for the rest of the smoking experience. The construction was almost as impressive as the flavor profile, with a flawless burn. The Lonsdale vitola is quickly becoming my personal favorite. At $10, these cigars are an excellent value. If you’re looking for a rich and flavorful blend in one of the best vitolas out there, the Matilde Limited Exposure No. 2 comes highly recommended.
