Quesada Oktoberfest 2024 Prelight
The Quesada family has a long and storied history with tobacco. Their journey into the industry began in Cuba in the late 1800s. In 1929, Quesada moved to the Dominican Republic in search of new tobaccos, but their company remained based in Havana, Cuba, until the 1960s. In 1974, Manufactura de Tabacos, S.A. (MATASA) was established in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Today, Manolo, Patricia, Raquel, and Esther Quesada are running their family business. This marks five generations of history under the Quesada banner.
Quesada’s Oktoberfest is a limited-release cigar rolled to commemorate the German beer festival. It was first released in 2009 but is now a yearly limited release. The Oktoberfest 2024 blend is a Mexican San Andrés wrapper over Dominican binder and filler leaves. This year’s release is available in 5 vitolas: Bavarian (5.5″x52), Kaiser Ludwig (6″x49), Das Boot (6″x52 Torpedo), Uber (6″x65), and Kugel (5″x 38/58/44 Perfecto). The Kugel is a Quesada event exclusive, and what we’ll be smoking for review today.
The Kugel is an interesting vitola. It doesn’t taper smoothly like other perfectos but has a plateau at its widest before a quick taper down to the foot. I hope these are shaped to look like a man with a beer belly. The Mexican San Andrés wrapper is thick, dark, and oily. On the nose, I’m picking up notes of sweet cedar and dark malts. The draw is right on the money, which is impressive considering the vitola. The cold draw is showing black bread and caraway.
Quesada Oktoberfest 2024 First Third
The first puffs are a wave of dark malts and green apple sweetness. Smoke output is fantastic off the bat. Notes on the palate are whole wheat bread, dry cocoa, and caraway. The retrohale shows fresh green apples, toasted malts, and a tickle of black pepper. The flavors here are exceptionally balanced, and it’s a great mix of the apple sweetness and the toasted malt flavors. Excellent burn line, tight ash, and very impressive construction, considering the challenging vitola.
Quesada Oktoberfest 2024 Second Third
The second third introduces some smokier tones to the flavor profile. On the palate, wheat bread, applewood smoke, dry cocoa, and caraway. On the retrohale, I get fresh green apples, toasted malts, and a hint of black pepper. Smoke output is excellent, ash is tight, and the construction is holding up excellently.
Quesada Oktoberfest 2024 Final Third
The final third continues to pick up on sweetness and richness. On the palate, whole wheat bread, applewood, rich cocoa, and caraway. Dried green apples, toasted malts, barley, and some black pepper on the retrohale. The ash is flakier, but the burn line and construction are nearly perfect. Past the band, the flavors continued to grow in sweetness and richness. I put this one down with about an inch left.
Quesada Oktoberfest 2024 Conclusions
Quesada’s Oktoberfest 2024 is an excellent addition to the lineup. While the blend was linear, the flavors were satiating and dynamic. I always associate great San Andrés wrapper blends with that green apple note, and the Oktoberfest put that tone front and center. Quesada blended this line to pair with Festbier and Märzen. The apple tones and malt backbone make this cigar a great dance partner for your favorite beer. I was skeptical about this vitola as perfectos can be tricky, but the construction on this one was top-tier. The production run on this year’s Oktoberfest was very limited, but a few are still available! The MSRP is at $12, right where I would place it. If you enjoy a cigar with beer or are a San Andrés fan, I’d get these while you can!
