Just prior to the 2015 IPCPR Trade Show, Nomad Cigar Company announced a new line called Therapy. The new line consists of three distinct blends with each named for the type of wrapper on the cigar – Nomad Therapy Connecticut, Nomad Therapy Habano, and Nomad Therapy Maduro. Compared to previous Nomad releases, there are several things different about this line. First up, it features all new packaging. Therapy is not sold in boxes, but is sold in retail trays with a refillable option. Nomad Therapy also features all new banding – very different than what is seen across the company’s other regular production lines. However, there is one other distinct thing about the series – namely it introduces the company’s first maduro offering. Today we take a closer look at that offering – the Nomad Therapy Maduro. This is a cigar I recently smoked in the toro size. Overall, the Nomad Therapy Maduro is a great addition to the Nomad portfolio as it delivered a very enjoyable cigar experience.

The addition of the three Therapy blends brings the total number of regular production lines to eight (plus there was an addition limited edition cigar called  Nomad LE Esteli Lot 1386). As company founder Fred Rewey had grown his portfolio, the one argument for a gap in the portfolio was he didn’t have a maduro.  Last year when Rewey was a guest on Stogie Geeks, he talked about how building his lines had been a learning process and at that time he felt he wasn’t quite ready bring a maduro in. Now a year later, it appears Rewey has been up for the challenge as the Therapy Maduro becomes Nomad’s first maduro offering.

Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the Nomad Therapy Maduro in the Toro size and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profile

One wrapper that Fernandez has become famous for working with is the Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper. This is the wrapper that is used on the Therapy Maduro.

Nomad Therapy Maduro
Wrapper: Pennsylvania Broadleaf
Binder: Habano Jalapa
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua (Tabacalera Fernandez)

As we mentioned, the Nomad Therapy line has three distinct blends. This is not a line where a different wrapper has been put on the blend, but it features a different wrapper, binder, and filler combination. For completeness, we include the other two blends of the Nomad Therapy line.

Nomad Therapy Connecticut
Wrapper: Connecticut Ecuador
Binder: San Andres Mexican
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua (Tabacalera Fernandez)

Nomad Therapy Habano
Habano Rosado Ecuador
Binder: Habano Jalapa
Filler: Nicaraguan / Dominican
Country of Origin: Nicaragua (Tabacalera Fernandez)

All three lines are made at A.J. Fernandez’s Tabacalera Fernandez in Esteli, Nicaragua.

Vitolas Available

All three blends of the Therapy line are available in the same two sizes – Robusto and Toro. The cigars are available in 20 count bundles to refill the tray. The tray contains six compartments to hold the six frontmarks across the Therapy line.

Robusto: 4 1/2 x 50
Toro: 6 x 50

Appearance

The Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper of the Nomad Therapy Maduro Toro has a dark chocolate color to it. The wrapper has a very light coating of oil on it.  While there are a few visible veins as a well a few visible wrapper seams, I’d still consider this a smooth maduro wrapper.

As mentioned the band of the Nomad Therapy is quite different from anything seen on a Nomad release before. The band is white in color. On the center of the band is a black-colored Nomad “winged” logo.  Below it is the text “NOMAD” in a black colored font with a slight handwritten effect to it. On the far right is the text “NOMAD CIGAR COMPANY @GODFADR” – also in black font. @GODFADR represents Rewey’s Twitter handle. Finally there is a thick black stripe across the top and bottom of the band.  One side note – the Nomad Therapy Connecticut and Nomad Therapy Habano use blue and red respectively in place of the black for its font color.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

Prior to lighting up the Nomad Therapy Maduro Toro, I went with a straight cut to remove the cap of the cigar. After clipping the cap, it was time to move on to the pre-light draw. The dry draw was classic Broadleaf. I detected notes of coffee, earth, and a slight maduro sweetness (that I coin to be a cross between natural tobacco and cherry). Overall I considered the pre-light draw of this cigar to be excellent. At this point I was ready to light up the Nomad Therapy Maduro Toro and see what this cigar would bring to the table.

Flavor Profile

The start to the Nomad Therapy Maduro Toro delivered a mix of mocha, earth, black pepper, and subtle maduro sweetness. The mocha and earth notes quickly moved into the forefront. The pepper and maduro sweetness became secondary notes. The pepper had a slight bite on the tongue on the after-draw. Meanwhile the pepper could also be detected on the retro-hale.

The chocolate and earth notes continued to be primary with each note varying as to which was the dominant note. By the second third, I found the maduro sweetness had now changed to an off-shoot of the chocolate sweetness. Later in the second third, the pepper notes started to increase.

During the last third of the Nomad Therapy Maduro Toro, the earth and pepper notes were primary. I still found the chocolate sweetness float in and out of the forefront from time to time. This is the way the cigar experience came to end. The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

Since its inception, Nomad Cigars have built a reputation for being well-constructed and on Cigar Coop have scored high on burn and draw. With the Nomad Therapy Maduro Toro, this cigar upholds that reputation.  Overall I found the Therapy Maduro Toro to maintain a straight burn path from start to finish.  Occasionally, there was a little bit of curvature on the burn line, but this was easily remedied with a touch-up. The resulting ash had a very light charcoal color. The ash itself was on the firmer side and came off the cigar in clean chunks. The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

The draw to the Nomad Therapy Maduro Toro was outstanding.  This wasn’t an open draw, nor was it a tight one either.  The end result was a draw that made deriving flavors from this cigar low maintenance.

Strength and Body

On the display tray, the Nomad Therapy Maduro was positioned as a “full” blend.  Overall I didn’t find this to be a full cigar in terms of strength and body, but I do believe it was the most “full” of the three Nomad Therapy blends.  From a strength perspective, I found this cigar to be a solid medium from start to finish.  As for the body, I found the Therapy Maduro Toro to start out medium. The weight of the flavors did increase along the way and by the last third, this was a medium to full-bodied smoke.  In terms of strength versus body, I did give the advantage to the body throughout this smoking experience.

Final Thoughts

While this cigar might be sold in trays and refilled with bundles, make no bones about it – Nomad Therapy Maduro is a premium cigar offering through and through. It might have taken a while for Rewey to release a maduro, but this one was well worth the wait. This blend really does a nice job at showcasing the flavors of Pennsylvania Broadleaf. As I mentioned this isn’t going to be a “full” cigar in terms of strength and body, but the amount of strength and body seemed ideal for this flavor profile.  This is a cigar I could recommend to a experienced or newer cigar enthusiast.  As for myself, this is a cigar I would easily smoke again.  It’s easily worth picking up 20 of these, thus making a box worthy cigar in my book.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium (1st 2/3), Medium to Full (Last third)
Finish: Excellent
Assessment: 4.0-Box Worthy
Score: 91

References

News: Therapy by Nomad Cigar Company to Launch at 2015 IPCPR Trade Show
Price: $7.95
Source: Cigars Provided by Manufacturer
Stogie Geeks Podcast:Episode 157
Stogie Feed: Nomad Therapy Maduro Toro