Recluse Amadeus Los Cabos Toro

The Recluse Amadeus Los Cabos is a line that was showcased at the 2018 IPCPR Trade Show and put into wider distribution shortly afterward. The Los Cabos line made its debut two years earlier at the 2016 IPCPR Trade Show, but at the time it had only seen a limited distribution. Los Cabos gets its name from two components: First, it is named for Los Cabos, Mexico, a favorite vacation destination and Recluse co-owner Scott Weeks has said often that he considers his cigars a mini-vacation. Second, it is Recluse’s first widely distributed San Andres Mexican wrapped offering. Today we explore the Recluse Amadeus Los Cabos in the Toro size.

The date August 8, 2016, will forever be remembered as the day the premium cigar industry became a regulated industry. One regulation would be that all new cigar blends released after that date would require pre-market approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The cigar industry first learned of this deadline back on May 5th, so as a result there was still a short window to get new product into the marketplace. Many companies essentially chose to quietly introduce products to the marketplace and keep the details covert. We termed these releases “stealth releases.”

Recluse took a very different approach. The company had a product pipeline and it decided to unveil nine products at the 2016 IPCPR Trade Show that were a part of the pipeline. These products were then introduced to the market in a limited fashion. The plan was to use subsequent trade shows to “showcase” a major release.

Recluse Amadeus Los Cabos is the first line to have a wide release since 2015 when the Recluse Amadeus Habano Reserva was released. In 2016, Recluse chose to focus on the introduction of the nine new lines, and last year Recluse skipped the IPCPR Trade Show, so there was no new release.

Without further ado, let’s break down the Recluse Amadeus Los Cabos Toro and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

In addition to the San Andres wrapper, the Recluse Amadeus Los Cabos utilizes a Sumatra wrapper and filler from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Consistent with the brand’s philosophy, the tobaccos used go through eight fermentation cycles. As with all Recluse Cigars, Los Cabos is produced at the company’s Tabacalera Leyendas Cubanas factory located in the Dominican Republic.

Wrapper: San Andres Mexican Oscuro
Binder: Sumatra
Filler: Dominican (Ligero, Viso, and Seco primings), Nicaraguan Criollo ’98
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Tabacalera Leyendas Cubanas

Vitolas Offered

As is standard with all Recluse offerings, the Los Cabos is available in 14 sizes. All of the sizes except the lancero are box-pressed. Consistent with the brand’s philosophy, the cigars are rolled entubado (tubular) style. Each of the sizes is available in 20-count boxes except for the three Kanu offerings which are in 20-count boxes.

Petit Corona: 4 x 42
Corona: 5 3/4 x 46
Robusto: 5 x 52
Toro: 6 1/4 x 50
Belicoso: 6 1/2 x 56
Lancero: 7 x 38
Tarantula: 6 x 60
Excepcionales: 7 1/2 x 56
Sidewinder #1: 5 x 57
Sidewinder #2: 6 x 57
Sidewinder #3 7 x 57
Kanu #1: 6 x 54
Kanu #2: 7 x 52
Kanu #3: 8 x 58

The Sidewinder and Kanu vitolas are unique to Recluse. The Sidewinder is a cigar that is box-pressed on the top and bottom, but rounded on the sizes. The Kanu is a cigar box-pressed in the shape of a kayak. In terms of other sizes, all of the others are box-pressed except the lancero.

Packaging for the Recluse Amadeus Los Cabos; Photo Credit: John McTavish of Developing Palates

Appearance

The San Andres wrapper to the Recluse Amadeus Los Cabos Toro isn’t the darkest wrapper, but it certainly qualifies as an oscuro. The wrapper has a light roasted coffee bean color to it. There is a very light coating of oil on it. There are some visible veins and visible wrapper seams and you can feel a sandy-like texture on the surface of the wrapper. At the same time, the wrapper had a very pristine look to it. As for the box-press, it is more of a trunk-press with no soft spots.

The band to the Recluse Amadeus Los Cabos has the appearance of two bands, but in reality is on the cigar as a single unit. The band features a blue background with a holographic chrome font. The upper portion of the band features the Recluse spider logo. Above the logo is the text “RECLUSE”. The lower portion of the band features the text “Amadeus” in cursive font. There is an open slot between the two portions of the band where the color of the wrapper can be seen. To the left and right of the slot, there is a border that matches the wrapper color giving an illusion that there are actually two bands on the cigar.

Surrounding the footer is a metallic silver-colored ribbon.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

Prior to lighting up the Recluse Amadeus Los Cabos Toro, the footer band was removed and a straight cut was used to remove the cap. It was now time to begin the pre-light draw ritual. The dry draw delivered a mix of coffee, earth, citrus, and a slight tingly spice. I considered this to be a satisfactory pre-light draw. It was now time to light up the Recluse Amadeus Los Cabos Toro and move into the main phase of the smoking experience.

Tasting Notes

The Recluse Amadeus Los Cabos Toro continued with the notes of coffee, citrus, and earth found on the pre-light draw. There was also some white pepper on the tongue as well as on the retro-hale. The coffee and earth notes emerged in the forefront early on. Meanwhile, the citrus and pepper settled in the background. I also detected a slight floral note in the background. As the cigar experience progressed, I also detected a mineral note in the background.

The coffee and earth remained in the forefront during the second third. During this stage from time to time, the coffee notes demonstrated a subtle chocolate sweetness resulting in a mocha-like fusion. Meanwhile, the white pepper, citrus, and mineral notes remained in the background. The floral notes had pretty much dissipated before the midway point. Later in the second third, the white pepper notes started to increase.

By the final third, the pepper notes joined the coffee and earth notes in the forefront. There wasn’t much in the way of chocolate-sweetness, but from the background the citrus still provided a subtle sweetness. The was also rounded out by some of the mineral notes. This is the way the Recluse Amadeus Los Cabos Toro came to a close. The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

Overall, the Recluse Amadeus Los Cabos Toro had no problems maintained a straight burn path. There was an occasional bit of jaggedness on the burn line, but this didn’t prove to be problemsome. The resulting ash had mixed shades of gray to it. This was an ash that was skewed on the firm side. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both were ideal.

Burn of the Recluse Amadeus Los Cabos Toro

Draw

One thing that Recluse Cigar has prided itself on is how the entubado cigars result in an effortless draw – and I’ve found the company has lived up to the expectations. I particularly like how Recluse Cigars draw. While the draw is effortless, I also find a perfect balance of openness and resistance. The Los Cabos Toro was no exception to this case. At the same time, I found the Los Cabos Toro produced an ample amount of smoke.

Strength and Body

I found the Recluse Amadeus Los Cabos Toro to be on the bolder side. This is a cigar that started out medium to full in both strength and body. The intensity of both attributes gradually increases during the cigar experience. Toward the end, this is a cigar that is right on the cusp of moving into full strength, full-bodied territory.

In terms of strength versus body, both attributes balanced each other very nicely and neither attribute overshadowed the another.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

Recluse Cigar Company has been around for six years now, and this is a company that is producing excellent regular production cigars that consistently perform at a high level at an affordable price. Now Los Cabos becomes the fifth “showcased” release from Recluse, and the cigar once again maintains the excellent track record this company has established. While some of the spice at the end reminded me that San Andres can be somewhat pungent, for the most part, I found the majority of this smoke allowed all of the tobaccos to shine and produced a balanced profile.

While the Recluse Amadeus Los Cabos Toro is probably a cigar I’d recommend to a seasoned cigar enthusiast, I wouldn’t discourage a novice looking for something bolder to give this a shot. As for myself, this is a cigar I’d smoke again, and it garners box worthy consideration.

Summary

Key Flavors: Coffee, Earth, White Pepper, Mineral, Citrus
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Excellent