In 2019, Quesada Cigars introduced a new line in its portfolio known as the Quesada 1974. The year 1974 is significant because that was the year the Quesada family would open its first cigar factory, Manufactura de Tabacos S.A. (MATASA). Today that factory is known as the Quesada Cigars factory and it has been operating ever since. The Quesada 1974 originally was launched at ProCigar 2019 and released to Spain early that year.  By the time the IPCPR Trade Show rolled around, it was made available to the U.S. market. Today we take a closer look at the Quesada 1974 in the Robusto size.

The Quesada 1974 is a regular production cigar. For many years, the Quesada family have done anniversary cigars from that 1974 date when the factory opened. One could say the 1974 is the 45th-anniversary cigar, but I don’t think it’s ever been disclosed as one. It’s more or less been positioned as a cigar honoring the year the factory opened. However, for reference purposes, the following cigars have celebrated the anniversary of the MATASA factory opening:

• MATASA 30th Anniversary by Quesada
• Quesada 35th Anniversary Serie Limitada
• Quesada 40th Anniversary Cigar Line

For now, let’s turn our attention back to the Quesada 1974 Robusto offering and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The blend to the Quesada 1974 features a Cameroon seed wrapper grown in Ecuador. There are Dominican tobaccos on the binder and filler, along with some additional Nicaraguan tobacco used in the filler. The Dominican tobaccos were grown directly by the Quesada factory.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Cameroon Seed
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican, Nicaragua
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Quesada Cigars SA

Vitolas Offered

The Quesada 1974 is offered in five sizes in the U.S. market. The fifth size (Toro) was introduced at the 2021 Premium Cigar Association Trade Show in Las Vegas. The Robusto size has been offered in 10 and 20 count boxes in the U.S. market. It was offered in 25-count cabinet-style boxes for the Spanish market.

Toro: 6 x 52
Short Robusto 4 x 50
Robusto: 5 x 50
Corona: 6 x 43
Lancero: 7 x 38

Appearance

The Ecuadorian wrapper of the Quesada 1974 Robusto had a cinnamon color to it. There wasn’t much oil on the wrapper, but upon closer examination, there was a slight amount of mottling on the surface of the wrapper. There were some visible veins and some visible wrapper seams.

The band of the Quesada 1974 Robusto had a gold, red, and black color scheme to it. On the circular field is a series of gold medallion designs. At the top of the field is a black and gold Quesada “Q” logo. Across the center of the band is a red nameplate with the text “Quesada” in gold cursive font. There is a gold nameplate on both the left and right sides of the band. The left nameplate has the text “HECHO A MANO” in black font while the right nameplate says “HAND MADE” in black font. Most of the left and right sides of the band have gold adornments on a black background. The band as w whole is adorned with gold, red, and black trim.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to remove the cap of the Quesada 1974 Robusto. After successfully detaching the cap of the cigar, it was on to the pre-light draw. The dry draw delivered a mix of wood, natural tobacco, and orange rind. While the flavor profile of the dry draw might seem simple, this was still quite satisfactory. At this point, it was time to toast up the foot of the Quesada 1974 Robusto and see what the smoking experience would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The start of the Quesada 1974 Robusto delivered a mix of natural tobacco, wood, white pepper, and dried citrus fruit. Early on the natural tobacco notes became primary. The wood, pepper, and fruit notes settled into the background. The dried fruit notes were the most prominent of the secondary notes. There was a nice underlying creaminess during the first third of this cigar. Meanwhile, the retro-hale delivered an extra layer of white pepper.

During the second third of the Quesada 1974 Robusto, the natural tobacco notes became much richer in terms of the flavor delivered. In addition, the dried fruit remained the most prominent of secondary notes. There still were notes of wood and pepper present. Surprisingly the cigar maintained its creaminess throughout the second third.

By the final third, the natural tobacco remained grounded in the forefront. There was a slight increase in the pepper where it was now more prominent than the dried fruit. There still were notes of wood that were present. While the cigar did lose some of its creaminess, there still was creaminess right until the end of the cigar. The cigar closed out with a nub that was cool in temperature and slightly soft to the touch.

Burn

The burn of the Quesada 1974 Robusto was good. There was a straight burn path and straight burn line without much in the way of touch-ups. With each of the samples, more in the way of touch-ups were required just past the midway point. The resulting ash was on the firm side. The ash had a silver-gray color to it. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both were ideal.

Draw

The draw to the Quesada 1974 Robusto had a touch of resistance to it – which is something I consider ideal. This still was a low-maintenance cigar to derive flavor from. At the same time, this is a cigar that had a nice amount of smoke production to it.

Strength and Body

In terms of strength and body, the Quesada 1974 Robusto maintained medium strength and medium body from start to finish. There was a slight increase in the intensity levels, but in the end, the Quesada 1974 still was in the medium range for strength and body. As for strength versus body, both attributes balanced each other very nicely with neither overpowering the other.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT