Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro Torpedo Box Press

Today, we take a look at the Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro in the Torpedo Box Press size. The Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro is the second blend under the Rare Leaf Reserve line. The original Rar Leaf Reserve made its debut in 2021. As the name indicates, it is a line to showcase some of Aganorsa’s low-yield tobaccos. Typically, when a blend uses a significant amount of low-yield tobacco, it will be a limited line, resulting in retailers receiving a small amount of product. However, Aganorsa Leaf wanted to showcase some of its rarer tobaccos as an ongoing production for the Rare Leaf Reserve. To do this, the Rare Leaf Reserve was made available to those retailers in the “Aganorsa Select” program.

If you have followed Aganorsa Leaf, they are known for two signature tobaccos – Corojo ’99 and Croillo ’98. These tobaccos are grown on Aganorsa’s farms. The original Rare Leaf Reserve line was a blend that leaned heavier on the Criollo ’98 tobacco (although it is still referred to as the “Corojo”). As we get into the blend profile, we will see that few of the Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro details have been disclosed. The way I view the Rare Leaf Reserve is that it provides a maduro offering featuring some of the company’s select tobaccos.

Let’s break down the Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro in the Torpedo Box Press and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro Torpedo Box Press Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The cigar features a San Andres Maduro wrapper over all Nicaraguan tobaccos. There are two leaves used for the filler. Production comes from Aganorsa Leaf’s Agricola Ganadera Norteña S.A. facility in Estelí, Nicaragua.

Wrapper: San Andres Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan (Double from Aganorsa Farms)
Filler: Nicaraguan (Aganorsa Farms)
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Agricola Ganadera Norteña S.A.

Vitolas Offered

The Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro is offered in three sizes. The Torpedo is the only box-pressed offering that is a regular production offering. The Robusto and Toro offerings are parejos. Each size is presented in 15-count boxes.

Robusto: 5 1/4 x 52
Torpedo Box Press: 6 x 52
Toro: 6 x 54

Appearance

The San Andres wrapper of the Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro Torpedo Box Press isn’t the darkest of wrappers; it still has the look of a medium roast coffee bean. There wasn’t much in the way of oil on the surface of this cigar. Upon closer examination of the wrapper’s surface, some light toothiness could be seen. There wasn’t much in the way of visible veins. The wrapper seams were quite prominent on this cigar. This cigar had more of a s slight sharp square press to it. A moderate taper to the head of the cigar converged to a tip.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to remove the tip of the Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro Torpedo Box Press. I took a little more than half the tip off to still allow for some tapering. Once the tip was removed, it was time to commence with the pre-light draw. The cold draw delivered notes of coffee and earth. This wasn’t the most exciting pre-light draw. Since the pre-light draw was not scored, there was no loss on the number score or value rating. At this time, I toasted up the footer of the Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro Torpedo Box Press and moved on to the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro Torpedo Box Press opened up with mocha notes (a combination of chocolate and coffee notes), mineral, earth, black pepper, and cedar. The mocha notes didn’t take long to emerge as the primary note. The mineral, earth, pepper, and cedar notes settled into the background. A citrus note joined these background notes. Meanwhile, a combination of black pepper and cedar was on the retro-hale.

By the second third of the Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro Torpedo Box Press, a more traditional black coffee note took over the mocha component. The mineral and pepper notes started to increase in intensity gradually. By midway, the mineral notes moved into the forefront with the coffee. The pepper notes gradually increased but remained in the background, along with the earth, cedar, and citrus notes. The retro-hale was now taken over by black pepper.

The final third saw the pepper join the mineral notes in the background. The coffee notes diminished, joining the earth, cedar, and citrus notes. By this point, the flavor profile was muddled. As the cigar experience of the Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro Torpedo Box Press, the cigar finished up with a soft, cool nub.

Burn

The Aganorsa Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro Torpedo Box Press’s burn started with a straight burn line and straight burn path. Some meandering occurred on each of the samples in the second third. This required frequent touch-ups. While the touch-ups did the trick, more than usual were needed. The resulting ash had a light gray color. This was an ash on the firm side. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both maintained ideal levels.

Burn of the Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro Torpedo Box Press

Draw

The draw to the Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro Torpedo Box Press was on the snug side. I usually like a slight resistance on the draw, but in this case, there was a little more resistance than I prefer. At the same time, there were no cases where this cigar required any re-lights.

Strength and Body

The Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro Torpedo Box Press started out with medium-strength and medium-bodied flavors. Throughout the smoking experience, there was a gradual increase in intensity of both the strength and body. The body moved into medium to full territory just after the midway point. By the final third, the strength progressed into the medium to full range.

The body maintained a slight edge from start to finish in terms of strength versus body.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES

While Aganorsa Leaf has undoubtedly stepped up its game in packaging and banding, I’ve been a little critical of the amount of packaging changes made. Around the time the Aganorsa Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro was released, the Aganorsa Rare Leaf Reserve Corojo had already changed the packaging.

The good news is I like the Rare Leaf Reserve line changes – especially on the Aganorsa Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro. The black and gold design pattern really sings. I like the primary band as well. I can see why the original (i.e., the Corojo version) followed suit with a red version of the band on the Maduro.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

The story of my experience with the Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro Torpedo Box Press begins quite promising but then slowly unravels. I really enjoyed the mocha flavors of the first third. The second third became a little more ordinary, and then finally, I found the flavor profile muddled and the flavors a lot less enjoyable. I enjoyed the Rare Leaf Reserve Maduro Torpedo Box Press better than the original (i.e., Corojo) version). Still, at $14.50, you may want to try a sample first. There was still enough going on with this cigar where I will give the two rounded (parejo) versions a try.

Summary

Key Flavors: Mocha (Coffee, Chocolate), Mineral, Cedar, Earth, Citrus, Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium to High
Strength: Medium (1st 2/3), Medium to Full (Final third)
Body: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (2nd Half)
Finish: Very Good