Today, we review the Casa Magna XV from Quesada Cigars. This limited-edition cigar commemorates 15 years of the Casa Magna brand. The brand traces its roots to 2008 when Manuel Quesada teamed up with Nestor Plasencia to release a cigar to be sold under the Quesada Cigars portfolio known as the Casa Magna Colorado. The cigar was met with critical acclaim and commercial success and is widely considered to be one of the most successful collaborations in history.

Over the years, Quesada Cigars has grown Casa Magna into a full-fledged brand – expanding to include other blends and several limited edition lines. In addition, production for the Casa Magna lines has been consolidated at Quesada’s TABADEX factory in the Dominican Republic. The significant releases under the Casa Magna brand include:

• Casa Magna Colorado
• Casa Magna Oscuro
• Casa Magna Domus Magnus (Limited)
• Casa Magna D.Magnus II
• Casa Magna Jalapa Claro (Limited)
• Casa Magna Liga F (Made in Dominican Republic by the Quesada)
• Casa Magna Connecticut

Let’s break down the Casa Magna XV without further ado and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Casa Magna XV by Quesada Cigars – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

While the original Casa Magna Colorado was a Nicaraguan puro, the Casa Magna XV is highlighted by an Ecuadorian Habano 2000 wrapper. The remainder of the blend is made of Nicaraguan binder and filler.

Wrapper: Habano 2000, Ecuador
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Tabacos de Exportación, INC (TABADEX)

Vitolas Offered

The Casa Magna XV comes in one size. – a 6 x 54 Toro. A total of 3,500 15-count boxes have been produced, with 500 boxes of the total production heading to the European market.

Appearance (*)

The Ecuadorian Habano 2000 wrapper of the Casa Magna XV was medium-roast coffee bean color. There was a slight Colorado red tint, but not as red as the Casa Magna Colorado cigar. The surface of the wrapper had a light sheen of oil and a small amount of mottling. There were some visible veins and some thin wrapper seams.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

A straight cut removed the cigar cap before lighting up the Casa Magna XV. Once the cap was removed, it was on to the pre-light draw stage. The cold draw was unique for a Quesada Cigar, delivering a mix of earth and clove. The clove notes are best described as “warm, pungent spice.” It wasn’t an exciting pre-light draw. Since the pre-light draw is not factored into the numeric merit score or value rating, there was no loss of points here. It was time to light up the Casa Magna XV cigar and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The Casa Magna XV opened with notes of natural tobacco, clove, earth, and wood. Early on, the natural tobacco and clove notes moved to the forefront while the earth and wood notes settled in the background. Notes of baker’s spice and white pepper emerged in the background. While not overpowering, retro-hale provided additional layers of clove and white pepper.

The second third of the Casa Magna XV opened up with the natural tobacco and clove notes still primary. Up until the midway point, the natural tobacco held the advantage. The clove notes became the sole primary note just past the midway point. Remaining in the background were natural tobacco, earth, wood, baker’s spice, and pepper.

The final third didn’t see much of a change. The clove notes remained primary. The background notes merged with the natural tobacco, earth wood, baker’s spice, and pepper. There was a slight increase in the pepper. As the Casa Magna XV came to a close, it had a soft and cool nub.

Burn

Overall, the Casa Magna XV maintained a straight burn path. There weren’t excessive touch-ups required to keep the burn path. The burn line had a slight amount of jaggedness, but this did not prove to be problematic. The resulting ash was slightly loose and silver-gray.

Draw

The Casa Magna XV’s draw had a touch of resistance, which was a significant positive in my book. At the same time, this was still a low-maintenance cigar from which to derive flavor.

Strength and Body

The Casa Magna XV started out with medium strength and medium-bodied flavors. The cigar remained in that range of the spectrum. The last third saw a slight increase in strength, but the Casa Magna XV remained in the medium range. Both attributes balanced each other nicely in terms of strength versus body, but the final third saw the strength have a slight edge.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

The box and the band of the Casa Magna XV feature a modified version of the original Casa Magna Colorado band. The big difference is the center of the band has a black oval field with the text “CASA MAGNA XV” in gold letters.  The black piano box on the Casa Magna XV was a nice touch.

When cigars are packaged in a box, the factory often inserts a small block of wood to prevent them from rolling around. This was the case with the Casa Magna XV; however, the wood used was finished and beveled so it could be reused as a cigar rest. I thought Quesada made a genius move in doing this.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop

Video Credit: The Smoking Syndicate/Cigar Coop