Meerapfel Maestranza Duque

📌 Brand: Meerapfel
📌 Line: Maestranza
📌 Size: Duque (6" × 62)
📌 Weight: 24.1 g
📌 Age: 2 years
📌 Origin: Honduras

Tasting Notes

• Earth – Deep, dominant and damp-toned

• Cedar – Clean but subdued

• Dark Chocolate – Mild, bittersweet flicker

• Baking Spice – Subtle cinnamon/clove warmth

First Impressions

The Maestranza Duque shows a refined, velvety wrapper with Meerapfel’s signature high-end presentation. Pre-light aromas deliver earth, cedar, and light cocoa. Cold draw is smooth but slightly loose, hinting at potential burn inconsistency.

Smoking Experience

• First Third – Earth forward with muted cedar and faint cocoa. Burn begins to waver early.

• Second Third – Spice appears lightly, but flavor evolution stays limited. Burn issues increase, requiring several corrections.

• Final Third – Earth deepens, cocoa fades, and uneven combustion forces further touch-ups. Mouthfeel warms, losing composure toward the end.

Pairings

• Alcohol – Worthy Park Single Estate Reserve Rum , bright tropical esters and oak sweetness to lift the cigar’s earthy heaviness.

• Tea – Yunnan Gold Black Tea (China), malty with honey softness, smoothing rough edges and balancing the dryness.

Music Pairing

“Samba Pa Ti” – Santana

Warm, flowing guitar balancing the earth-heavy profile.

Final Thoughts

The Meerapfel Maestranza Duque offers premium presentation and solid core flavors but struggles to maintain burn integrity. Earth dominates the profile with only minor flashes of sweetness or complexity, while frequent corrections break the flow.

Final Score: 6/10
Why not a 10?
Multiple burn issues and limited flavor progression kept this luxury cigar from delivering a refined, seamless experience.

Only cigars that deliver flawless draw, balance, flavour evolution, construction and satisfaction get a 10.