Description
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I was behind the wheel of my 1 Jaguar E-Type, the kind of car that makes driving part conductorship and part calisthenics. Except for the steady rhythm of hummingadox.
tink-tink-tink
cooling down after a long, hard blast through the canyon roads. I’d wrestled with the triple SU carburetors on that bike for nearly half a year, and today she wasn’t coughing or sputtering — she was singing. It was a win.
Product Specifications
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Product Name | Cohiba Maduro 5 Genios |
| Origin | Cuba |
| Factory | El Laguito |
| Vitola | Genios |
| Length | 1 mm / 5.5 inches |
| Ring Gauge | 52 |
| Wrapper | Cuba (Vuelta Abajo) |
| Binder | Cuba (Vuelta Abajo) |
| Filler | Cuba (Vuelta Abajo) |
| Strength | Medium to Full |
A small one in the larger scheme of life, perhaps, but in my world, when you’ve managed to get that British steel to play nice, it’s a win worth marking. The mood was right. The sun was dropping, and slanting light left long amber shadows on the concrete floor; I leaned back against cracked leather covering steel coils or blocks of horsehair, still with a faint smell of high-octane fuel and old-school floor wax. I wasn’t ready to go in.
I wanted to be in that silence and taste the truth of the work being finished. I rummaged around in the travel humidor for something that could possibly live up to the gravity of what was going on. I hadn’t felt anything in this stack as I sifted through the lighter shades of Connecticut wrappers, then onto the spicy Habano leaves when I finally landed on something thickish and oily and dark. That smoke?
The
Cohiba Maduro 5 Genios. I’ve had this stick stored for miscellany for a while, waiting until the world felt like it was the sort of place that maybe might possibly be spending spinning in my general direction. You ever hold a stick in your hand that just looks like it wants to fuck something up before you even clip? That’s the Genios.
It’s the big boy of the Maduro 5 line, and here in the cockpit of the Jag, it felt very much like the right way to slam shut the doors on an successful Saturday. The Specifications
But before I delve into how this thing actually smoked, let’s look at the vitals.
It’s not your typical Cohiba; it’s the brand’s darker, moodier cousin who showed up in 2 and altogether shifted the conversation around what a Cuban cigar could be. Feature
Details
Product Name
Cohiba Maduro 5 Genios
Vitola de Galera
Genios (Robusto Extra)
Binder / Filler
Cuban (Aged 3 Years)
Construction and Feel
I must say, the thing that you first notice when you pull the Genios from their cedar is the wrapper.
It’s not that smooth glossy tan you get on a Siglo VI. It’s a Maduro leaf from the uppermost position on the tobacco plant, shade-grown and left on the plant to continue to mature until it turns mid-range brown. It has a little “tooth” to it — that slight, bumpy texture that lets you know there’s some oil and character in the leaf. In my hand, it felt dense.
Not “plugged” dense, but extremely heavy, like a well Made Tool. I gave it a squeeze; there’s no soft spot anywhere on my head. The gents at El Laguito are professionals, and it shows in the construction.
I made a straight cut, removing just a sliver from the cap. I found that the pre-light draw was interesting – it wasn’t that usual grassy, hay Cuban profile. Instead, I was greeted with an intense gush of cold cocoa and something reminiscent of wet dirt after a rainstorm. It was rich.
I hadn’t even lit a match yet and I knew I was in for a ride. Part One: The Darkest Opening
I torched the foot gradually, ensuring that meaty Maduro wrapper was glowing uniformly before I drew my first puff. Genios doesn’t beat around the bush right out of the gate. The smoke is thick — I mean chewy thick.
You know when you drink a really, really good espresso and you remember how it coated your tongue? That’s how the first five minutes of this cigar tasted. Its dominant flavor was of dark cocoa, but not the sweet sort that you find in a Hershey bar. This was probably 85% cacao — bitter but deeply satisfying.
Beneath all that there was a sweetness, a little bit like molasses or burnt sugar. It’s a profile that tastes “aged.” You can taste it in that wrapper sitting there for five years: There is zero harshness. Nothing but a sun-baked creamy vanilla note to stay the darker flavors from becoming too forward. I was sitting there in the Jag, the smoke curling up to meet the garage rafters — all that tension from the day’s labor just slipping away.
Solid start. The Second Third: The Sweet Spot
At about twenty minutes in, the cigar changed.
The cocoa played second fiddle and the earthiness took center stage. But it wasn’t so much “dirt” earthiness as roasted nut — consider walnuts or charred almonds. A little spice was sneaking in as well. Not the stinging pepper, but more in line with cinnamon or nutmeg.
It’s the heat and spice of your Phuong Dinh go hat that lingers in the back of your throat, wanting another puff juat to see where it goes. The burn was pretty nice for a Maduro. Those thick, oily wrappers are tricky things — and sometimes burn lopsidedly — but this one held strictly to the agenda. The ash was a lovely salt-and-pepper grey sticking on for almost an inch and a half until I gently tapped it off.
The sweetness changed here, too. It was that molasses thing going to something more like honey or caramelized onions — the deep, savory-sweet flavor you only get from a long, slow cook. It’s a complicated smoke, that much is certain. You can’t just puff on this while you’re not paying attention, it requires a little commitment from you to pick up all the minor modulations.
The closing act: The big hitter
Strength definitely increased as I ramped up to the finish. So here I stood: firmly in the “Full’’ camp. The flavors turned darker and more intensive. The leather notes were in full effect — reminding me appropriately enough of the vintage seats I took place upon.
Now there was a little bit of black pepper, giving the profile some zing that wasn’t there at the beginning. I’ve heard others say that the Genios can get a tad bitter toward the end, but personally, I discovered otherwise. It thickened, yes, toward a dark chocolate with wood finish, but it remained silky. I believe that’s the magic of the three-year-aged filler.
Even when you’re on the nub, it doesn’t lose its composure. I smoked it down to where my fingers could start to feel the heat, loath to release its nutty, nougatlike sweetness on the finish. When I put it down, almost 80 minutes later, I felt as if I’d consumed a five-course meal. Pairing Recommendations
If you’re going to smoke a Genios, you want something that can handle its heft.
You don’t want a light pilsner or delicate white wine for this. You want something with a bit more spine. The Coffee Choice:
Double espresso or very dark roast black coffee. The bittery coffee goes very well with the cocoa flavours from first third.
The Spirit Choice:
I would say, break out the heavy-handed Cognac or a Sherry-aged whiskey. Something along the lines of a Macallan 12 or 18. That dried-fruit sweetness from the Sherry cask is a perfect bunk for the Maduro wrapper. The “Celebration” Choice:
If you’re really winning, a glass of old Rum—maybe Diplomatico Reserva.
The rum’s caramel and vanilla notes will make a nice neutral bridge between the cigar’s earthiness and its sweetness at the end. The Verdict
I’ll be honest, the Cohiba Maduro 5 Genios is a special kind of experience.
For those of you who like Cohiba’s classic, grassy profile: This one might trip you up. It’s darker, richer and beefier than the rest of the lineup. It’s not a “morning” cigar. It’s one of those “the day is over, the car has been repaired and I’m not leaving for at least an hour” smokes.
Is it worth the hunt? Absolutely. It’s got some weight in the hand and on the palate. It’s a cigar that is worth waiting for in both the aging (if you can stand to let them rest in your humidor for several years) and on the draw.
It’s a slow-burner of a tale, and for me at that moment in the garage it was the perfect exclamation point on a well-fought victory. One more thing — do you see a box and understand that you’re looking for something not necessarily super strong, but which brings a bit of “oomph” to the table, without losing any of that Cuban-like class? Then get them. You won’t regret it.
You’ve just got to have comfortable chair and nowhere to be. Final Thought:
It’s a rich, earthy smoke that satisfies in the way only cigars from Cuba can, and it serves as ample proof that Maduro leaves have their place within the Cuban pantheon.
Solid.
