Review: Macanudo 1997 Vintage Cabinet

1997 Was A Good Year

For my first cigar review in quite a while I thought I’d say a few words regarding the Macanudo 1997 Vintage Cabinet Selection. I’ve had a few of these stored away for some time, and the mood was right the other night to light one up. It’s finally cooling off here in the desert southwest, and the temps are dipping below 100 degrees, and 97 was in fact the high of the day, so why not celebrate the cooler weather than by lighting up a 97? Right? Right…

Macanudo claims that every now and again there’s a perfect balance of sunshine and rainfall which produce an extraordinary wrapper leaf. I really want to believe that the wrap on this stick is something special, and I don’t doubt that it is, however should I blind taste this one, I don’t think I’d be able to pick it out as a Vintage. Don’t get me wrong, if the mood is right for a creamy mild smoke, than look no further, however does the vintage wrap constitute the higher price tag than say the Café Crystal? That would be something for you to decide.

Upon lighting the Vintage Series, I expected an easy light with a razor sharp burn, and that’s exactly what I got. The taste from start to finish is fairly mild (as with most all Macanudos), which fit the bill for the evening. Even down to, and past the band, this stick produces a smooth draw without even a hint of burning hot. The palate doesn’t change all too much throughout the smoke, which comes off as creamy and somewhat sweet; Boston style coffee comes to mind with heavy cream. Unfortunately, nothing here knocked my socks off, however as I’ve mentioned in past Macanudo reviews, they happen to reinforce the Average of Average.

While smoking, I couldn’t help but think of what major events took place in the year of 1997, and what type of pop-culture helped to shape our world today. It seems that our neighbors across the pond had quite the eventful year with the election of Tony Blair as British Prime Minister and the tragic death of Princess Diana. Stateside, we commemorated the 20 year anniversary of the death of Elvis, while we celebrated the birth of septuplets in Iowa (all of which survived). Most of us spent over 3 hours in the theater watching the antics of Jack and Rose while on some sinking ship. Matt and Ben had their first runaway hit with Good Will Hunting while dinosaurs still reigned supreme in the Lost World. Also, who would have thought that the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was saving us from aliens in Men In Black?

Albeit, with its ups and downs, 1997 was a good year, particularly so for Macanudo’s crop. I would definitely recommend the 1997 Vintage Cabinet Selection for a smooth relaxing smoke. So slap in your Titanic DVD, fast forward past the first hour, turn up the volume, light up your Mac and enjoy.