Ortega Wild Bunch Series; Dandy McCoy Empire State (6 x 54)

Video review HERE.


This is May's cigar of the month from Eddie Ortega's Wild Bunch Series. It is a box pressed maduro that looks like a huge piece of chocolate. There is no secret that I am partial to 54 ring cigars but since this one is box pressed it makes it even more appealing. The cigar is shiny and oily looking. You can easily make out the triple cap.

It also has a nice feel in the hand. It feels dense.

The test draw after cutting the dense triple cap was effortless. The initial flavors at light up were cocoa and coffee notes. The pepper was very intense and it tasted like red pepper, which I rated at a 7. There are also citrus notes to go along with the cocoa and coffee. The cigar feels medium to full bodied right away. The finish is a nice sweet cream with some lingering pepper. This cigar is reminiscent of other Ortega maduros.

About an inch in the flavors are very pronounced. The cocoa has some sweetness and the coffee now seems more like espresso. The pepper continues to be very good. The finish is very nice. It is one of a thick cream with some sweetness. The pepper seems to be lingering a little more nicely now. The cocoa is very nice in this cigar. The cigar now seems medium bodied but I expect that to change.

About 2 inches in there are now some cedar notes  creeping in to combine with the cocoa. The espresso notes have toned down to straight black coffee. The finish is still very nice. The cigar is now more medium to full bodied. The burn is nearly perfect.

As the cigar wound down the flavors were consistent with the last report with the exception of some added charred oak notes. I really liked the cocoa and cedar notes with sweetness. The coffee gave it a nice base. The finish was exceptional. I really liked the long, sweet, thick cream finish. The cigar hit the full bodied point about 2 inches before the end. The burn was laser perfect through the whole cigar. Maduro lovers should snatch these up as quickly as you can once they debut in May. Very good cigar. It took about 1 1/2 hours to smoke.

Score: 92