Mi Querida Gordita (4 x 48)

Video review HERE.

(Description taken from Cigar-Coop.com website)

Back in 2016, Steve Saka and Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust released their second regular production line, Mi Querida. This was Saka’s long-awaited Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper offering. When Mi Querida was first introduced, there were four sizes that were made generally available to retailers. Simultaneously, there were also four additional sizes which were introduced in a more limited fashion. The reason for doing that is that, at the time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had an August 8, 2016, deadline by which any cigars released after that date would require pre-market approval. To avoid the red tape, Saka decided on a limited release for the four additional sizes rather than waiting for a future wider release. Fast forward to the 2017 IPCPR Trade Show and Saka decided to make two of the additional four sizes generally available. One of those sizes is the 4 x 48 Mi Querida Gordita – which is the cigar I will take a closer look at today.

The name Mi Querida is Spanish for “my dearest”, but it is also a term commonly referring to a husband’s mistress. In particular, in Nicaragua it refers to one’s “secret mistress” (since it is often common for a wife to know about the mistress). This secret mistress is the “dirty little secret” and thus plays into the connection of the cigar’s profile. Saka says this also fits into the theme of the cigar as he has described this as a cigar that is more gritty and a bit “dirtier” than the more refined Sobremesa release.

Blend Profile

In addition to the Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, the remainder of the blend consists of Nicaraguan tobaccos. The cigar is produced at the NACSA factory under the supervision of master cigar maker Raul Disla via Saka’s direction.

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Country of Origin: Nicaragua (Nicaragua Cigars America SA (NACSA)

Vitolas Available

Four regular production offerings were launched for Mi Querida. Each of these sizes are offered in 20-count boxes except for the Churchill-sized SakaKhan.

Gordita: 4 x 48 REVIEWED TODAY

Fino Largo: 6 x 48

Ancho Corta: 5 x 52

Ancho Largo: 6 x 52

Muy Gordo Grande: 6 x 56

Mas Sucia: 7 x 64

Pequeño Pequeño : 4 x 44 (Limited Distribution)

SakaKhan: 7 x 50 (Limited Distribution)

The cigar is a short firecracker-looking stick that is very dark brown. For a small cigar it has a nice feel in the hand.

The test draw after cutting the cap was very good. The initial flavors were a citrus/boysenberry combination, chocolate, black coffee, and black pepper. The chocolate notes are sweet. The black pepper is very intense. I rated it at an 8+.  The retro hale has a ton of black pepper on it. 

3/4 inch in (12 minutes) the flavor notes have settled down. They are now a sweet cedar, brown sugar, butter, chocolate, and black coffee. The black pepper is amazing. Love it! The finish is a chocolate/cedar combination with a nice amount of lingering black pepper. The cigar tastes and feels medium to full bodied. The first third score is 92.

The midpoint (32 minutes) had the cigar only getting better. The same notes are present but in a high intensity. Love the sweet cedar with buttery brown sugar and chocolate. The black coffee base is also very nice. The pepper remains very good. The finish is unchanged and I like it. The midpoint score is 93.

The cigar lasted 54 minutes. The great flavor notes continued to the end but there were also some dry oak notes that popped up but they did not deter the cigar at all. The cigar ended at full bodied. The finish did not change. This is a great little cigar with power. I loved the sweet chocolate notes. The buttery brown sugar on the cedar was also great. The pepper was one of the stars of this cigar, both on the front end and on the finish. In these days where time constraints affect us all this is a great cigar to have during those times. Pick up several of these for those short-smoke times. Great little powerhouse cigar.

Overall score: 93