The Macanudo Gold Label Tudor is a great looking cigar. Wrapped in a light Connecticut wrapper and filled with leaves from the Dominican Republic and Mexico, this smoke is mild and relaxing. I clipped it and tasted the pre-draw. The taste was good old-fashioned cigar, nutty and smooth. It lit easily and from the first puff it seemed to be a winner. The draw was excellent, the taste mild and smooth, with some of the creamiest smoke I’ve experienced.

The burn was almost flawless and required no attention throughout the duration. The taste remained simple, a lot of nut with just a hint of woodiness. Then again, it’s a mild cigar and makes no pretense of being complex or full-bodied. Not every cigar has to offer a complicated bouqet of flavors, but they do need a few basic components in order to qualify for a good smoke: even burn, good draw, with an appealing taste and aroma. The Tudor hit all of these out of the ballpark. The cigar’s draw and taste was so smooth I felt like I was smoking butter.

It smoked well down to the last couple of inches. It probably would have gone farther, but I was pushing it a little too hard due to the colder weather and it started burning a bit hot for my taste. Again, I think that was me, not the cigar.

In any case, smoking the Macanudo Gold Label Tudor was a great experience and I would definitely pick up another of these to add to my stock.