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'Don Everybody,' but darker.
When the original Don Rafael burst onto the scene, we instantly knew there was a winner on our hands. Handcrafted in the Dominican Republic by Jose Dominguez, of Victor Sinclair fame, the Don Rafael brand represents the ultimate mix of luxury feel and premium tobacco... a cigar that retails for just a few bucks that easily stands up to those twice the price.
Don Rafael Maduro is the ultimate every-dude cigar. A mellow to medium-bodied handmade comprised of aged Dominican long-fillers inside a Dominican binder, producing a classic Dominican flavor that's just plain enjoyable. And now, this timeless blend comes dressed in a dark and oily Connecticut Broadleaf maduro wrapper, making it absolutely irresistible. A richer, smoother, more flavorful Don Rafael without taking the strength up a notch. Expect rich, cedar flavors throughout with a nice sweetness on the finish. Enjoyable!
Good cigar for a lazy afternoon. Mild and slow burning. I wasn't sure what to expect but at $2 a stick the price is just right. There is definitely a sweetness on the finish. Very easy draw and good smoke output. The foot of the cigar does put out an awful lot of smoke which was the only real negative for this cigar.
Really great for the price.
A very good every day smoke, long burn, would recommend them. They are made by Victor Sinclair
Don’t let the price fool you! I found these to be a very tasty cigar and you can’t beat the price! They burn well, draws well, and I would highly recommend these, for the consistency and flavor!
Absolutely love these. I'm on a budget and am fairly new to cigars. Have gotten to try a lot of different cigars and these are great. My favorites would have to be 5 Vegas, especially the High Priming's. Prelight aroma is superb. For the price these can not be beat. I did have one that was not too great but the rest have been perfect. Great flavor with an earthy coffee flavor that has a bit of sweet and spice. And these are smooth. These will always be in my humidor. And will shell out the money for the good stuff when I want it. I mainly smoke robusto due to time constraints but can't wait to try something bigger.
Took a chance on a box of the #57 Robusto Maduro, the price was to attractive not ignore. My normal order is a box of A. Fuente Hemingway Short Story (also got another box of these). However for the price the Don Rafael was well worth it, nice even burn, although a bit fast. Very nice draw, and pleasant taste. All things considered these are a very good everyday stick. I will be keeping them in my 'everyday" humidor.
The last box of Don Rafael Maduros were disappointing. They burned poorly as the the middle/center of the cigar seemed loosely rolled, which caused them to burn down the middle. About half the box fell into this catagory, the rest were fine. I've ordered this product many times in the past and have always enjoyed their quality and value.
I have ordered these cigars before and I usually like the Don Rafael Maduro. These cigars this time are not as good as they were before. They do not burn good and the cigar is unrolling. A neighbor bought the same thing and the same thing is happening to him. I am disappointed with this cigar.
A good cigar for the price. Taste gets better down towards the end.
A buddy of mine introduced me to these some time ago, and I have to say I was THOROUGHLY impressed... Impressed enough to order a mazo of these in Robusto size! They have a smooth draw, with a wonderful flavor that combines hints of coffee, mocha, and a teasing earthiness with a sweet maduro flavor. They have a wonderful draw and an even burn that some high-end smokes can't match. The ash is always a wonderful silvery white and will not disappoint. Bottomline? If you're a maduro fan and want a good, solid everyday smoke to help fill your humidor, this is the one for you. I try to keep these stocked in my Humidor at all times now... You should too!
I bought a box of the robustos on a recent "fill my new humidor" shopping spree, and I've been simply amazed. Never have I experienced a more pleasant smoke at this price, and I've had much more expensive cigars that weren't half as nice. The wrappers are good, but they aren't the most even in the world, and the bands look a little cheap IMO, not to mention the box, which was crooked and less than beautiful, but the cigars themselves are well rolled, with a wonderful flavor. Don't be mislead by the mild-medium rating: These cigars may not have the huge gut-hit that you'd get with a full-bodied cigar, but in terms of flavor, it's all there. You get a nice sweet/spicy taste from the maduro wrappers without being over-sweet, good volume, solid flavor from the fillers, and an all around great smoke. I've found them to be an excellent follow-up to my favorite port (Fonseca Bin 27) and just generally fantastic. I'll be keeping a box of these on-hand from now on. The only warning I'd give is that the draw is much too tight with a punch cutter. Be sure you use a good cuter and get yourself a nice open head. These cigars deserve a nice, open draw. As an added bonus, the fact that they don't have an extreme gut-hit like some of the full-bodied options means that they are a great cigar to hand out to friends and guests who may be cigar novices. Of course, I wouldn't hand them out unless I had plenty of stock in the humidor. I have no intention of running out of these.
(Reviewing the Robusto) This is a great every-day smoke! My regular favorite is the Punch Double-Maduro Robusto (Rothschild Oscuro). I was looking for something else in the same price range to mix-it-up a little, and I believe I've found a real gem! I thought my Punch was a great value at 3 bucks a stick, but the Don Rafael Maduro is every bit as enjoyable at only a buck and a half! The wrappers show some variation in color (as you might expect in a low cost cigar) but I can detect no difference in flavor. The construction, burn, and draw are consistently excellent. I'm going to add the toro and torpedo sizes to my collection. Excellent!
Picked up a box of toros based on reviews. These do not disappoint. They fit the bill for an everyday smoke. Smoked one right out of the box, slightly wavy, self-correcting burn. Slow burner and stays cool. No major issues and no need for touch-ups. For $1.75 per toro at CI, how can you wrong?
Great tasting cigar I highly recommend them!!!
Ive been smoking cigars for over 20 years and enjoy good cigars. At this price, I thought I'd give these a try...well I'm glad I did. A nice tasting cigar that burns well, draws well, and tastes really good! I highly recommend these, for the price, consistency and flavor! The presentation of this cigar is nice as is the understated band which is classy in my opinion. As others have said, this cigar may not win any awards, but at this price you get much more than you pay for. Grab a box without hesitation!
My father and I have been smoking these cigars for a few years now and we've never been disappointed. They are a reliable everyday smoke, you'll pretty much always have a good burn and draw. I just smoked one tonight and had to hop right on here and give it a review because I enjoyed it tremendously. What a great cigar!
Great cigar...mild and wonderful..just what I like.
I have smoked the naturals before and loved them, now the maduro is something better, I guess it might be cause I left them in the humidor for a couple weeks and tried one today WOW these are great! I highly recommend them for your everyday smoke, I will always have these in my humidor.
Don Rafael Maduro is smoother and better tasting in my opinion than Macanudo Maduro. Factor in the prices, and it's a no brainer which you should buy. Don Rafael Maduro had a cocoa-like spice and sweetness on the finish whereas the Macanudo had a charred flavor I wasn't fan of. Important to note though, my Don Rafaels have been in the humidor a few months.
Bought a box of Toro's in 1/2013. Right off the truck, they were a nothing to write home about smoke. As others have noted though, give these about 4-6 wks in your humidor, and you end up with a delicious cigar for so much less. The resting in the humidor really increased the maduro flavor. Good burn and draw. The 54 ring size is a nice plus. The wrapper was good throughout, and no filler pieces coming out. These have earned a space in my humidor for a long time.
Great smoke!! Very cheap!! Just a great stick!
I bought the Don Rafael simply because the VS 55's Seconds Maduro was out of stock. The 55 is my everyday cigar. I found the Don Rafael Maduro to be a mild, yet pleasent stick to smoke. Has a nice maduro sweetnes in the finish. I have smoked a half-dozen so far and all draw and burn perfectly. There is some differences in shades of wrappers. This is often to be expected in affordable cigars. A nice inexpensive cigar.
OK I order the Don Rafael Robusto looking for a decent low price cigar (I'm Cheep). Tried a couple shortly after I received them, and they were unimpressive, however after letting them set in my humidor for six week I retried them (this is plan to find cheap cigars that I can let set in a humidor that will become good cigars over time) and they are very good, with a nice rich flavor and smell. I will be reordering more and do recommend if you are looking for a good low cost smoke & can let them set a while.
I have smoked over half of the box of 20, and these are a pleasant smoke with a very pleasing aroma of chocolate and a hint of coffee,and a slow burn. One thing i kinda disagree with about the other comments on here, is the uneven burn, i don't think i have had one yet that burned even, i don't mind that too much until the unburned portion starts to burn off, and is still red hot and almost burns my shirt or my jeans. Otherwise, this is a good cigar, and i will probably buy these again, especially if the Dark Sharks aren't available.
They are alright. I'd recomend them if you're a noob cigar smoker. CI has me spoiled with big savings on higher quality cigars. Now regular sticks I once considered decent now seem a waste of time to me. Why buy these when for a couple more bucks you could do the Gurkha Gorge-fest and bask in the glory?
I just picked up a bundle of 20 torpedos for $25. Although this stick is never going to be a cigar of the year or listed in the top shelf category, it's not a bad bargain smoke. Good construction, good draw, decent burn, on the milder side of medium bodied and reasonably good flavor. Very good value for an every day smoke, puttering around the yard or giving to moochers. I like these a lot better than Blue Label B2 that I picked up a few month ago. Much smoother and more consistent.
I often wonder why so many of us spend so much money on expensive cigars when there are more than a few really good inexpensive ones about. This one falls into that category in my opinion. Nice pre-light aroma, quite an even burn, pleasant medium flavour; what's not good about it? This one is going to be a regular in my humidor.
A new favorite for everyday smokes. Mild to medium but nice flavors of cocoa and coffee, thick clouds of white smoke. Nicely constructed great taste and aroma. Some variation in wrapper color from stick to stick but for the price cant be beat. Love em and on my third box.
The Don Rafael Maduro By Victor sinclair,What a nice cigar in the churchhill size.Great burn almost razor sharp,nice dark brown look,The white band looks nice.light up and first draw are smooth and buttery with hints of cocoa and mild hints of spice and nutmeg as it progress it takes on a more creamy somewhat buttery feel in the mouth.The smell of smoke of this stick is great and the exhale smoke nice.As you get to the center the cream is still there and not much changes till you get 2''from the band and then the coffee bean and expresso taste start to form a big flavor finish and more strength as you go from mild to a small medium build and the oil gets evident,great finish,Great cigar period!
At first I wasn't a fan, but once I let them sit in my humidor for a few days they completely changed the way I felt about these. For an everyday cigar it is great.
These are actually pretty tasty, inexpensive Maduros, but I just recently got into the world of fine cigars, having come off of cigarettes and then transitioning to cigars via chocolate Phillies, ugh! I have since experienced much better smokes than these, but I would say they are a good value Maduro stogie. Thanks CI for the reasonable prices on great tobaccos!
This is a real tasty stogie. Delicious from the start, but just gets better as you get about 1/3 of the way smoked. Ash is firm and not a bit flaky except at re-lighting if you set it down (hard to do that!) It is a bit mild for a Maduro, yet strong tobacco taste. Not harsh even beyond the label, but by then it is warm and a fuller spicy flavor. Can liken the flavor tones to the kind of smell you experience around a Texas Mesquite BBQ pit, very woodsy. Also hints of dark cocoa and coffee linger on the taste afterward. Draw is a bit firm, but not uncomfortably so. Good stuff. I'll like me some o' dat again!
No, they won't get high ratings (they don't deserve them) but if your on a budget or simply just want a cheapo that works, check out the Don Rafael Maduro,....it has a mildly earthy and toasty cocoa flavor with a mild spice. The burn needed some help but that was not a deal breaker. If something like this is on your cigar menu, give them a try.
I'm no critic, but I bought a box of these on a whim. I was very pleased with these smokes. Upon opening the box the look of these were amazing, well wrapped, good even color and nice fat ring size. I couldn't wait to light one up. So I did right away still cold from the outside air. Man this has a nice even slow burn. I cant say specifics on what notes I just know it was mild with a little kick, great taste that goes all the way through. First cigar I've found that tastes just as good at the end as it did at the foot. In a nutshell I found my new smoke!!! For the price it can't be beat, give it a try you won't be let down.
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