Macanudo GOLD LABEL

The Macanudo name is enough to get cigar smokers chattering excitedly. Mention Macanudo Gold Labels in the same breath and the volume of the chatter rises. This darling of the line is available once a year and its fans await its release with the same urgency that greets the Beaujolais Nouveau wine in France.

The component that creates the fervor is the very select Connecticut shadeleaf wrapper that distinguishes the Macanudo Gold Label from all others. Golden in color, the leaf possesses an additional sweetness that aficionados can’t get enough of. In addition to its tawny color and sublime flavor, this wrapper is notable for its absence of large veins. Indeed, many are veinless, ensuring a smooth, uncomplicated burn. The flavor of the Gold Label retains the basic mellow smoothness for which Macanudos are famous.

This is a limited-release cigar, so finding a box might require s bit of extra effort. It is worth the time and bother to score some of these golden trophies.

Macanudos are very appropriate cigars to offer guest during or after dinner. Indeed, they are perfect as an offering at a cigar dinner. Their mellow smoothness goes well with the right wines, something that certainly isn’t true of very strong and robust cigars. They are also perfect as an evening’s relaxation, perhaps with a cup of coffee and a well-bred liqueur, not too sweet and yet not too bland.

The Macanudo Gold Label is available in a range of size, permitting you to fit one in during the course of a busy day or night. While the 5.50 X 42 Hampton Court might be fine for an hour with the newspaper and coffee, the more majestic 5.20 X 54 Duke of York would make a fine companion on a chilly night in front of the fireplace.