Cigar Review: Casa Magna Jalapa Claro Box Press Toro

Hello Cigar Smokers,
Today I'm reviewing a special cigar from an old favorite brand. The Casa Magna Jalapa Claro is the newest addition to the Casa Magna family, and possibly my favorite yet. The filler and binder tobaccos are the same as the old favorite Casa Magna Colorado, which is known as being 2008's Cigar of the Year from Cigar Aficionado. The difference with this cigar is the sizes and the wrapper. This cigar is a 6"x52 Box Pressed Toro wrapped in a Jalapa Wrapper. The new wrapper is worlds different than the Colorado wrapper featured on the classic. This cigar gives a lighter flavor with more nuance, but gives up the richness of the Colorado. This is a limited release, with Casa Magna only releasing 1,000 boxes of each 3 sizes.

The colors on the box match the wrapper. The Colorado is a deep brown color on the box and wrapper, while the Jalapa Claro has an Orange tint on the box and wrapper. I really like the continuity between lines, it makes them display well on the shelf. The themes of the Casa Magna line stay consistent, but the color coding makes the eye distinguish from lines at a glance. This cigar comes packed in boxes of 20 in more compact boxes than the Colorado. The box pressing is a little inconsistent and each cigar is not exactly the same dimensions, but this is just cosmetic. Each cigar I've smoked draws perfectly with zero burn issues. Casa Magna has been around for long enough to not have quality control issues, this cigar's small production also adds to the overall quality of each box.

Now on to the flavor! This cigar is well balanced and a good step lighter than the Casa Magna Colorado. The most prominent notes I get are Caramel, Cedar wood and a generic pepper taste. These notes balance into being a full bodied cigar, with a medium plus strength. The filler tobaccos are the same as the classic Colorado line which make it more or less equal in strength, but the wrapper takes away the richness of the Colorado and makes the Jalapa Claro woody, peppery and smooth. If you are a fan of Casa Magna this cigar will blow you away with the different taste just a new wrapper makes. As the cigar progresses the caramel note goes away quickly, but the remaining pepper and wood notes come and go and develop into a sweet finish. I smoke these cigars down much further than I normally do, they finish that well.

For a frame of reference the Jalapa Claro is pictured on the left, with the classic Colorado on the right. I highly recommend this cigar to anybody who is familiar with Casa Magna and wants to try a new take on that brand. This cigar is also great for fans of Habano and Cameroon wrappers, the Jalapa wrapper in my opinion is a good flavor profile to try while being in a similar strength range for most cigars. This cigar would pair really well with a scotch whiskey or even a blended scotch that has some malt to it. These cigars won't be on the market for long, so if you're intrigued try them sooner rather than later. Happy smoking,
JT