Mi Querida, Spanish for “my mistress”, is a medium to full-bodied cigar that is an instant hit. The build up is a seamless Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler. The first few draws are filled with chocolate, and thick maple sweetness. Into the second third you’ll taste strong coffee and pepper flavors with a warm earthiness. Complex, perfectly rolled, and second to none, you must try one.
Yonni Lopez (verified owner) –
By far my favorite stick. If you’re looking for a smoke with earthy, coffee and chocolate notes, look no further. A must try!
Fossilgolem (verified owner) –
Great size for a wonderful, shorter smoke. Great Earthy, coffee notes with just the right touch of maple sweetness; you barely notice it but you’d miss it if it wasn’t there. Sakasquatch does it again.
TunaFishBoi (verified owner) –
What a pleasant surprise! I wasn’t expecting all this sweetness on top of all the richness. Absolutely loved this size, and don’t be fooled, this was a solid hour of a stick. I smoked the Umbagog before trying the real deal Holyfield, and it’s hard to compare. The Umbagog has way more pepper. Mi Querida is much better balanced, smoother, richer, and sweeter. I liked them both, but this is the superstar. Lovely, tasty cigar!
John B (verified owner) –
What a great stick with a cup of coffee to start the day. This shorty’s flavor will enhance any cup of coffee day or night
JGCigarReviewer (verified owner) –
Another of Steve Saka’s mistresses, the Mi Querida Gordita is meant for those times when you want a pleasurable experience but don’t have all day to get it done. This Connecticut Broadleaf cigar is the little sister (if you will) to the original Mi Querida (or Mi Querida blue as Saka calls it) – same core blend scaled to size. For the full review, check out the details below!
Before Lightup: I just love a good Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper and this wrapper delivers with a beautiful chocolatey brown color, veiny and toothy exterior, and tight but visible seams speaking to excellent construction. The banding was simple, doesn’t tell you the maker but does tell you the blend. The fragrance coming off the cigar was a sweet hay and cocoa topped off with a nice double cap. When you cut the cap (on this one we chose a v-cut) you end up with a perfect resistance with tasting notes of sweet fruit and tobacco.
First Light: A toast and a light and…well nothing really. It took a solid 3 or 4 puffs before any real meaningful flavors began to come through. When they did, I was enjoying a medium bodied blend of black pepper (the taste without the tingle), a light milk chocolate, and a darker earthy finish. There was a slight zing across the lips but nothing on the palate. There was plenty of smoke coming from a perfect draw which really puzzled me on the lack of flavor at lightup. The initial retrohale added a mild pepper zing and amplified the earthy flavor note.
First Third: With this being a short stick, I wasn’t sure exactly how the breakdown of the flavor profile would go. I was well surprised when, about 5 minutes in, I was greeted by a sweet woodsy note (Cigars Daily calls it a maple) as well as a slight espresso note – think bitter black coffee. The earthy notes deepened to a damp earth which later changed into a creamy and rich dark earth. The chocolate wasn’t really present anymore, but the black pepper taste was. The smoke itself was light which was surprising given the medium to medium/full body, but there was plenty of smoke that bore a creamy consistency. The burn wasn’t awful for a broadleaf, but was a little uneven – we’ll have to watch for any touchups.
Second Third: As we got into the “second-third” of such a short stick, I noticed the ash held on for half the stick at a time – no complaints there. There was definitely a darkening of the flavor profile. The body crept up to a medium/full to full and gave off the same notes as the first third but everything was darkening. I noticed throughout the cigar that the cherry was warming up, but the smoke remained cool. The band came off easily at this point and there was a slight nicotine strength kick that was coming in – call it mild – but that cost it a point for me.
Final Third: From the second third to the final third, nothing really changed. In fact, if anything the body and intensity calmed down slightly or, I guess a better way to say it would be to say that it settled down. The strength kick that came in maintained its mildness in the final third. I’m used to a little strength kick at the end so this didn’t cost it any points at this juncture. It did start to get warm toward the nub so we called it quits with a smoking time of 42 minutes.
Overall: If you like a naturally darker flavor profile, you will likely enjoy this petite offering from Saka-squatch. Given the size, it was a perfect performer in the area of consistency but I do believe that caused it to suffer some as far as the burn – we did have to touch up and relight. Another thing that really surprised me was that it took 3 or 4 slow, meaningful puffs before any flavor started to develop. I really enjoyed the time in which this cigar was able to be consumed. Sometimes I don’t need an hour-and-a-half or two-hour stick – sometimes I just need something to puff on while doing chores or writing up a review – this fits that bill perfectly. The final score came out to an 8.9/10 or 89/100. If you love the deeper, rich maduro flavors without pepper coming in and boxing your ears off, you’ll love this gordita!
Harrison Letchford (verified owner) –
I smoked one of these when I was just starting to get into cigars and man, this little thing knocked my socks off. I just remember saying to myself “this is a damn good one” for the entire time. Ever since, these and the other Mi Queridas have variations have stayed in my humidor.
PAPiper (verified owner) –
I smoked this stick and we will start with, construction. It is well made, draw is tight. 1/3 flavor developed well and move to the 2/3 where the flavors muted towards the final third. In that last third went on more muted and just boring. Cigar fell short of my expectations over the rave reviews. Price is a little high for the qulaity. If this was more like $7-8 stick it would be better.
Oliver Swanson (verified owner) –
These are fantastic. Although I prefer the ancho corto mi querida, this is a great shorter smoke. Although it lasts a surprisingly long time for a smaller stick. Dunbarton can do no wrong.