Alec Bradley - MAXX - Brazlian

Alec Bradley - MAXX Brazilian

Tale of the Tape:

Wrapper: Brazilian Habano

Binder: Costa Rica

Filler: Colombian, Honduran, Nicaraugan

Made in Honduras

Size: Robusto - 5" x 50 Ring

Alec Bradley; a brand named after the owner's two sons, this company seems to know their way around the blending room.  With the success of the Family Blend, Prensado and Tempus; Alec Bradley got ahead of themselves and put out a couple lackluster lines.
Personally, I heard bad things about the MAXX, but if you know me, I will try anything with Brazilian tobacco in it.  So along comes the MAXX Brazil and here we are.  My expectations low, I tested two of these for the review.

The Cigar
This cigar is a real eclectic mixture of tobacco; with 5 countries of origin, the tobacco in the MAXX Brazil is chosen to create a specific experience and highlight the qualities of the Brazilian wrapper.
The wrapper is a rich dark brown.  Not Broadleaf dark, but darker then your normal Habano seed, which seems to be characteristic of a lot Brazilian wrapper leaf.   Some small veins run along the cigar, but the leaf is smooth and has a little oil on it.

The binder is a true oddball, coming from Costa Rica.  You don't see much Costa Rican tobacco in the industry, so Alec Bradley has found a specific characteristic in this binder leaf that they like.  The filler is also a very specific mixture, containing Colombian, Honduran and Nicaraguan tobacco.
Hand-rolled in Honduras, the Brazil MAXX seems well-made.  It is firm and well-filled.  It isn't a heavy cigar  for its standard Robusto 5' x 50 ring size.



Smoking It
My expectations have been exceeded!  Chalk this up as another AB success.  I can't speak for the other MAXX lines, but the Brazil wrapper version is a great stick and priced fairly.  At about 4$ a stick, you can't go wrong.

 The cigar has a lot of flavor and not only does it vary as it burns, it is quite complex.  I taste everything from sweet pipe tobacco to cocoa, roasted coffee, caramel and some sweet spice.  It is a medium bodied smoke and while full of flavor, I wouldn't say its strong enough to be called a full stick.

The burn needed a touch up on one of the two cigars I smoked for the review.  But otherwise these are well-made cigars.  I recommend this stick, especially if you're a fan of Broadleaf and Brazilian wrappers

Overall Grade : B+