Petrus Etiquette Royal Maduro

The Petrus Royal Maduro is a smart, espresso-black maduro that is absolutely loaded with flavor. Created by Felipe Gregorio to “fill demand from smokers and tobacconists for an extremely dark Maduro wrapper,” this new, delicious addition to the popular Petrus line brings home the bacon! Ah, how things have changed… the Petrus line, created by our good buddy Philip Wynne of Felipe Gregorio cigars (at least, we like to think he’s a good buddy of ours—we feature his smokes all the time!) was pretty much a failure when first released in the states back in 1989. Because Philip grew up in an area where Cuban cigars were legal (Switzerland), when he decided to get into the cigar business, he wanted to produce cigars evocative of the many Cuban brands he grew up with—in other words: strong! The cigar industry in the states in those days was really in its infancy, with many American cigar seekers less than comfortable with fuller-bodied cigars. As such, Petrus did not sell well in the States (though it did quite nicely in Europe and the Middle East where palates were accustomed to higher intensity smokes). As the U.S. cigar boom came, demand for cigars went way up, and cigar smokers developed more sophisticated palates. Eventually, Philip recognized that it could be time for Petrus to be reborn. It was re-released in 2000 with a blend of aged Dominican Piloto Cubana and Brazilian Mata Fina tobaccos wrapped up with a beautiful dark Cameroon wrapper. There are now multiple sub lines in the Petrus catalog, illustrating how far this line has come since its rocky beginnings. We love Maduros here, and strive to get at least one in every month’s line up. This one is about as picture-perfect as they come. Note the deep, dark, chocolaty-brown Oscuro wrapper, bound to its powerful San Victor Piloto Cubano all long-leaf filler by a Dominican Piloto Cubano binder. These cigars are made with tobaccos that have been carefully aging since 2000. They’ve got plenty of age on them, and the years of mellowing of this powerful tobacco has resulted in a depth of character and complexity of flavor that is tough to match. Look for rich spices with a real bite, with notes of toasted caramel and leathery tones. This well-balanced and forceful smoke burns slow and smokes cool. Enjoy with a spiced robust porter or Imperial Stout.