The Particulars

The Review

This review for the Ashton Aged Maduro (No. 30) - Lonsdale (6.75 x 44) is based on the journal entry dated 2026-09-08

Appearance & Construction (0-3):  Average (2)

Connecticut Broadleaf is a tough wrapper to work with in terms of making a cigar look attractive, especially in these thinner vitolas. While it’s a rich, oily, dark chocolate brown and has fantastic sheen and mottling, it has super thick veins running through it, giving it a slightly rustic feel as they pop out around the cap. They also create some edge lift on the wrapper in spots, but nothing severe. These are all things that might be less obvious on a fatter ring but stand out in the skinny ring gauge—kind of like ribcage bones on skinny vs. thick people. Actually, quite like a really skinny girl’s boney elbow, there’s one vein sticking out by the cap that keeps poking me and I can’t do anything about it. 😅 But the wrapper is oily enough that it leaves a light residue on your fingertips, and it has a nice firmness and density to it. The default Ashton band is used here and it works, but it’s a little boring

Draw (0-3) & Burn (0-4):  Good (3) / Good (3)

Vitolas like the Lonsdale are exactly why I love the PerfecPunch. The smallest 8mm diameter cutter is perfect for thinner ring gauges like this 44-ring Lonsdale. I get a clean cut, I retain the cap, and I’m on my way. Any issues come back to the cigar itself, not me making a shitty cut. And no issues here; the draw is perfect and the burn starts beautifully.

The burn line is very even and well-controlled with a flat but slightly wavy edge. The ash is a super light gray, nearly white in certain lights, with narrow striations and tight cracks. It doesn’t hold for very long, falling before the first third is over, but it’s tight and flake-free. I never expect the thinner rings to stack, so there are no surprises here, and it’s a good, issue-free burn overall. The draw does tighten up a little a couple of times, but it’s nothing that impacts the smokeability of the cigar.

Flavor Profile (0-5):  Excellent (5)

Earthy with dark chocolate and a raisin sweetness right off the bat. That sweetness quickly starts to turn more molasses-like as slightly charred oak and cinnamon enter the fold. The sweetness is intense, though—naturally intense, mind you, not sugar-sweetened cap intense. A proper maduro is dark because the leaf has extra fermentation cycles, which should bring extra sweetness out of the leaf, which is exactly what we’re getting here. But smooth… so smooth. Glass, babies’ asses, freshly waxed Botox’d balls—you name something smooth and this is still smoother. The finish is moderately creamy, but rich and buttery, carrying a lot of sweetness.

Getting into the second third, the profile is really coalescing. I’m getting a lingering saltiness on the lips, and the sweetness goes between raisin and molasses and back again. Lightly charred oak, strong damp earth, and a light barnyard create a dark, rich base. There is a moderate dark chocolate and a light hint of dark roast coffee in there. Mild vanilla aromatics hit on the creamy finish, and they are just delightful. Around the midpoint, the oak develops a light molasses breadiness. It’s turning into toasted cinnamon raisin bread with hints of black pepper appearing. This isn’t super intense, but it’s delightfully balanced and nuanced.

I start the final third with a relight to ensure the cherry is nice and hot. That perks things up as the pepper intensity kicks up to a proper medium with more sweet, chocolate, coffee, earth, and bready notes. Overall, the vibe is still raisin cinnamon bread on top, earth and barnyard underneath, with a salty wrapper and creamy finish all accentuated by black pepper. The very last inch and a half brings a strong uptick in the vanilla on the intensifying creamy finish. If there’s any one downside of the entire smoke, a slightly metallic bitterness creeps into the final half-inch right at the very end that I need to flush out. Overall, this is an excellent blend. There’s nothing too overwhelming, and it can be a little mild at times, but this is a very enjoyable and well-balanced maduro. Fucking delightful.

Overall Experience (0-5):  Excellent (5)

Like I said earlier, this cigar challenges our tendency to associate really dark wrappers with strong and robust blends that punch you in the chest. And while we’ve smoked plenty of full-bodied, full-strength Connecticut Broadleaf cigars, this one does it without the full assault, staying on the milder side of the strength spectrum but still delivering a lot of flavor, balance, and complexity. If you’ve been scared of trying a darker cigar because you think it’s going to be too much, the Ashton Aged Maduro is a wonderful place to begin your journey to the dark side. And even better, the No. 30 Lonsdale is a wonderful and not exorbitantly priced way to really enjoy this aged Connecticut Broadleaf maduro wrapper. If you’re a full-strength-only smoker, then this might be too light for you, but I highly recommend this one to anybody wanting to embrace the dark side, especially in the morning or as their first smoke of the day.

Postscript

The second cigar had a bit more tooth to it and a better overall appearance. It didn’t face the same thick veins creating the minor edge lift or other noticeable lumps and ridges. It did tunnel immediately on light-up, which ran out the side of the cigar so the ash fell almost immediately, but it self-corrected after that. The flavors were on point, delivering a slightly stronger but largely similar experience with the most noticeable bump in charred oak, barnyard, and earth, while still being nicely balanced by dark chocolate, molasses, and black pepper.

Overall Score and Individual Journal Entries

While the review is based off one instance of journaling this cigar; there's a number of reasons you can have different experiences smoking the same cigar multiple times. A blend can evolve with age (for better or worse), palates evolves, preferences change, and sometimes you just get a bad example!  This section captures the ratings from each journal entry and the related journal photo.  Below you'll find an aggregate score based on every time the cigar has been journaled. Unless it was a gift or on-off smoke, this section will be updated every time I journal this cigar!

The Flavor Wheel

With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience.  These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out.  When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.

The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.

• 0:   No flavor detected
• 1:   Mild flavor
• 2:   Medium flavor
• 3:   Strong flavor

Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.

With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience.  These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out.  When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.

The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.

• 0:   No flavor detected
• 1:   Mild flavor
• 2:   Medium flavor
• 3:   Strong flavor

Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.