I seem to be in the minority about the early February release of the Quesada Q d’etat, the Molotov. For me, the inaugural release of the Q d’etat release did not live up to the strides Quesada had made with the España, Oktoberfest and Tributo. While I found plenty of flavor, it wasn’t very appealing and came with a side of construction annoyances that made it difficult for me to take a deep liking to the odd Petit Perfecto shape.

Here’s what I said just under seven months ago:

I previously have proclaimed that 2012 was going to be a rather important year for Quesada. While the Molotov is definitely is a much different direction than the products that have come from Quesada, I’m not necessarily the largest fan of it. The in your face nature of the flavor profile is interesting, but for me, it doesn’t work. Still, this is a cigar that many will enjoy and I imagine most will enjoy more than me. Yet my largest gripe has to do with the burn rate, which for me is just too slow. A good cigar, but one that makes me want to try the upcoming two sizes of q d’etat more than returning to another Molotov.

I always thought the Molotov made for an interesting Redux candidate because there were plenty of places to look to for things to like, even if they weren’t for me. In addition, giving the cigars a few months in the humidor could create a positive on the construction side of things. Perhaps more time in the humidor would have been good, but I really wanted to know where things sat.

  • Cigar Reviewed: Quesada Q d’etat Molotov
  • Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
  • Factory: The Quesada Factory
  • Wrapper: Dominican Republic
  • Binder: Dominican Republic
  • Filler: Dominican Republic
  • Size: 5 Inches
  • Ring Gauge: 38 x 58 x 44
  • Vitola: Perfecto
  • MSRP: $7.95 (Boxes of 10, $79.50)
  • Date Released: February 9, 2012
  • Number of Cigars Released: 1,000 Boxes of 10 Cigars (10,000 Total Cigars)
  • Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 2

The highlighting on the feature photograph in the original review was a bit misleading. I would say the Molotov is far less red and a bit less oily than it appears in that picture and looking at the remaining four in my humidor—these seem no different to the deep earth hue that I remember from earlier this year. Outside of the bands, which are defining, the striking features are top and bottom—an interesting shagging head and odd Perfecto foot. From the Dominican wrapper, there’s a blast of heavy sweet manure. The foot provides some sweet graham cracker and barnyard notes, once again very full. Interestingly, the cold draws on both of the recent Molotovs—smoked on separate days—produced a much different sensation than I got originally. This time it was similar to the foot—a mixture of sweet graham cracker and barnyard with a salty finish. It’s pretty open, something that doesn’t make me thrilled, and medium-full.

At the beginning, the Molotov struggles to get lit. I don’t really think it has much to do with the foot, as I go through my normal lighting rituals that rarely produce issue, but both samples struggled. Once the flavor gets going the Dominican puro provides a mixture of earth, peanuts and barnyard with a bit of a sweet toastiness. At the inch mark a pepper enters with some leather, particularly on the finish. Oddly, the cedar note that utterly dominated my initial three experiences with the Molotov is entirely absent until after the halfway point. However, I once again get very little development towards the final third.

Quesada Q d etat Molotov

I noted that the slow burn of the Molotov didn’t help my issues with the Molotov, this is back. Smoke production is once again above average, draw is far more open than I recall or care for, but the burn is once again my biggest point of criticism. This time, in addition to its turtle’s pace, constant touch-ups were required to keep the cigar burning straight.

80 Overall Score

You can't win 'em all. I can't win 'em all. Quesada can't win 'em all. Perhaps, this is just a cigar that I will never like. Perhaps the box, of which I've smoked half of, was just an awful box. Perhaps you know how this is going. This is a full-flavored slightly over medium-strength cigar—that I can't seem to like. Draw, burn, flavor, artwork—none of it, perhaps with the exception of burn, is truly worth scolding, but the overall package isn't fitting me any better than it was in February. My personal thoughts on the Howitzer aren't too far off from Brian Burt's criticism, so it's with open arms I welcome the blend-change on the upcoming Q d'etat Daga.

Original Score (February 2012)
83
Redux Score (September 2012)
80
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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.