ah42266 wrote:yes, you are correct. CAO AMAZON BASIN is not have a maduro wrapper. It's a Ecuadorian Sumatra ligero wrapper. Diesel is a Pa Broadleaf wrapper that is maduro. Not similar in any way really. I have to buy a fiver for $33 at C.I. and sample.
Maduro is a term that is used, or not used as the case may be, pretty loosely by NC manufacturers. It's origins are a color/shade on the leaf grading chart but can also be used to refer to a leaf with some extra fermentation time.
I haven't seen the CAO Amazon Basin in person, so I can't say what the color matches up to, but from the photos, it actually does look to be about the same shade as "maduro" on the color chart. Meanwhile, every Diesel cigar I've ever seen would fall more around "oscuro" than it would maduro.
I really wouldn't put too much stock in the maduro / not maduro descriptors.
You are correct in that the Ecuadorian (country of origin) Sumatra (varietal strain) Ligero (where it's located on the plant - in this case, upper leaves) isn't similar in flavor to the PA (origin) Broadleaf (varietal) maduro (doesn't mean jack ****). It's like comparing apricots and plums - both are stone fruits, they have some similar characteristics and they can cross pollinate.