Blind Cigar Review #3 (from Brooks at Smoking Stogie)

It’s that time again. Time to light up another one of these blind cigars that Brooks from Smokingstogie.com has sent my way.

Again, if you are just tuning in, Brooks from Smokingstogie.com was kind enough to send me a 5-stick set of (so far) rare, blind cigars to review. If you haven’t checked out Smokingstogie.com before I strongly suggest you head that way and give Brooks a hello. The blog is jam-packed with honest reviews, and amazing photography of some of the rarest, most expensive cigars every made.

Prelight: Cigar #3 is a standard, bulky little robusto sized cigar. The wrapper is a very light brown with shades of yellow and orange mixed in all accented by an extremely shiny, silky overcoat. The wrapper is beautiful and carries a very textured character as each and every little bump and vein in the leaf are highly visible with a darker shade of brown. The meaty body leads to the famous, and well loved round triple cap. The construction of this cigar is mnear flawless outside of a few softer spots towards the foot of the cigar. Overall the cigar is tightly packed with a ton of tobacco visible at the foot, but overall very soft and squishy in contrast to most other cigars.

I can pull very little aroma off the wrapper of the cigar. Just a slight spice and soft woodsy smell. The story is similar for the foot, but I am able to pull more of the spice, less of the wood. The cap clipped very cleanly with extreme ease using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw produces a very earthy, malty flavor with only a little of the spice present on the aftertaste.

First Smoke: This cigar was a pain in the ass to get lit. But once I did, it was off and running. The cigar started out with just a subtle greeting of white pepper which transitioned into a very pleasant spicy, wood mixture much like what I picked up from the cold draw. The main flavors are accented by a splash of citrus, and the saltiness picked up on the wrapper. If you read a few of the reviews on this site, I have made mention to that salt flavor taken from the wrapper, and how it is only present on certain cigars. Is it too early to call the country of origin? If the thick, crazy burnline, flaky, zebra striped ash, and light body have anything to say about it, I would have to dub this one a Cuban early in. But we all know I screwed this up on the first cigar that Brooks sent my way. Anywho, cigar #2 is kicking out a massive draw that leaves behind a thick, cedar scented lasting cloud of smoke. The ash held steady for about an inch and a half before falling to its doom in my ashtray.

Halfway there: The pepper is completely gone, and what is left behind is a hell of a smooth and creamy smoke. The cedar and other woodsy/earthy flavors are rocking hard while a more milky, almost heavy-creamed coffee flavor has snuck in. The malty flavors I spoke about early in are starting to jab through as well.  I’m not sure if it’s the cigar or the we-haven’t-gottona-a-drop-of-rain-in-3months El Paso weather, but I am developing a case of dry mouth. Again, I am pairing all of these blind cigars with water as to not hinder the experience. I only get one shot at these and pairing incorrectly usually turns out to be a horrible idea. The burnline has shockingly enough completely corrected itself and the cigar is burning dead even at this point. The retrohale on this cigar is wonderful, coating my nasal passage with a very rich and creamy cedar flavor/aroma. I’m not feeling too much of anything nicotine from this cigar at all.

Finish: The body began showing face a little more into the final third. It didn’t get crazy strong or harsh, but there was a noticeable increase in strength. The pepper also came out of hiding and held on to a flavor accent to the very potent cedar and creamy malt that commanded my attention. The burnline still remained completely even cause no touch-ups or relights of any kind. I’m still not really feeling much in the nicotine department, which is a good thing. This cigar is perfect at the mild/medium that it is. I am forcing myself to really take my time and enjoy this one as it’s been burning pretty quickly. It took only about and hour and fifteen minutes to take the whole stick down. There was only a very slight harshness that I encountered into the very final inch of this cigar. Nothing off-putting, and the fact that the cigar never burned hot, even down to the nub made it all worth it.

Overview: This cigar was a very awesome stick, perfect for those lazy Sundays. Mild, smooth, full of flavor, and just quick enough to not have to spend a lifetime in the backyard. Depending on the price tag this cigar is something totally worth keeping on hand as it fills the void in those early to mid afternoon smoking sessions.

Final Guess: I’m going to coin this cigar Cuban for sure, but the difficulty is choosing exactly which Cuban I think it is. I’m going to go with either the Partagas Serie D, or some sort of Romeo y Juileta. I’m not as versed in the ways of the ISOM’s so I may be way off with those two guesses. But we shall soon find out.

The Reveal: From Brooks:

It was a Cuban (great call :), actually a Cohiba Robusto from 1995….

Did I read that right? At first I glared right over it. But 1995?!! This Cuban Cohiba is 15 YEARS OLD?!!?! Wow! I almost felt bad for smoking it. Almost…So much for wanting to keep a few of these on hand. I’ve never had a Cuban with that much age on it. Or anything close for that matter. I actually reviewed a newer Cuban Cohiba Robusto recently, and I have to say, there was dramatic change in the experience. The age really mellows out the cigar and helps build up the main, targeted flavors. Big thanks goes out to Brooks for not holding back on the sticks he sent my way!