Cohiba Royale

By Tony Casas | June 1, 2020

I know reviews have been a bit spotty over here, but I promise to be more consistent. Working for a development support company that supports infrastructure to medical and financial institutions means a ton of work during the pandemic. But as things start to slow down my time has slowly become more normalized. This week I take advantage of that by enjoying some outside time with a Cohiba Royale paired with a can of Bottle Logic’s Study Break.

The Good Stuff:

Cohiba took a step outside of the norm when it embarked on the Cohiba Royale in two key areas. First, the Cohiba Royale is the fullest bodied cigar created by the brand to date. Secondly, for production Cohiba chose the STG Danlí factory which marks the first time Cohiba has been produced in Honduras. The blend consists of a Sun Grown Nicaraguan Broadleaf wrapper over a Dominican Piloto Cubano binder and Honduran Jamastran, and Nicaraguan fillers from the Jalapa and Esteli regions. The Royale is offered in three sizes: The Gran Royale (4 1/2 x 52), The Robusto Royale (5 1/2 x 54) and the Toro Royale (6 x 50). Each size comes packaged in dress boxes of 10 running between $23.99 and $28.99 a stick.

• Size: 6 x 50
• Wrapper: Sun Grown Nicaraguan Broadleaf
• Binder: Dominican Piloto Cubano
• Filler: Honduran Jamastran, Nicaraguan from the Jalapa and Esteli regions
• Body: Full
• Strength: Medium/Full
• Price: $28.99
• Pairing: Bottle Logic Study Break (Imperial Milk Stout 10% ABV)

Prelight:

The Cohiba Royale starts out with a beautiful dark brown wrapper that shines red in the sun. It’s probably the first time I’ve seen a wrapper this dark on a Cohiba in a while. The color is consistent throughout with a few darker areas scattered throughout the cigar’s body. The texture of the wrapper is extremely thick and dense with a ton of gritty tooth and lots of oils. There are are a few minor veins and some natural webbing in the wrapper’s leaf leading up to the cigar’s round, double-wrapper cap. The cigar is packed tightly, with no soft spots at all. In fact, the cigar is extremely firm and as heavy as a rock. The cigar is polished off with a silver carbon fiberesque band with the Cohiba logo printed across the front in white and black with the word Royale printed in red just underneath.

The Cohiba Royale’s wrapper gives off a sweet cedar aroma while the foot of the cigar carries more spice and a nice grape aroma. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces some rich cedar and musk flavors with just a dash of sweetness.

First Third:

The Cohiba Royale started out with a huge black pepper zing that caught me off guard. The pepper was only present through the first few puffs and after dissipated the cigar showcased some great musk and cedar flavors over notes of black cherry, dark chocolate, molasses, and pecan. Despite the cigar being packed extremely tight, the draw is absolutely flawless kicking out a whole mess of thick, white smoke which hangs around for quite a bit of time before dissipating. The burn line is dead even and razor thin leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted medium gray ash which held on for a bit over and inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Cohiba Royale and the black cherry flavor has really started to push through the flavor profile. Not to be outmatched the musk and cherry now lead the charge backed by cedar, cocoa, pecan, and a soft leather. The retrohale brings out some nice hidden spice as well as amplified the cocoa a bit. The cigar is still burning perfectly as I close out the second third with only a very minor nicotine hit.

Finish:

Into the final third of the Cohiba Royale and the flavors keep pouring on. The black cherry and musk still lead the way backed by cedar, cocoa, leather, and a really unique gingerbread flavor that I pick up on the aftertaste. The cigar took me almost 2 hours to take down to the nub and I really enjoyed every second of it. I experienced no harshness nor extended heat. I did however get a nice little nicotine kick from it.

Overview:

I can’t recall ever smoking a Cohiba with this amount of flavor, and I absolutely loved it. The flavor profile is awesome, the draw and construction are flawless, and the price is… well, a bit out of my price range for something I’d pay for. When I think $30 a stick we’re talking Padron Anniversario or Family Reserve range and while I really enjoyed the Cohiba Royale I would be hard pressed not to grab a higher end Padron for the pice, but don’t let the deter you from picking it up. It’s more of a personal preference and flavors are subjective. I’m just being honest.

Pairing:

Bottle Logic’s Study break is a Snickers candy bar-inspired sweet stout brewed with lactose and caramel malts, then recirculated on cacao nibs and peanuts. Coming in at 10% This imperial milk stout is brewed at the Bottle Logic brewery in Anaheim, California. The beer leads with a nice milk chocolate over soft peanut, caramel, and vanilla notes with a very heavy/sticky mouthfeel before finishing with more sweet chocolate, malt, and peanut. This was an ideal pairing for the sweetness, cocoa and pecan flavors fond in the Cohiba Royale while the cigar added a the cherry on top (literally) resulting in an incredible paring.