Cohiba Robustos (Cuban)

Ever since my review partner jerkingly called me a slacker I have been trying to be right on target with me reviews. Not only that but the weather the passed few weekends have been amazing and have allowed me to do so. This week I fired up a Cohiba Robustos (cuban) cigar to see if cuban blends really do rank in superiority to some of the finer nicaraguan/honduran/dominican blends out there.

Cohiba Robustos

 This stick was sent over to me in a bomb by pretty much my most loyal reader not only abroad, but probably globally as well. Thanks Sergeant! I know some of the slack that I will get off of this review is the fact that I didn’t age this cigar for more than a month or two. I know, I know, Cubans need more time in the humidor, but you know what? Who cares? Ha, I’m antsy and wanted to get this thing going.

The Good Stuff: I didn’t do much digging around on the Cohiba Robustos post-smoke. I really didn’t want to taint my views of it prior to smoking it as it will be my first Cuban cigar review. So skipping all that messy business I am just going to go straight into the review.

One note to any novice cigar smokers out there. This cigar isn’t to be confused with the Domican Cohiba Robusto made by General cigar (greenish grey band). Two totally different smokes.

Size: 5 x 50  –  Wrapper:Natual Cuban  –  Binder/Filler: Cuban  –  Body: Medium/Full

Cohiba Robustos

Prelight: The Cohiba Robustos cigar has a very consistent light to medium brown wrapper polished off with a smooth, rounded double/triple capped head. This cigar is extremely firm to the touch and VERY tightly packed. I’ve noticed that to be a trend in most Cuban cigars that I have had as of late. There is one very large vein running the entire length of the cigar that I am hoping won’t be too much of a burden. The area around the foot seems to provide the only soft spot, with the rest of the cigar sporting perfect construction. The wrapper doesn’t give off much of a scent at all, just a bit of tobacco and grassy aroma. The foot of the cigar carries a similar, just more pronounced story.

I had no difficulty clipping the head of this cigar using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw produced very earth tastes with hints of grass and spice. Where as the wrapper itself gave off a very bitter, almost tart taste that I am hoping isn’t present the entire experience. This Cohiba lit up fairly quickly under my triple flame butane torch.

Cohiba Robustos

First Smoke: I am eager to get this Cohiba up and running. After the first few puffs the Cohiba Robustos produces a nice, clean, thick draw. I was concerned that the tightly packed cigar would produce a plugged draw, but that wasn’t the case. Extremely effortless. The initial flavors were very nutty, with a bit of tobacco, honey, and grassed mixed in there. The wrapper is still producing this strange bitterness, but the more I smoke, the more the bitterness fades out and is quickly replaced with a sweetness. Thank god. I don’t know why that bitterness was there, or where it came from. The Cohiba robustos produces quite a bit of stationary smoke, luckily the scent is filled with burning wood and a bit of tobacco. Early into the smoke the burn line already started to take off in a bunch of random thick waves. No need for touch ups yet, but I am almost certain these won’t even themselves out. The ash left behind was very flaky, but thick and a dark grey color with darker grey striped. The ash held on for a little over an inch before giving out.

Cohiba Robustos

Halfway There: As expected I needed quite a touch up after the first ash drop. One portion of the cigar was burning quite a bit faster than the other half. I’m used to most of the Nicaraguan blends that I smoke starting off with a punch of pepper, and then fading away. In the case of the Cohiba the tale was much different. Halfway through I started to pick up a very dominant pepper flavor, along with pine and honey. Needless to say the flavors are comforting and so far the smoke is very smooth with no signs of nicotine at all. The burn line hasn’t gotten any better, but it isn’t as bad as I began with.

Cohiba Robustos

Finish: The Cohiba Robustos finished just as smooth at it stated. I smoked this cigar down in just a little over an hour and I can honestly say I walked away feeling no nicotine kick at all. The pepper flavor faded way towards the least third and left behindvery woodsy, sweet honey and tobacco flavors in which I really enjoyed. The burn seems to be the only redheaded stepchild in this cigar. It really did have a mind of its own. I did need a few more slight touch up towards the end of the second third, but those were more of just me being anal and probably weren’t “necessary”. One interesting not was that I was able to take this cigar well into the nub without the increased amount of heat that I am used to. I’m not sure if this was due to the Cuban tobacco, or the massive amount of tobacco packed into this cigar. Maybe even a mixture of both.

Cohiba Robustos

Overview: All in all this was a tasty cigar. I would recommend them to anyone looking for a high-quality Cuban stick. But it just didn’t do as much for me as I wanted it to. Not to say this wasn’t a great stick, there are just quite a few more available cigars that I would choose over this one. I guess I was just expecting gold. A lot of this was due to the burn, and the mild flavors. The flavor change-ups were extremely intriguing and kept my attention, but I would have wanted to see a bit more, bolder flavors in the mixutre. I would honestly love to pick up a couple more, as I’m sure this is a cigar that would grow on me. But we’ll just have to see how that goes.

Cohiba Robustos

Pairing: This Cohiba Robustos was paired with some Klosterbrau Braun’s Weisse that was sent over to me within the bomb. I haven’t had this beer before, and probably would never have the chance to have it again, but it was a nice, full heffeweise and paired great with the Cohiba. The sweetness helped pick up the subtle honey and pine flavors as the slight bitter after taste helped clean the pallet before each puff. Great Little beer. I would also recommend a Dunkel-weissen with this cigar. It’ll just add to the overall flavor of the cigar.

Cohiba Robustos and Klosterbrau Braun's Weisse