Cohiba Siglo VI (Cuban)

I really tried to get this review ready by Thursday, really I tried. But the cigar gods are against me. At least it’s not a week late. This time…

This week’s cigar is a nice one. One I have been hoping I could get to before Daniel got his paws on it. Alas, I bring you Cohiba’s Siglo VI.

The Good stuff: Cohiba’s Siglo VI is a nice, hefty, Cuban Puro running anywhere between $20 to $50 (depending where you get them) a stick. This cigar was from a box dated 2006.  The Siglo VI is actually crowned as one of, if not the best cigar rolled in Cuba. This 6×52, monster of a cigar tops just about any list of Top Cigars ever made. Does it stand up to all this hype? Lets find out.

Size: 6×52  –  Wrapper: Cuban  –  Binder/Filler: Cuban  –  Body: Medium

Prelight: The Cohiba Siglo VI starts off with this just wonderfully oily, shiny, creamy light brown wrapper. The wrapper is extremely delicate and exposes even the slightest of any veins in the tobacco leaf.  You can pick up only a few of these smaller veins throughout the body which would have been completely invisible with any other cigar wrapper. The smooth body of the Siglo VI then leads up to a nice Cuban-style round triple cap. There are only very few soft spots in the cigar, and all of them reside at the very base of the foot. The cigar’s band carries the standard, and very recognizable yellow, gold, and black COHIBA checkerboard pattern, along with the words Habana, Cuba.

The wrapper of the Siglo VI gives off this wonderful, almost perfumesque, cedar, and soft spice smell, while the foot only contains enough cedar to mask the earthy, and mossy aromas. The cold draw actually produces a lot of pepper, and some deeper earth tones with some cedar in there.

First Smoke: Wow, this is one of the first Cuban cigars that I haven ever had that starts out with a nice pepper bang. After the pepper quickly faded away I was left with this massive cedar, and a sweet vanilla flavor.  The draw started out very loose, almost annoyingly loose, but tightened up just right after the first few initial draws. The Siglo VI leaves you with a very plentiful cloud of thick smoke on every puff. You really don’t have to hit this thing more than once or twice to get the smoke you need. The burnline is very wavy, but there isn’t a spot at this point that is really burning too much faster than another. The ash on this thing is UUUUGGLLYYY. It’s a really chalky, flaky, dark grey with black spots and only lasted about an inch before giving way. To be honest, I was quite surprised it even lasted that long.

Halfway There: After that crazy, wavy burnline in the first third of this Cohiba Siglo VI, I was happy to see that the burn has complete fixed itself going into the second third and is now burning very even. The pepper that snuck up on me in the first third has returned, but is just a tease on my lips now. I am just still so shocked that this cigar had any pepper to begin with. The cedar is still there, and the vanilla but they have began to blend together with the natural tobacco taste resulting in a very smooth, and creamy experience. I just hope it doesn’t start drying out my mouth. The retrohale is really nice on this cigar, just a little dry coating my nasal passage with a creamy spice. I am actually feeling a slight nicotine kick from this cigar early in, but I think a lot of that has to do with the powerful beer I decided to pair it with.

Finish: The ability of this Siglo VI to correct it’s burnline, and maintain it’s clean edge really impressed me as the burn is dead even going into the final third. The flavors have really began to build up too. Now the cedar has just turned into a monster and this really nice nutmeg taste has been thrown into the mix while the pepper has completely vanquished from the experience all together. One note is there was a ton of cracking on each of the Siglo VIs I smoked near the cut of the head. I think this was due to a combination of  the moisture from my mouth, and how delicate this wrapper is. The wrapper never came off, or bothered me in anyway, it was just worth noting. All together this cigar took about an hour and a half to smoke, and left me with just a very slight nicotine buzz.

Overview: What a cigar. Really, there isn’t much to say. I loved it, I’d love to love it again, I’d buy a box, and I think you should buy a box. Yes, it’s pricey. But really, it’s worth having a few of these on hand for those special cigars, or just when you are in the mood for something super premium. It’s smooth, complex, flavorful, and very well rounded. My only gripe is how delicate the wrapper is.

Pairing: A great cigar, deserves a great pairing. In this case, I couldn’t think of a better pairing that a nice bottle of  Trappistes Rochfort 10 brewed by Brasserie de Rochefort (Abbaye de Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy) in Belgium. Starting with the beautiful  11.30% ABV and ending at the deep birch, citrus, vanilla, and cherry notes, this quadruple ale is one of the bests on the market. The vanilla went perfect with the vanilla notes I picked up in the Siglo VI. This cigar would go perfect, and is one of the few that would go perfect with a nice bitter ale. Maybe even an IPA, tea, or even some apple juice.

On a side note: I was having a really shitty week at work a while back. And one of my co-workers, know how rough the week had been for me, and also knowing my need for good, Belgian beer, actually left this on bottle on my desk one morning. How badass is that? Needless to say, I hope she stays around for a long time.