Cohiba Pirámide EL ROA OCT 06

[Colt45]

4th from this box, sampled roughly once yearly.

Construction: Firm but not heavy - all seems in order.

Wrapper: Not the prettiest. Colorado in color, toothy to the touch, a few white"water" spots, splotches of oil.

Pre-Light Aroma / Draw / Taste: These have lost much of the very funky aroma they had when younger. Still a bit of the funk, but turned more toward

black tea. Nice draw with a light taste of carob.

Draw / Burn / Smoke Volume: Good on all counts.

Taste: Initial draws are of powdered cocoa, with a richness right at go. Fairly smooth with just a hint of white pepper on the finish.

An inch or so in, the cocoa fades replaced by the pre-light carob. Something dark lingers in the background, and while the cigar is rather smooth, this element

gives a sense of firmness - structure, and adds to the sense of body, making it seem nearly full.

Into the middle third, core flavor remains the same, with some added hints of almond along with a green-ish / herbal finish. From first ash onward, there

has been a fairly prominent cone.

By midpoint, the carob core has become amaretto wrapped in an increasingly green finish. It's not truly bitter, but it's not exactly pleasant and covers whatever

ancillary flavors there might be.

Continuing on, the cigar loses any sense of balance, direction, nuance - in the end, it's a dirty cigar. I've no idea what to make of these, and for me to date,

they have been a disappointment.

Score: 83 (it burned and drew).

[shrink]

Let's hope that these cigars are in a sick period. I absolutely loved these when they were young, but they have gone downhill since then. The last one I had, a few months ago, was a bit better than the one you reviewed, but not by much.

Here's to hoping that these EL's "come around". I don't think that I've ever had any Cohibas that went south so quickly and never came back, so I'm hopeful.

[Colt45]

Let's hope that these cigars are in a sick period. I absolutely loved these when they were young, but they have gone downhill since then. The last one I had, a few months ago, was a bit better than the one you reviewed, but not by much.

Here's to hoping that these EL's "come around". I don't think that I've ever had any Cohibas that went south so quickly and never came back, so I'm hopeful.

Shrink, so far none of the cigars from my particular box have been much to write home about - the first was probably the worst. The cigars haven't been

especially great, but I've been looking at it as an educational process. I'll try again some time next year

[mm12]

I smoked one of these recently (I think the month was NOV on my box) and I wasn't too impressed with how they are developing. Wrappers on mine are maduro and pretty oily. Medium full in body. Primary flavors were chocolate, mint, espresso, and dry hay IIRC. It wasn't at all bad, maybe a 90-91, but I felt like it hadn't evolved at all other than to become somewhat less rich than it was a year or two ago. I don't think it's sick or anything, I just think maybe it was a way over-hyped cigar to begin with.

[thechenman]

Sorry to read about the disappointing experience Colt. Hope the rest of the box improves for you soon.

[dcse]

Sampled two of these in May.

One was spot on, while the other was - eh - all nicotine and with a terrible draw. A dissapointing experience to say the least.

Both were from the same box.

[Dbone]

Very disappointing. Obviously expectations are high for a cigar like this, but it sounds like nothing was delivered. Thanks for the review, Colt.

[aavkk]

Ross, thanks for the review. I was thinking of lighting one of these up over the summer but I'll pass. I have high hopes for these down the road.

[Colt45]

Yeah, Guys -

I guess when this re-release was announced, I was a little excited, and happy I was able to get in on a Czar Christmas sale to acquire them.

As Shrink mentioned he, and a number of other members, really enjoyed these early on, though as I've said, my story has been a little different.

While I probably had certain expectations to begin with, I'm not sure I've been truly disappointed - at this point, I pretty much look at these as

an "experiment", for lack of better term.

We'll see what happens next year