Clubs (Cohiba, Monte)

[liuzzi]

After having reviewed minis and not particularly enjoying these I have spent few evenings with clubs. While these are definitely a step up from minis I can't say I was really enjoying the clubs as well. I had a trini reyes yesterday evening after the clubs and while it's not fair to compare to machine made cigarillos it felt like heaven. Following is what I wrote up.

Clubs (also known as cigarritos) are the medium of three sizes of Cuban cigarillos (small cigars defined by weighing less than three grams) with the other two being previously reviewed minis and puritos. Club is quoted as 22 ring size (8,8 mm diameter) with 96 mm in length making it 1 mm larger than mini in diameter and considerably (14 mm) longer. All clubs are machine made and short filler (as are the minis). Clubs are produced in ICT factory in Cuba and come pre cut and with no bands. Most common packaging is a pack of 10 cigarillos (P10) and as with minis the packs should come cellophane wrapped however the ones bought from the local La Casa del Habano were not. I guess the reason might be that the warning signs in local language need to be glued onto the actual pack and not on cellophane. A pack of 10 clubs is going for about 12 euro making the price of one cigarillo about 1,2 euro (about 20 cent more than a mini).

Montecristo Club - noticeably larger in size than mini, wrapper is rough but smoother than on minis, nine clubs out of ten in the pack were not too far in flavor from minis - all packing quite a bit of nicotine but the draw was empty of any flavor, one out of ten had some earthy flavors together with some licorice and sweetness and it was enjoyable for about two thirds, final third gets bitter, overall better than minis but not comparable to a hand rolled cigar.

Cohiba Club - stronger than Monte's, lots of dryness in taste, there is a similar inconsistency as with Monte's, few cigarillos in the pack came with flavors of milk chocolate and some grass and pepper and parts of these were quite enjoyable (especially with coffee) while rest of the pack was as empty of flavor as were the minis, there is quite a bit of bitterness in the finish, I would take Cohibas over Monte's however for me these are in no way a substitute to a hand rolled cigar.

Well I do prefer clubs to minis and as clubs are costing only 20 cent more per stick these are much better value as well. That said clubs are not offering too much of a Cuban cigar experience for me and are worlds apart from hand made small panetelas in the enjoyment factor. There are few other clubs being made in Cuba such as Partagas and Romeo y Julieta but these are not available over here and I'm not exactly looking forward to trying these any time soon anyway.

[ARRV]

In my view you have to take clubs for what they are.

For me first 1cm is harsh but when it cools you get the next 1/3 of the cigarillo as good Cuban tobacco - for me great Cuban twang.

Is it a long filler experience? No. But sometimes in a beer garden with friends who smoke cigarettes it is great to have a drink and a club where you ignore first 1cm enjoy next 1/3 then basically put it out

[CaptainQuintero]

See if you can find some of the Troya coronas club, they are the best of the ICT range imo. They are loaded with stewed christmas fruits. The downside is that after two thirds they become acrid and harsh but for the price it doesn't really matter, you get an excellent majority of a cigar perfect for 20 minutes quite smoke

[Professor Twain]

Nice review and photos. I'm a bit more positive about the Clubs and Minis, agree that the Clubs are superior. They require a very gentle approach to the puff, or they'll burn hot. My buddy Sir Diggamus and I had a taste testing of these once, we agreed that the Partagas, Monte, and Cohibas all contained the essence of the marca, but we thought the RJ were dull.

They're a 5 minute taste, good for that but certainly no substitute for a full cigar.

[Rye]

Nice to read a review on these.

Thanks!

Winter here tends to coerce me to buy puritos and my last batch being the monte's. While I found some to resemble the marca, I often get some, that upon lighting, taste brutally of burning plastics, almost like strings of binder twine were chopped into the mix and hidden beneath the not so pretty wrapping. If there was a consistent blend in these vitola, I would be a huge consumer, but for now I feel that buying them is as risky as willingly buying faux-hibas off the beach.

[frenchkiwi]

Think there's a few old threads on these in the "cheap and cheerful" section. Haven't had any in ages but the Clubs were always good value for a 5-15min herf... and unless you don't mind smoking the first cm then chucking away a proper cigar, they cannot be matched in that department!

(i must say that one particular batch of cohiba clubs topped my experience of many a single of their grown up brethren... shocking but true).

[liuzzi]

Nice to read a review on these.

Thanks!

Winter here tends to coerce me to buy puritos and my last batch being the monte's. While I found some to resemble the marca, I often get some, that upon lighting, taste brutally of burning plastics, almost like strings of binder twine were chopped into the mix and hidden beneath the not so pretty wrapping. If there was a consistent blend in these vitola, I would be a huge consumer, but for now I feel that buying them is as risky as willingly buying faux-hibas off the beach.

That is very well described and mirrors my view as well. I live in Northern Europe which is probably not too different from Canada in a sense that in a good year we get about 3 months during which a cigar can be comfortably smoked outside. As for clubs I had few out of about 20 which I enjoyed while the "burning plastics" feeling rings very true for the rest. I am currently trying out few puritos and will post my findings about these with some pictures in the next few days.

[MC4]

I think HSA just recently is releasing "white" version of the Cohiba Club and Cohiba Mini which is to be a lighter version of the club and minis.

[stargazer14]

"these are in no way a substitute to a hand rolled cigar."

Very nice review , I don't think one should compare these to a 'real' cigar and they should be enjoyed for what they are. The Monti Clubs come closest to tasting Cuban to me and the size is great for those establishments that allow cigarettes but have "No Cigar Smoking" signs. And of course great for a cold winter tabac buzz.

Thanks again, very good review.

[Mxmike]

Thanks for the review. Will be trying some Monty clubs soon.

[ramon_cojones]

"these are in no way a substitute to a hand rolled cigar."

Very nice review , I don't think one should compare these to a 'real' cigar and they should be enjoyed for what they are. The Monti Clubs come closest to tasting Cuban to me and the size is great for those establishments that allow cigarettes but have "No Cigar Smoking" signs. And of course great for a cold winter tabac buzz.

Thanks again, very good review.

this is my most hated thing ever, i've gotten into many arguments about this with people who work there

i dubbed this smoke discrimination