Cohiba Siglo II : RAE MAY 15 : Cohiba Review Comp 2016

[zeedubbya]

@LukeC and I have decided we are going to do a side by side review of a Siglo II from the exact same box.  Not just code, but exact same box.  He generously split me off a few of these, and we thought this would be an interesting experiment.  

We will both post our reviews at the same time (or within a minute or so) and aren't sharing information with each other.  Everyone will get to see how different or similar our experience is.  It will be put up tomorrow by both of us.  To be continued...

[JohnS]

Great...I look forward to both your reviews!

[LukeC]

Yeah this will be fun!

 

[subport]

good idea, sounds real fun

[zeedubbya]

Cohiba Siglo 2 Review. 1:20 Am Punch Cut.  Paired with the ole standby Di Hydrogen Monoxide. 

 

Nose--Intense Muskiness

Cold Draw--Slightly Sweet Floral, Barnyard, Muskiness

 

1st Half--Surprisingly sweet.  Toasted Tobacco and Honey Sweetness right off. Vanilla is there as well.  Aroma from foot is incredible, copious smoke output, relatively easy draw but not too open--perfect I would say.  Slight pepper through nose, not too strong.  Taste I can't place yet.  Citrusy maybe.  Burn just about perfect.  Fizzy is the taste.  A 7 Up kind of fizziness.  This is the thing I think a lot of people call twang(?) Very sweet, with the toasted tobacco turning to the Cohiba grassy taste coming on now at about just before half-way mark.  Medium full body.  Thunderstorm is coming in--I hope it holds off.  Lots of lightning.  When you've seen lightning strike on a golf course and knock golfers down to the ground who weren't even close to it, it kind of scares you a bit.  Admitted whimp.  

 

 

 

2nd Half--Ash drops at 1:48, just before halfway mark.  Grassiness is coming through a bit more now.  Catch a fleeting taste of what is kind of like grape.  More like a grape soda though.  Very viscous smoke, creamy in smoke texture but not really in taste.  Honey/Vanilla/Grassiness there for sure.  This Grape Soda taste is not something I've ever tasted in a cigar ever.  Only lasts a little bit though.  Back to a rich vanilla taste.  Pepper a bit stronger in nose.  Get slight Muskiness like on cold draw in the nose, but not really there otherwise.  Starting to get a bit hot and a little harsh at end.  A distinct nutty taste has come on toward end.  Reminds me of roasted almonds--the ones that might've gotten a little too roasted, slightly bitter.  Sweetness has pretty well faded.  Getting a little grubby.  Definitely showing some youth at end.  Not bad really just not near as good as 1st 3/4.   Getting pretty harsh, but can still get the grassiness in background.  Lightning might be making me smoke it too fast maybe.  Just about to end it.  Tongue getting pretty tingly--has become an almost full bodied cigar.  Not worth burning my fingers to get the harshness, putting down on good finish at 2:14AM-54 min smoking time.  Likely could've had an extra 10 minutes if I would have went to finger burning, but wanted to end on a good note.  Flavors of cigar really coat mouth and stay with you.  Very intense in flavor and aroma.  Great smoke!  Really nice.  In a few years it will be an incredible smoke I believe.  

 

Thanks a million to Luke C. for providing these!  I still am yet to smoke anything but great cigars from RAE March-July15.  

 

 

[LukeC]

Cold draw: firm, hay, grass, citrus notes

 

1st third: hay, lemon, ginger spice through the nose. Towards the end of the first 3rd, the cigar shifts to a creamy white pepper spiciness. The citrus flavors are gone but the grass/hay aspect is there although muted. Stupid ash fell off before 2nd third.

Medium body/strength hands down.

 

2nd third: The hay is back, mixed with that creamy pepper at the end of the 1st third. For a Cohiba petit corona, this thing certainly packs a flavor punch. The spice is bold and in your face and lingers on the back of the tongue and nose. While the spice is there, it is well balanced by a nice creamy smoke. And just like that, 3-4 puffs into the 2nd third, the pepper is gone, replaced by a nice creamy citrus body. I'm also getting an edge of honey mixed in there as well as a faint sourdough bread vibe. Very good. 2nd third was definitely smoother than the first. It reared its head and took off like a rocket at first, now it's cruising. Time for the final third.

Mild to medium bodied.

 

Final 3rd: Everything has dropped by the way side and the cigar is still cruising. At the outset of the final third I'm left with a nice toasted tobacco flavor with citrus hints. The aroma of this thing is to die for. It's what a cigar should be. Brings me back to my childhood, smelling that nice cigar smell on my grandfather, reminiscent of a time long past. Light pepper just kicked back in which I like. I love pepper in a cigar. This reminds me of a nice peppery steak, maybe because I grilled a killer tri-tip tonight. Few puffs later I hit what tastes like mint especially through the nose. Interesting. And...the mint is gone. Nice creamy toasted tobacco for the rest of the ride.

 

1hr 15 minutes total time. Very good. The first half of the cigar changed all over the place. The last half was smooth sailing with little infusions here and there. Hands down one of my top 10 smokes. Buy some if you can find some!

[LukeC]

I agree with the youth aspect towards the end. You can tell it still needs maybe 6 months to a year to fully develop.

[zeedubbya]

Awesome!  Very cool and fun to do!  Great cigar. 

[miurajus]

Thanks for the stellar reviews!  Great idea to do a side-by-side.

[strikethebox7]

Awesome review guys! Had one yesterday which seemed to be closer to luke's description. Though im waiting for that vanilla punch that zee had! Nice work


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[zeedubbya]

3 hours ago, strikethebox7 said:

Awesome review guys! Had one yesterday which seemed to be closer to luke's description. Though im waiting for that vanilla punch that zee had! Nice work


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After my 0-5 in the blind tasting I'm surprised I was even remotely close to the same thing Luke had!  Palate like a ... a....well I can't think of anything which has a bad palate to make the analogy.  Apparently I'm bad at analogies as well.   I did read a couple reviews after I smoked it and vanilla seemed like a more common trait in some aged Siglos.  Who knows?

[subport]

fantastic guys. thank you

[ElPuro]

Winner winner spaghetti dinner!

[TheMonk]

Nice idea, and very well accomplished. Thank you!

[LordAnubis]

Great post guys

[foursite12]

Loved the side by side concept regardless of how it turned out. Thanks guys!