H Upmann Robusto EL 2012 (NRW)

[Bucky McSwensen]

    Picked these up when I was on a craze of "gotta catch em all"  Got them at a reasonable price on another forum.  Hyped them up as a super special H Upmann with age so partly my fault if these don't change my world view.  This cigar specifically wasn't bad, just not worth the hype.  The EL collection has however been a bit of a nemesis to myself and my bank account.  I have had many lovely sticks that provide a unique rich blend based on the DNA of the brand (Bolivar, Punch, Cohiba have been winners).  But too many have been disappointments.  And being the codependent schmuck that I am I will keep coming back to this abusive relationship.  The propios is delayed and I will jump on them no question.  I am damaged.

    To the cigar!  First light is cedar with a lot of nutty creamy flavors.  It is a little dry and quickly drops the cream to get a mainly cedar flavor with little touches of cocoa, spice, and nuts.  I wouldn't call this stick bland but at the midpoint it becomes unremarkable.  It bounces around from medium to mild and back again.  The first few hits were rich but the rest was subtle in its flavor notes.  I finish this to the nub until it gets hot and enjoy it enough.  A decent cigar for sure but nothing special or worth the mark up.  After reading/watching some reviews of this I fully agree with the FOH take of this was good fresh but doesnt have the potential for long term aging and I likely missed its peak.  Coming into the cuban collecting late I was suckered into the mentality of stocking up on limited, regional and discontinued "greats" without ever having the joy of trying them as they progress.  I have for sure got some winners in there but its always a bummer when I overhype them.  I won't feel too bad trading these but will have to fully disclose my experience to others so they don't feel cheated.  This one likely already peaked but I am hoping for it being a one off dud and have dreams that the rest will be better.  Maybe more time will help it evolve but likely smoothing out won't do much good.  Ironically this one was lackluster enough to make me reach for it again soon to get some closure on this experience.  Normally a dud or a knockout make me ignore them or save them.  This is right in the midpoint of hoping it was an anomaly.  We shall see.  Another entry in my journal for the nemesis that is the EL program.

 

I'd value this stick at $12

cost ratio: 0.55

cuba ratio: 1.33