Vegas Robaina Unicos BRE Jul 2018 (TPRW)

Glass Half Full · June 26, 2022

The VR Unicos are a favorite that I'd been trying to have rest longer, ...but what the heck

I enjoyed my first from this box in the indoor courtyard of a rustic-but-character-filled, beautiful little Casa Particular in Trinidad, not long after purchasing them at the Hotel Nacional in December 2018. That first one was the first time I'd experienced peanut flavors in a cigar.

Today's Unicos was worlds away from that first one: Though from the same box, it's more tightly rolled, firm to the touch. The pre-light scents and flavors are light leather with a touch of pastry sweetness.

First 1/3: After a Dickman cut, the very beginning of this is much more subtle than expected. That said, it quickly turns up from medium to medium-full. In the first 3rd, mocha (but not coffee) quickly step in along with baking spices that remain for the whole cigar in varying degress. (I'm pairing of a Coast Kolsch, which perhaps amplifies the baking flavors.) There's a hint of must in the retros, which are otherwise quite soft.

The Second 3rd brings up the "twang," in a good way. There's a slight sense of brininess and minerality, which add to the round, full flavors, as the "amperage" picks up. It's like having gone from stereo to surround sound This is now medium-full.

The 3rd/3rd brings earth and a light chestnut; with retros picking up in strength, it moves more and more to "full-full" by the end. After a trim to the cut, the draw releases again and it turns to full-full in this last 1/6th. The flavors are now full on tobacco, with barnyard joining the baking, before it then turns to a bit of peat and what I can only describe as peanut shells. (Odd one, I know, as we don't usually eat the shells, though it does happen with boiled peanuts, which are common here in the Low Country, and also have high salinity and mineral flavors.) Bitterness steps up at the nub along with strong "nut-tree-bark" woodiness (if you will) and earth, ..though still quite enjoyable to me).

3-4 touch-ups during the whole experience, and two relights were necessary in the last third (though it could have been me). I definitely took my time with this cigar, close to 2 hours. I thought it was well worth the patience, ...though I'll wait longer to smoke the next ones as (I think) they'll only get better with more years.

Score? Well, it's all subjective, of course, ...and I'm not sure I'm good at the grading. In my book, and acknowledging that it needs a bit more time, I'll say 88-89 with four years on. (I'm guessing it will be much higher with more age.)

All the best,

Glass Half Full