Cohiba Ambar Coming To Switzerland

[El Presidente]

 

Cohiba Ambar Coming To Switzerland

Years after its announcement, the new Cohiba will join Cuba’s regular-production portfolio

Mar 7, 2024 | By Gregory Mottola

 

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/cohiba-ambar-coming-to-switzerland----

[JohnS]

MARCH 8, 2024 - PATRICK LAGREID

COHIBA AMBAR ARRIVING AT SWISS LA CASA DEL HABANO STORES ON MARCH 19

Nearly three years after it was announced, the Cohiba Ambar is beginning to make its way to stores, with Intertabak AG, the Swiss distributor of Cuban cigars, one of the first to announce that it will be available this month.

The cigar, which measures 5 1/5 (132mm) long with a 53 ring gauge, is a new vitola for the Cuban portfolio, with the new robusto extra size dubbed the placeres vitola. The cigar is part of the Cohiba brand’s Línea Clasica line and is billed as having a medium-full strength smoke, using only tobacco that has undergone the barrel fermentation process that is the brand’s signature. It was announced as part of the 55th anniversary celebration of the Cohiba brand and is considered a regular production addition to the Cohiba portfolio.

In Switzerland, the Cohiba Ambar will be available at La Casa del Habano stores on March 19, while Habanos Specialist stores will be selling the cigar as of March 26.

The Cohiba Ambar is priced at CHF 87 ($99.14) per cigar and CHF 870 ($991.40) for a box of 10 cigars. Another packaging option, a pack of three aluminum tubos, has previously been mentioned, but it remains to be seen if that will be released.

Source: https://halfwheel.com/cohiba-ambar-arriving-in-swiss-la-casa-del-habano-stores-on-march-19/435966/

[yossie]

35 minutes ago, JohnS said:

The Cohiba Ambar is priced at CHF 87 ($99.14) per cigar and CHF 870 ($991.40)

Hmm.. It's pretty weird but I hear they're not so expensive as for a new release of Cohiba. Though, I won't purchase.

[NSXCIGAR]

6 hours ago, yossie said:

Hmm.. It's pretty weird but I hear they're not so expensive as for a new release of Cohiba. Though, I won't purchase.

It's positioned as regular production. Price is pretty much in line with Robustos. I've had several and I would say they're about the same as Robustos in terms of performance and quality. 

[Ford2112]

41 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

It's positioned as regular production. Price is pretty much in line with Robustos. I've had several and I would say they're about the same as Robustos in terms of performance and quality. 

And pretty much size as well. I've had a couple. Not sure why they felt the need for these in the portfolio.

[NSXCIGAR]

18 minutes ago, Ford2112 said:

And pretty much size as well. I've had a couple. Not sure why they felt the need for these in the portfolio.

I agree. I think they should have made this one 6" instead of 5 1/4". Even so it's an odd addition to the regular Cohiba lineup which has changed very little. In fact only the PE has been added since 1989. 

[BrightonCorgi]

They certainly look cool.

Family is coming over from CH in May. That's too expensive for me to ask them to pick up a box 😢

[Sandman]

10 hours ago, Ford2112 said:

And pretty much size as well. I've had a couple. Not sure why they felt the need for these in the portfolio.

Two very different blends. Personally I like the Ambar better and CoRo is one of my favorite cigars. But I don’t even compare them like that as they are two separate but quite different blends, so to me just two different cigars. Both great. Ambar has a very unique flavor in my opinion. I do agree, it would be sweet if the Ambar was longer. 

[Ford2112]

28 minutes ago, Sandman said:

Two very different blends. Personally I like the Ambar better and CoRo is one of my favorite cigars. But I don’t even compare them like that as they are two separate but quite different blends, so to me just two different cigars. Both great. Ambar has a very unique flavor in my opinion. I do agree, it would be sweet if the Ambar was longer. 

I may have to revisit as I likely had young ones that didn't really impress. How would you describe the difference in blends?

[SigmundChurchill]

20 hours ago, Sandman said:

Two very different blends. Personally I like the Ambar better and CoRo is one of my favorite cigars. But I don’t even compare them like that as they are two separate but quite different blends, so to me just two different cigars. Both great. Ambar has a very unique flavor in my opinion. I do agree, it would be sweet if the Ambar was longer. 

Actually, in our conversation with Danilo, he very clearly told us they used the same blend as the CoRo.  He went on to say it is just a larger version of the CoRo.

Do you have different info or you just going by palate?

 

[Sandman]

3 hours ago, SigmundChurchill said:

Actually, in our conversation with Danilo, he very clearly told us they used the same blend as the CoRo.  He went on to say it is just a larger version of the CoRo.

Do you have different info or you just going by palate?

I’ll smoke both back to back tomorrow and see what I think. I don’t have any recent Coro to compare, but I do have some 2020s. I'll take some tasting notes. 

[KCCubano]

Wouldn't the blend have to be slightly different if the Ambar is three RGs larger than the Robusto? 

[SigmundChurchill]

On 3/11/2024 at 3:48 AM, KCCubano said:

Wouldn't the blend have to be slightly different if the Ambar is three RGs larger than the Robusto? 

The blend is just a matter of proportionality. No? Any recipe from lasagna to margaritas should taste the same no matter what size the portion is as long as the ingredients are proportionate.  
 

Where you may get a difference in flavor is from the burn of the cigar, which will be different in cigars of two different sizes.

[KCCubano]

5 hours ago, SigmundChurchill said:

The blend is just a matter of proportionality. No? Any recipe from lasagna to margaritas should taste the same no matter what size the portion is as long as the ingredients are proportionate.  
 

Where you may get a difference in flavor is from the burn of the cigar, which will be different in cigars of two different sizes.

Yeah I'm not sure. I was always under impression you couldn't replicate a blend if its more than two rg's larger. I may be completely wrong. I can see the burn being different which in turn effects flavor as you suggested. 

[SigmundChurchill]

4 hours ago, KCCubano said:

Yeah I'm not sure. I was always under impression you couldn't replicate a blend if its more than two rg's larger. I may be completely wrong. I can see the burn being different which in turn effects flavor as you suggested. 

You are less flexible with how much wrapper leaf you can add.  After all, your maximal increase in wrapper leaf is limited to the increase in dimension of the cigar, so that is definitely an issue if you are trying to replicate the blend of a skinny cigar into a fat cigar, but in this case it is such a minor change in diameter that it shouldn’t noticeably change the flavor.

BUT, when it comes to flow through a cylinder, small diameter changes lead to large changes in flow, which will lead to a different burn rate if everything else is equal.  Everything else is rarely equal though. Friction is a factor, which will change in an overfilled cigar vs an underfilled cigar, and all the variations in between.

[Fugu]

4 hours ago, KCCubano said:

Yeah I'm not sure. I was always under impression you couldn't replicate a blend if its more than two rg's larger. I may be completely wrong. I can see the burn being different which in turn effects flavor as you suggested. 

Two, three steps in rg (1/64 inch) is just nothing in a 50 to 53 cepo range. How would you want to adjust for that?! With the inconsistencies we are witnessing even within one single vitola, you won’t seriously expect Tabacuba to be capable of tweaking a blend by adding a 1/10 bit of a half leaf?! (It’s about 12 % larger in cross sectional area)

There might be a difference one is tasting but this is much more likely due to the effects Elliot is describing, or - even more likely - the effect of a new release... 🙄

[Sandman]

On 3/11/2024 at 2:08 AM, SigmundChurchill said:

Actually, in our conversation with Danilo, he very clearly told us they used the same blend as the CoRo.  He went on to say it is just a larger version of the CoRo.

Do you have different info or you just going by palate?

Just smoked a CoRo and now a third into an Ambar. I have to admit they do share similar flavors. I think maybe I thought they were so different because most of the Ambar I’ve smoked were fresh. They smoked very well fresh. I feel a little embarrassed. I’ve had my Ambars, which are from pre-release for about 7 months now, so they’ve settled down nicely, and the flavors have melded well. The blends are similar now, but I am preferring the Ambar. The flavors seem more pronounced, but in a perfect balance. Wrapper flavors are sweet, with citrus and cedar notes, the cigar with deep vanilla, cocoa, and dark chocolate flavors. The finish seems sweeter than a CoRo. Very rich cigar, starts medium, right now strength is picking up a tad. I wish I could explain a little better the true differences. 
 

Definitely eye opening to compare the two, and I’m glad you mentioned this. 

[SigmundChurchill]

2 hours ago, Sandman said:

Just smoked a CoRo and now a third into an Ambar. I have to admit they do share similar flavors. I think maybe I thought they were so different because most of the Ambar I’ve smoked were fresh. They smoked very well fresh. I feel a little embarrassed. I’ve had my Ambars, which are from pre-release for about 7 months now, so they’ve settled down nicely, and the flavors have melded well. The blends are similar now, but I am preferring the Ambar. The flavors seem more pronounced, but in a perfect balance. Wrapper flavors are sweet, with citrus and cedar notes, the cigar with deep vanilla, cocoa, and dark chocolate flavors. The finish seems sweeter than a CoRo. Very rich cigar, starts medium, right now strength is picking up a tad. I wish I could explain a little better the true differences. 
 

Definitely eye opening to compare the two, and I’m glad you mentioned this. 

Easily understandable as so many factors go into the perception of flavor at any given time. As mentioned above, the burn, the fill, the point in the cigar's aging process, are you smoking on a beach with strong wind and salty air, or in an enclosed room, etc, etc, etc. 2 of the 3 that I smoked were at the factory, and as we have discussed in the past, there is something magical about the flavors of Cohibas directly off the rolling table. At the time, I certainly wouldn't have connected the cigar to the CoRo without being told and looking for the similarities. I noticed them much more with the one I smoked a few weeks ago back here in the states.

[Sandman]

1 hour ago, SigmundChurchill said:

Easily understandable as so many factors go into the perception of flavor at any given time. As mentioned above, the burn, the fill, the point in the cigar's aging process, are you smoking on a beach with strong wind and salty air, or in an enclosed room, etc, etc, etc. 2 of the 3 that I smoked were at the factory, and as we have discussed in the past, there is something magical about the flavors of Cohibas directly off the rolling table. At the time, I certainly wouldn't have connected the cigar to the CoRo without being told and looking for the similarities. I noticed them much more with the one I smoked a few weeks ago back here in the states.

Totally makes sense! Mine weren’t right off the table, but I started smoking within a couple of weeks of the table, and I smoked quite a few. We are probably smoking similar timeframes.I also have some from a little over a year ago but they are buried. 
 

Anyway, nearing the end of this Ambar, and yes, I can taste very similar profile now that mine have some age. Very interesting. Great cigar, absolutely loving it. 
 

Thanks!