Cohiba Siglo II (courtesy of CIGARHead)

[shrink]

A superb effort! Your review demonstrates a palate that is sensitive to nuances of flavor, and you have the ability to describe them well. I was left wondering about the age of your cigar, but you provided some clues. Let me have some fun here.

First, you indicated that it had more body and strength than the Mag 46. And that the flavors included cinnamon and chocolate, as well as some oatmeal and raisin notes. These observations suggest that your Siglo II wasn’t too ‘young’, or these tastes would probably have not yet developed. There appeared to be nothing of the dominant ‘grassy’ flavors that a youthful Cohiba exhibits.

On the other hand, you described the profile as ‘boring’ and that the final third lost its balance. If the smoke had been well-aged, I doubt that this would have been the case. So, I am guessing that the cigar dates from two to three years of age, i.e. between 2005 through mid 2006.

The Siglo II is a nice cigar, and it really blooms with maturity.

[MaltPointer]

» So, I am guessing that the cigar dates

» from two to three years of age, i.e. between 2005 through mid 2006.

»

Shrink--

Not sure . . . since it was a gift from Austin. I'll let him answer. I will say that the Mag 46 he sent over was from 2005, so your analysis may be spot on.

I definitely did not get any grassiness, or at least what I would term as such. And to add another point of clarity, when I asked the question, "boring?" the cigar responded by turning it up a notch, meaning my answer was, "no, not boring."

thanks for the note!

[Ziggy]

Excellent review and nice camera work.

Zig

[El Presidente]

Thoroughly enjoying your reviews an you have done our mate Austin proud

You nailed a Cohiba Siglo II of a few years age down pat.

[CIGARHead]

Damn Charles, that was a terrific review man! You sure you don't write for the paper or magazines or something?:-)

The Cohiba Siglo II was from March 2006. This particular box has really developed over the last 3-4 months. That oatmeal raisin cookie you describe is exactly how these taste to me as well. I have really been enjoying these as they are brash and flavorful. Yes, they can sometimes be a little wild and unsure of themselves - but hey, that's what youngin's are...and Ive actually come to appreciate that in cigars. I really cant wait to see how these evolve.

Thanks for the great reviews and pictures Charles. I'm glad you got to sample some cigars you hadnt smoked before.

P.S. I was waiting for something in the review about you putting the head in your mouth and getting a nutty taste, but you must've learned from the last review mate:lol2:

[Moglman]

Great review of a really nice cigar! Like any good review should, it really makes me want to fire one up.

[tigger]

Great review!!!

Youth will always be youth, but sometimes purging a young cigar toward the end extends the enjoyment of it a bit.

[MaltPointer]

Thanks, Austin . . . for the sticks, and for the kind words.

Charles

[MaltPointer]

» Great review!!!

»

» Youth will always be youth, but sometimes purging a young cigar toward the

» end extends the enjoyment of it a bit.

Thanks, Tigger . . . that makes sense. I'll try that next time.

Charles

[marco polo]

Nice review/pics ! :-)

[Mel]

Nice write up Charlse and that CIGARHead is quite a fine mate. I smoked one of his Sig II from the same box last night and it was a fine cigar BUT the 00 R&J Exh #4 he sent me in a trade was even better.

[Professor Twain]

Great review of the Siglo, a superb cigar. I have some 06s that are stored away for safe keeping in my Online Cigar Locker (Czarador), you are tempting me to get them delivered. But they may get even better if I can keep them locked away.

[Kingantz]

Most excellent review! I've been waiting to see this one as I too have not had a Cohiba as yet. Sounds like it might work well with a good cup of joe (oatmeal raisin cookie...mmmm). Very nice photographs, descriptions, the whole nine yards! I'm definitely looking forward to my first one!

I was going to get my second done (the Boli CH gifted me), however have come down with a really nasty cold/flu bug the past week or so. Really sucks because it's been beautiful weather, perfect for a smoke!

[MaltPointer]

» I was going to get my second done (the Boli CH gifted me), however have

» come down with a really nasty cold/flu bug the past week or so. Really

» sucks because it's been beautiful weather, perfect for a smoke!

Was wondering where your review of that Bolivar was . . . get well soon, dude, I'm dying to hear all about it.

Thanks for the kind words!

[MaltPointer]

In the post entitled, “I want to try something,” CIGARHead made note of the influx of new members to the site, and offered up some free CC’s to the first newbie(s) who responded. I was one of the lucky three selected (and a hat-tip to my buddy Mike, who saw this on the board, and tracked me down to let me know).

Austin had a couple conditions: 1) that we post a review on the site; and, 2) we pay it forward someday downstream. Here’s a shot of the sticks I received back from when they were both still around:

I previously reviewed the Magnum 46, and today, I’ll review the Cohiba Siglo II. This will be the first Cohiba I’ve ever smoked, by the way.

It’s a great looking cigar, nice wrapper, with some veins showing.

The pre-light aroma is slightly funky, in a raisin-y/barnyard/cumin kinda way. Tight construction, feels good in the hand, not too dry, not too humid. (I think I finally have my box humidor figured out, fyi; it’s been at a steady 65-67% rh for a week or more now, and the draw and burn on this cigar reflected that.)

I followed El Presidente’s advice, and slowly serrated the inside of the cap with my fingernail, and tested the pre-light draw, which had a slight coffee flavor, along with uncooked oats.

Fired it up, and starting puffing away, taking notes all the while. Here’s what I got, by thirds.

First third

• The burn was pretty assertive at first; the wrapper seemed eager to get to work. This is one of the first times I’ve felt that the wrapper was working with me rather than against me

• Draw was spot on for me. I’m loving the 65% rh deal. I also set this cigar to the side in the humidor about a week ago, so it was all by its lonesome. Even rotated the damn thing a couple times when I remembered to. The fussiness seems to be paying off, though.

• Much more body than the Magnum 46, to my mind. If I had smoked this last week, I probably would have called it full-bodied, but I had a Padron Anniversary 64 during the week that was so full-bodied I felt like I could have flossed smoke out of my teeth when I was done, so I have a different point of comparison. So, call this upper medium bodied. Flavors are:

• slight coffee, black

• Chocolate

• Grain—slightly cooked oats, or maybe even that flavor/aroma that steamed rice gives off when it’s hot out of the steamer

• I’m still a noob when it comes to smoke thru the nose. All I really get is a sense of pepper (mostly because it makes me want to sneeze), but this time I also got a sense of a softer chocolate, i.e., milk chocolate.

Second third (in which things start to cook)

• So far, this has been a very consistent smoke. So much so, that I wrote in my notes the word “boring” with a question mark.

• Now, though, it starts to cook a little bit. I’m getting a much darker roast coffee taste, almost but not quite espresso. Still no cream.

• The cigar is starting to feel more earthy to me as well. “very rooted, “ I wrote in my notes; not top-heavy; no floral notes at all.

• Like something out of the spice rack, not the herb cabinet. I feel like I’m getting a mélange of faint cinnamon, paprika and cumin, with a sense of spicy hotness.

• I’m even starting to get a back of the throat “burn” that reminds me of something that I can’t quite place (though it also reminds me of the time I did T & T shots--that’s tequila and Tabasco--at a trade show in New Orleans. I’d tell you the rest of the story, but I don’t remember it.)

• I’m also starting to get a sweeter , dried fruit finish, that almost seems cumulative, as if the taste is building up in my mouth the longer I smoke this stick. Raisins, maybe.

• Two other comments—the smoke from this cigar was a pleasure to watch . . . very tight, wispy, structured. And, the ash was so tight you could see the vein lines in it.

Final third (in which I figure out what this stick tastes like)

• So, what we’ve had so far in terms of taste are some of the more predictable tastes—chocolate, coffee. But I’ve also been getting other hits that I can’t quite pull into a coherent picture—oats, cinnamon, raisin, spiciness, sweetness.

• As I enter the final third of this cigar, the oats flavor becomes more pronounced, and more toasted.

• The chocolate fades into the background a bit, but not before turning darker, more cooked.

• Then, a couple things hit me at once—I finally figure out what that back of the throat “burn” thing reminds me of, and it’s this: you know that nasally, hot feeling you get when you take a slug of really hard-core ginger ale? That’s it. Minus the carbonation, of course, but that ginger taste and impact is one of the things I’ve been trying to put my finger on.

• The other taste is . . . wait for it . . . oatmeal raisin cookies. It was staring me right in the face the whole time. It’s all here—the toastiness; the sweetness; the oat-y goodness; the spicy mélange.

• Here’s the other place my noob status shows up, probably—as I neared the end of this smoke, I frankly found myself enjoying it less. All of the flavors I’d been enjoying started to unravel a bit, the smoke got hotter, and I had a harder time savoring the experience. So I said a fond farewell to my very first Cohiba Siglo II. Thanks again, Austin!