Vegas Robaina Famoso Blind tasting Review April 2005

[El Presidente]

Ken and I will place our reviews last, but as Aprils testers finish their cigar, place your review in this thread and have a guess at what the cigar is. Remember to rate it out of 100.

For our overseas members, the cigar should be with you shortly.:-)

[habanablue]

Reviewer No 1

The test cigar was constructed very well. The wrapper was slightly oily with a few fine veins which didn't affect the burn at all.It cut extremley well. I found this cigar to have an excellent draw and could not be faulted in any way. Thick, rich clouds of smoke made this smoke very enjoyable

I picked up sweet notes on this smoke... The cigar maintained it's taste throughout its duration, rich smooth golden syrup / honey/ molasses taste that reminded my of the San Cristobal line with coffee hints appearing in the last third with a touch of spice.

This cigar gave me goosebumps as I am a fan of a sweeter tasting cigars and I just couldn't name it. (I cheated a bit Rob and checked out the website for all the possibilites it could be) Perhaps a Bolivar? Who knows but it was damn good! Sign me up anytime if this is the type of smoke you are sending out Rob and Lisa!! A definite finger burner!

93

[stevejb]

My cigar arrived Tuesday and I let it settle for a few days. It is a robusto with a perfect colarado wrapper. No veins or blemishes. Very boxpressed and my first thought was a VR Famoso or SLR Regio. The cigar was a little spongy and I was hoping that it wouldn't be underfilled.

It lit perfectly and it drew with ease. The first few puffs had a nice spice kick which made me very happy. I'm not good with picking flavors to describe tobacco but it had that rich beany flavor I associate with Cohibas,VR's, and occasionally ERDM's and SLR's. Other than that it was pure cuban tobacco. The dark grey ash held firm and only dropped off when I flicked it. A good deal of smoke was produced as well. My thoughts of it being underfilled were unfounded as I smoked it down to the nub. A very fine cigar that hit the spot on a typical warrm sunny Vegas day.

93 out of 100. I'll stick with my VR Famoso guess even though I'm probably way off.

Thank yous to Rob and Lisa for letting me participate.

[dragon]

Where's my cigar El Presidente????? :-(

[cf2112]

» Where's my cigar El Presidente????? :-(

Waiting on mine also hopefully monday and I'll smoke it next weekend.

Sounds like a good cigar.

[Mel]

»Nice looking cigar and a pleasure to smoke.

Wrapper; Medium colorao with few veins or flaws. Flat cap and a medium box press.

Draw/Construction; The draw was near perfect allowing good volumes of smoke with little effort. No soft spots and well filled. The burn was very even requiring one correction with a tourch.

Flavor/Aroma; Starts medium bodied with friuty overtones. The overall stregth builds and some earthy coffee flavors develope. Lovely with good depth and balance. Enough complexity to keep me guessing and enjoyable to a nub.

I.D.; A Hermoso No.4 My guess a R&J Ehx #4. Score 90. (I have no experience with the SLR Regio or VR Famoso to compare. All the VR, that I have, do have darker wrappers than this one)

Thankx Rob.

Mel.

Mel.

[wasch_24]

I fired this baby up on my way into the office this morning even though I am still suffering from some seasonal allergies. I had to make sure I got this review submitted on time.

This beautiful cigar measured in at 124mm in length and a 50 ring gauge, Robusto. The cap extended almost 1/4 of an inch onto the wrapper. It was slightly box pressed which eliminates a few robustos available.

The wrapper had very few veins on it and any veins that were visible were very small. It was caramel in color with no visible blemishes.

After clipping the pre-light draw was nearly perfect, just the right amount of resistance. Throughout the smoke the draw was neither firm nor loose. It was right in the middle.

As I am currently struggling with seasonal allergies I had a very difficult time discerning all the flavors presented. With that in mind, I was still easily able to discern a very ample amount of spice accompanied by hints of citrus sweetness, almost like a RyJ Cedros 3, and more than enough earthy leathery robustness.

In summary, this cigar did not have the tannic bite of a young cigar but was definitely not extremely aged as it was very 'in your face' the length of the smoke. At one point I was admiring the razor sharp burn and the rock solid silver/white ash and it reminded me of the movie/book Congo by Michael Crichton. The color of the ash and the power of this cigar brought an image of the mutated gorillas that were guarding the ruins. It wasn't necessarily turn you green strong, just unrestrained power. I would give this ciagar a score of 92, most of which is due to the construction and burn, might be higher if I was able to taste more.

Having very limited experience with multiple tastings of robusto cigars, not my favorite vitola, I have been debating the marquee of this cigar. It could be a Bolivar Royal Corona or a Partagas Serie D No. 4. I feel confident that it is neither a Juan Lopez Seleccion No. 2 nor a Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No. 2.

If I need to make one guess as to which one it is I am going with a PSD 4. ( You wouldn't have sent os some reservas would you Rob?)

Thanks for this opportunity Rob. Hopefully next time my taste buds will be fully operational if I get to do this again.

[WFZone]

Well here goes my first ever cigar review:

This baby has been sitting my humi for 8 days or so and has become well acclimated.

Prelight: The Vitola of this cigar is a Hermoso #4. The wrapper is medium Colorado in color and is slightly veined. The wrapper has a nice amount of sheen to it.The cigar is solid with no loose spots noted and is box pressed. The cap is well formed and flat.

Prelight Draw: I took the Palio cutter to this bad boy and tested the draw. The draw was quite easy which was surprising because the cigar did not appear to be underfilled.

Initial lighting: Toasted the foot up and took a draw. The smoke volume of this baby was almost enough for my neighbors to call the Fire Dept. My initial tastings noted black cherry and currant within the first third along with the strong taste of tobacco.

Middle of cigar: The middle of this cigar developed earthy tones and straight forward cuban tobacco taste that remained through the rest of the smoke. There was an ever present "twang" and at times my lips tingled. The cigar burned well but not razor straight. It developed a couple of runners but they corrected themselves just as I was about to give up hope. Nice medium gray ash that hung on forever.

End: The cigar met it's death with about 1" remaining. The last third was straight forward Cuban tobacco developing strong expresso and white pepper taste. Nice long finish to this medium-full bodied smoke.

Total time for me start to finish was 60 minutes. I enjoyed this tasting and want to thank both Rob & Lisa for allowing me to partake. I would give this Smoke a score of 90. I believe the cigar had about 1 yr of age on it because the flavors weren't quite all melded together as a well aged Habano.

My guess: Romeo y Julieta Exhibicion #4

But I could be WRONG!!

[1f1fan]

I decided to start my Saturday morning off with a bagel, some coffee, a quick read of the cigar boards, and Rob's mystery cigar.

My full review:

Year: Unknown

Size: Robusto

Strength: Med - Med/Full

Wrapper/Construction: The wrapper on this box pressed robusto was average. Little to no oils visible with a slightly sloppy tripple cap. Not a very elegant looking cigar but still had character. Binder and filler was just right, not under or over-filled at all.

Pre-light draw: Nice tobacco taste with a nice draw.

Burn: Burn was good. After dropping the first inch of ash I did notice a nice cone-shape burn present. The burn did get a little uneven past the half-way point, minor touch-ups needed.

Ash: The ash held on very tight and colors ranged from very dark black, battleship gray to a very light (almost white) gray.

Draw: Draw was very good. Lots of smoke.

Taste: The taste was woody with some underlying sweetness trying it's best to come through. Taste in my opoinion was of a Bolivar Royal corona that was a little rough around the edges and not very complex. This particular cigar IMHO was young and needs another year or two to blossom. I've had some Boli RC's with 2 1/2 years of age that have been outstanding - very (dry) woody and earthy characteristics with an underlying sweetness of molasses and a long finish.

Rating: 77/100 - Needed more age and time in the humidor after the trip

Notes: My cigar arrived in good condition however, for the next tasting I suggest the cigar be bagged, rolled in additional bubble wrap and then placed in the padded mailer or a box to prevent damage.

Thanks for letting me participate

-Paul

[ALB]

Enjoyed the taste cigar last night so here goes my first review:

Appearance was claro, slightly oily with very smooth wrap. Perfect construction, easy to cut with cap coming off in one piece.

I found the burn rate on the cigar to be very even & perfect, no relight was required even though I smoked outside in a light evening breeze.

The cigar opened with what I can only describe as pure cuban earth & tobacco flavours, fairly strong flavour but very smooth.

This lasted for about 10 minutes, then the cigar settled down into very mellow & mild flavours, with what I tasted as subtle hints of sweet (honey/fruit?) flavours. The cigar burned evenly & the draw was perfect throughout.

Into the last third, a definite change of character, as a much stronger taste of peppery spice came through the draw, which left a lovely spicy hint on the lips.

To sum it up, this was a pleasure to smoke, right from the first draw to the last, I didn't really want to put it down, because you really felt like you might get a different taste in the next draw. This reminded me of a Vegas Robaino Famosos I enjoyed in Cuba last year, the way it takes you on a journey of flavours while staying smooth & light - to medium - bodied throughout. Very nice indeed.

Overall rating 91

Thanks to Rob for giving us a chance to sample some of his wares,& look forward to the next opportunity.

[cf2112]

Still waiting on mine to show up:-(

[rspdiver]

» Still waiting on mine to show up:-(

ditto

[ALB]

PS My guess as to the cigars' ID is the HDM Epicure #1, very similar characteristics

[wasch_24]

» PS My guess as to the cigars' ID is the HDM Epicure #1, very similar

» characteristics

You mean #2 right?

[El Presidente]

Ken and I will hold our reviews over for another week..and the grand annoncement

They should have arrived by this stage but I will check with Lise on Tuesday our time (Public Holiday Monday)

Will be back in touch but they will surface.

[ALB]

nah mate,

# 1 is more diverse in flavour than the Epi # 2, but who knows if my tastebuds were on the money.

[ironman]

Great reviews thus far gents :-)

Ironman

[wasch_24]

» nah mate,

»

» # 1 is more diverse in flavour than the Epi # 2, but who knows if my

» tastebuds were on the money.

Oh, I thought your guess was the #1. My cigar was a Robusto and the #1 is a Corona Gorda. Maybe we all did not get the same cigar.

[El Presidente]

You all received the same cigar

Ken is bursting to post his review....Will wrap this one up Friday!

[ALB]

You're right Todd,

I got it wrong (don't say THAT very often), taste reminded me of Epi #1 though, but again, my t-buds might be playing tricks.

Look forward to hearing what they were.

Think we should score a freebie from El pres. if we guessed right?

[WFZone]

Can not wait to see what Ken and El Presidente have to say. I know we all got the same cigar and I swear this was a Hermoso #4. Hard to tell the difference between a Robusto & Hermoso.

Robusto ring gauge of 50

Hermosa ring gauge of 48

Man, I hope I got the ring gauge right. To me the cigar could have been one of the following:

RyJ Exhibicion #4 - My guess

Hoyo Epi #1 -

VR - Famosos

I did not think the depth and power was there for the VR but hey this could have been a Robusto and I will have egg all over my face.

Looking forward to Friday's unveiling!!!!

[wasch_24]

» Can not wait to see what Ken and El Presidente have to say. I know we all

» got the same cigar and I swear this was a Hermoso #4. Hard to tell the

» difference between a Robusto & Hermoso.

»

» Robusto ring gauge of 50

» Hermosa ring gauge of 48

»

» Man, I hope I got the ring gauge right. To me the cigar could have been

» one of the following:

»

» RyJ Exhibicion #4 - My guess

» Hoyo Epi #1 -

» VR - Famosos

»

» I did not think the depth and power was there for the VR but hey this

» could have been a Robusto and I will have egg all over my face.

»

» Looking forward to Friday's unveiling!!!!

I was caught up between the sizes too. The ring guage wasn't a question for me though. At least not with the gauge I have. There was no way in heck it was fitting in the 48 hole.

Mine also measured at 123.8 mm and Hermosos No. 4 is 127mm long while Robusto is 124mm long.

We shall see I guess.

[WFZone]

Ok...Todd has an official measuring stick. If this is a Robusto then my bet is on Juan Lopez #1. Come on El Presidente give us a hint!

[Mel]

I had some doubts also as to the Vitola. I put it beside three robustos,RASS,Boli Royal Corona and a Cohiba. My cigar was longer than all three except the Cohiba which was close. The ring gauges were not all that different by visual inspection only.

I pulled out two Herm. #4 a Rey De Mundo Chiox Sup. and a R&J Ehx #4 and the match was much better.

I get a lot of my sticks unbanded and reassemble them later. I find that ring gauge can vary quite a bit even among the super premiums. There are definitely big and little cigars in the same box BUT the length never varies. I think the box press makes it more dificult to judge ring gauge.Therefore at five inches even with a flat cap I had to R/O Robusto.

In all aspects(physical only) my cigar was moat like the R&J #4.

I wonder if El Pres. and Mr. Garrett are doing blind test also?

[Ken Gargett]

it hurts me deeply, and i'm sure i speak for our pres guru as well (even if he did stand me up for lunch yesterday), when i say that i am astounded that any forum member could suspect, even for the briefest of moments, that either rob or i would do anything underhand. of course, as gentlemen, as the old saying goes, we would never tell.

all that said, i am wondering just how the pres is going to choose a cigar and send it to us all without actually knowing what it is. he has had my review for ages now and leaving it to him as to when it should be posted.