Cohiba Robusto

[thechenman]

Cigar: COHIBA ROBUSTO[/b]

Vitola: Robusto/Robustos

Origin: Cuba

Filler: Cuba

Binder: Cuba

Wrapper: Cuba

Box Code: LPA MAY 08

Price: $15.59USD

Ring Gauge: 50

Length: 4.8 inches

Body: Medium - Full

Pairing: Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA – The Alcohol by Volume (ABV) for this spectacular IPA is now 18% after they dialed it back a bit from 21%. However, even at the current ABV level this IPA is illegal to sell in certain states within the U.S.

Location: Outdoors in Westchester County, NY on a friend’s pool deck.

Date/Time: Sunday, September 6th, 2009 @ 3:00pm EDT

Environment: It was a beautiful day outside. By the afternoon the temperatures were in the upper-70s (farenheit) and the sky was partly cloudy. There was a very mild breeze which was nice and cool coming off the Hudson River. We lit up on the pool deck as the kids frolicked in the pool, around the pool, and throughout the backyard. The wives were at the patio table chatting away with my mother who was visiting for a couple weeks from SoCal while my father was in Cameroon on business. My two buddies and I sat down with Cohiba Robustos (LPA MAY 08) and a few bottles of one of my favorite beers, the Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA. If you have not tried this libation, you haven’t lived. This could likely hands down be the best, if not one of the best IPAs you will ever imbibe. Just pouring this cognac-colored IPA into a chilled snifter is an experience unto its own. I kid you not. So, if you ever get the chance, definitely give it a try. As an aside…I should probably send this comment to Dogfish Head and ask them for a check, or at the very least a discount on my next purchase.

Band: Okay…the Cohiba band is one of my favorite cigar bands bar none. Love the yellow, black, gold and white. It has a hipper more modern look than a lot of its older peers, which is by no means a knock on the classics. It’s just nice to see something new and refreshing (the Trinidad band falls into this category as well). And to top it all off, it speaks to me. It calls out and says, ”I don’t give a rats ass about how ridiculously expensive you may think I am – you stupid putz. I’m probably the closest you are ever going to get to heaven, so stop your idiotic drooling and fork over the payola because deep down inside you know I’m worth it.” ‘Nuff said…

Appearance: This Cohiba Robusto had a wrapper that I would say was a bit more Natural in color than Colorado. With Habanos, you never know. Still, it was attractive. However, there were two areas where I was disappointed. At the foot of the front side of the cigar was an ugly green splotch. This I was not pleased with, especially in a marca like Cohiba that is pretty much as pricey as it gets (well, maybe except for the Trinis). It kinda reminded me of some wrappers I’ve seen on many a Montecristo No. 4 or Punch that I have smoked in the past.

Construction: Overall, I was pleased with the construction of this cigar. Aside for the two flaws in appearance there was nothing wrong with this CoRo. The bunch at the foot looked nice. The wrapper was slightly oil and lightly veined. Aside from the splotch the coloring of the wrapper was beautifully consistent. I slight squeeze showed the cigar was not overly soft or firm, but rather springy. A closer inspection revealed no soft spots either. Very nice. My anticipation heightened.

Aroma: The pre-light aroma on the cigar was all grass and hay, grass and hay, grass and hay. But don’t they usually always smell that way? The aroma of grass certainly dominated. Some people don’t care for it, I love it. Sniffing the foot showed the slightest hint of some spice which was pleasing. All in all, I was expecting a classic CoRo experience.

Cut: I cut the cap of the CoRo with my Palio cigar cutter. It came away nice and clean. The cigar looked decently bunched at the head as it did at the foot.

Draw: The draw on this Cohiba Robusto was perfect by my standards – Just the slightest bit on the looser side of things. What can I say…I’m lazy. Just don’t tell my wife I said that. The dominate taste coming through on my pre-light draw was…you guessed it grass, as I’m sure you suspected.

Light: I lit the robusto with my Blazer PB-207 lighter. Slowly I toasted the foot of the cigar while gently rotating it in my right hand until the foot took on a nice orange glow. Things started off real nicely.

Smoke: The CoRo did not put out tons of smoke, but the amount of blue smoke was adequate multiplied by three as I was smoking with two other friends. This time I did not find the smoke particularly aromatic; however, it could have had something to do with the fantastic scent of meat being seared on a grill nearby. Don’t get me wrong…I love my cigars, but have you ever tried eating one?

First Third: This cigar started out exceptionally well. It surprised me as often the initial puffs on a cigar begin a bit harsh before mellowing out…at least that is the way it is for me. I know, I know…chances are I’m doing something wrong. Likely being a little over eager in torching my stogies, but honestly, I do always try and take my time, especially if there is someone else waiting to use the lighter. The cigar started out medium bodied which surprised me. However, the flavor was incredible. Right of the bat a sweet grassy flavor combined with flavors of tobacco and some leather. This was actually my favorite third of the cigar, which is rather unusual. Normally, it is the middle third.

Second Third: Going into this third of the cigar, I was still getting the grassy flavor Cohiba smokers tend to be accustomed to. The sweetness has disappeared and a hint of pepper has come into the mix. This was pleasant and all, but the CoRo was not evolving as I had expected it to. In all fairness to the cigar, I did neglect it twice during this stage and had to purge and relight twice. I did not however, notice any change in the flavor profile after relighting.

Final Third: During the final third, I felt that the CoRo had finally reached its medium-full potential in terms of strength. However, part way into the final third, I lost that trademark grassiness, with the pepper intensifying. I also began to taste more and more tobacco. I have to say that I was a bit disappointed that the cigar did not evolve in the way I was expecting, Smoking through the last third, the cigar began getting harsher and the bitterness on my palate was steadily developing. With about an inch left to go on this CoRo, I decided to let it go out as I was no longer enjoying it.

Burn: The burn on this cigar was not great. At times it was a bit uneven, but always managed to correct itself without help. On two occasions I did have to relight this cigar; but in all fairness to this CoRo, I believe it was my own fault than that of the cigars. During the second third…I did get a bit overly engrossed with the topic of conversation, and neglected my cigar. Sacrilege you say? Well, with a CoRo…maybe it was. But after relighting and purging, I did not notice any change in the cigar’s flavor profile from what I experienced prior to the re-light.

Ash: The ash on the Cohiba Robusto was fugly. No ifs, ands or buts. It was just downright fugly. While most CoRos I’ve smoked tend to have that black and dark gray ash that this example did, this stick exhibited particularly flakey characteristics. The ash would not hold for any longer than 1 inch before dropping off. That frustrated me as I tend to like a long ash. Don’t ask me why, but I do…I’m sure some people would say that I am trying to make up for my other shortcomings…don’t tell my wife that either.

Smoking Time: 1 hour 15 minutes (Took a bit longer than “normal” as I got wrapped up in the conversation at hand.)

Conclusion: I really think this Cohiba Robusto was on the young side, despite having a year of aging in its SLB. My own belief it that it will be much more enjoyable in 12 months time, and I certainly don’t need to tell you how well CoRos age. Truly this cigar has great potential. However, with this current sample, and in its current stage, I could not justify giving this cigar a better rating than I did. I know many will be disappointed, with the score, maybe thinking I’ve been overly harsh. Unfortunately, while I do love Cohiba’s at the same time I think we have to look at performance-to-value, and in this instance the CoRo fell short of my expectations. For now, it’s time to put the rest of the box to sleep for awhile in anticipation of greater things to come.

Rating: 88/100

Date of Publication: Wednesday, September 10th, 2009

Written by: David Chen (a.ka. thechenman)

[SixburghDynasty]

Exceptional review man. The CoRos can definitely be quite grassy when they are young. 4 or 5 years is when they hit their prime. I've got some 2004s that are just so smooth and creamy. Grassiness is all but gone.

[Colt45]

Thanks for the review. I've smoked two from an '08 box - the first was exceptional, the second less so. I intend to forget this box for some time.

I don't know how long you've had your particular cigar, or what your storage preferences are, but given some of the characteristics you've described,

along with this being a youngish cigars, I might venture to guess that it might have been on the moist side.

[thechenman]

Exceptional review man. The CoRos can definitely be quite grassy when they are young. 4 or 5 years is when they hit their prime. I've got some 2004s that are just so smooth and creamy. Grassiness is all but gone.

Thanks...looking forward to that time.

[thechenman]

Thanks for the review. I've smoked two from an '08 box - the first was exceptional, the second less so. I intend to forget this box for some time.

I don't know how long you've had your particular cigar, or what your storage preferences are, but given some of the characteristics you've described,

along with this being a youngish cigars, I might venture to guess that it might have been on the moist side.

Colt...you may very well be right about this. During the summer it is tougher for me to keep the humidity down. I think the RH in the humi these were is was about 66. Temp was higher than I like also at 73 degrees.

[bmills313]

Great review and photos!

Your review reminded me VERY MUCH of my 1st CoRo from the batch, smoked days after first receiving them. You already know how I felt about mine with some quality time in the humidor

I'd love to hear your thoughts after they've had a bit of time to grow out of some bad habits of their youth...

[Torpo]

Thanks for the review. I've been smoking from a box of MAY 08 and SEP 04. The 04 age characteristics are wonderful but even after taking their youth into account, I've been reaching for the 08 on a 50-50 basis. The 08 was more enjoyable after 4 mos of acclimation in my humidore.

Love them...must have more to age.

[Colt45]

Colt...you may very well be right about this. During the summer it is tougher for me to keep the humidity down. I think the RH in the humi these were is was about 66. Temp was higher than I like also at 73 degrees.

Chen Man, it's just a thought, a possibility - a point of discussion. To be honest, I don't think 66% is all that bad - perhaps not our ideal, but

acceptable during the humid months. But let's say you've only had these cigars for a month or two. There's always a possibility that they

were on the moist side upon receipt. Even though you have a stable home climate, it can take some time for the cigars within a box to shed

their excess moisture. I've found this to be even more pronounced with tubed cigars.

[Ginseng]

Fine review, sir! Nicely done.

The few CoRos I've smoked have been exactly as people have claimed...but I guess I just don't swing that way. Gimme a fistful or Exquisitos any day.

Wilkey

[PigFish]

"Fist full of Exquisitos" sounds like a spaghetti western and more to my liking as well. The review was well composed, thanks for sharing. I myself don't smoke many Cohiba Robustos. I have a box bought in '04 and have only smoked a few. I would likely have forgotten about them by now if the box did not fall on the floor now and again when I pull the drawer out! In general I find that these cigars are overrated as with most robustos. -Piggy

[Wil]

I've smoked two from an '08 box - the first was exceptional, the second less so. I intend to forget this box for some time.

I've also smoked two from an '08 box with exactly the same result. First one was great, the second not so great. The second one was a bit tannic, but the draw and burn, as with the first, was exceptional.

[Colt45]

I've also smoked two from an '08 box with exactly the same result. First one was great, the second not so great. The second one was a bit tannic, but the draw and burn, as with the first, was exceptional.

Yeah, I don't find this unusual. For me it's just a sign that they're to be left alone.

[TrickNick]

I've smoked a few '08s and completely agree with your assessment. I do have to say that I have the absolute highest hopes for the '08s as well. They are the best fresh CoRo's I've smoked in a LONG time.

[Torpo]

Yeah, I don't find this unusual. For me it's just a sign that they're to be left alone.

I agree with Colt on this. I have seen a good deal of variation in one box and it settles down after a few months of storage in my humidor. This seems to be attributed to moisture. Dry boxing doesn't seem to be enough. I've been leaving my new shipments alone for up to four months and the difference is significant. It's most apparent to me in the last third of the cigar.

[jtvrtas]

That's a great review, and in my experience, usually a great cigar.

[reigndrop]

thechenman, where in Westchester are you? We should share a smoke sometime when come into the city.

Great review, btw.

[thechenman]

I live in Cortlandt Manor, up in Northern Westchester. I work in NYC though, so I'm in the city every M-F. Would love to meet up for a smoke somethime.

thechenman, where in Westchester are you? We should share a smoke sometime when come into the city.

Great review, btw.

[samb]

I have a CoRo that was gifted to me and I definitely cant wait to fire it up. Excellent review.

[pocket9s]

What a great in depth review. Thanks!!!