| ring: | 49 (thick) |
| length: | 117mm |
| beginners: | recommended - great for special occasions |
| price: | $22.00 AUD |
| summary: | Excellent, medium-bodied, sweet cigar |
The full name of this cigar is the “Cuesta-Rey Centenario Robusto No.7 Maduro”.
As far as robusto cigars go, this one is relatively small, both in thickness and length; but make no mistake, as with all robustos, it’s still a chunky cigar.
The filler is tightly packed into a dark, chocolatey brown coloured wrapper. In fact, this is one of the darkest coloured cigars I’ve seen. The leaves were smooth, blemish free with some very thin veining, and the overall appearance was very straight and neat.
It comes with a noticeably high-quality, large, glossy band and is shipped in cellophane wrappers with gold-coloured embossed writing. In short, everything about this cigar looks like quality.
Interestingly, it does not have a strong aroma; in-fact it almost has no aroma. I was also worried that the hard packing of the tobacco would cause a tight and difficult draw. These worries turned out unfounded.
The flavour was rich, creamy and sweet with a mild-medium body. Of all people, my mother detected what she called a “honey wax” flavour in the smoke. I had previously picked up some undertones of honey, and her comments only re-enforced that taste. The flavour never became harsh, stale or acrid, even when the cigar was smoked down to less than an inch in length.
My pre-light concerns about the draw were totally unfounded. It was easy, smooth and provided plenty of sweet smoke, and the burn was even and straight right down to the nub.
One thing that was immediately noticeable on this cigar was the ash. It was straight and strong, but the striking thing was that it was incredibly fine and amazingly white. I’ve never seen a whiter-coloured ash on a cigar, even $50(AUD) Cubans. The colour of the ash is a minor point, but supposedly the whiteness of a cigars ash is indicative of the quality of the tobacco used, and the ash on this cigar was very, very white.
It might not appeal to everyone’s tastes, but that’s true of anything really. Whatever you like, this is an excellent cigar. The price-tag of $22 AUD puts it out of the range of an “everyday smoke”, but for a cigar of this quality that’s a bargain. Highly recommended.