Camacho Triple Maduro Robusto

It has been too long since I reviewed. Needless to say, working in cigars takes up time. So, I am starting this year off with the Camacho Triple Maduro.

This cigar is made of tobacco from Honduras. It is a puro, so wrapper, binder, and filler are from the same place. With this one though, it is also made of all maduro leaves.

The first third of this cigar hit me with pepper. After the first few puffs I had notes of espresso and dark roast coffee. Hints of charcoal began to come in, creating a nice mix. The next third kept with the espresso. The pepper and dark coffee disappeared. Some of the charcoal remained and some sweetness came into play. That is a good thing because without the other flavors, this cigar might become too bitter. Towards the end an earthy flavor arrived along with a little bit of straw. A light coffee flavor came into it, which mixed well with the other flavors.

This cigar had a slighty toothy and oily wrapper, but it felt brittle. There was a small split in the wrapper, but it did not get bigger and smoked past it just fine. The draw was pretty firm, but it still produced a good smoke. The burn was wavy, but did not need correction. It evened itself out, so all is well with that. Held a decent ash, but after an inch and a half it fell off.

This cigar was a gift from my friend Jeff, so I had to look up a price. It comes to around $15 in MN. That is pretty steep for a Robusto, but this cigar was pretty good. I wish the construction was better, and while it had good flavor, the transition could have been smoother. It took about 45-50 minutes to smoke, which is not a bad time at all. With this price, expectations are higher. The burn is not being counted against it since it evened out, but the construction flaw and the transition will be. All in all, I would give this smoke another go, if nothing else in a different vitola.

Final Grade: B+/A-

Thunder by Nimish Robusto

I had Thunder sitting in my humidor for awhile. I smoked one of them, and let the other one age. I thought it time to write up the review.

This Robusto (with a very nice spiral pigtail at the top) has an Ecuadorian habano wrapper, Nicaraguan and Honduran binders (yes, that is two binders), and Nicaraguan, Honduran and Costa Rican fillers.

Tight feel to it, and slightly oily.

This cigar started out with a blast of salt. It was very salty, but not to the level of being overpowering. That went down a little bit and hints of pepper, a little earthiness and nuttiness came through. During the second third the salt remained, but the the other flavored shifted to more of a coffee and leather mix (mainly coffee). The last third had the spice, nutty tones, and salt. The salt got less though, which let the nutty tones come out more. The aroma on this one was sweet and rich, which complemented the flavors.

This cigar was well made, only needed one correction. It produced a big smoke and the draw was not too bad (a little firm, but not much).

This Robusto (which is 4.5 x 54) will run around $7-$8 in Minnesota. All in all this was not a terrible smoke, but not great either. At the end when the salt went away some nice flavors came out, so that is redeeming. The price will not break your wallet, which is also a plus. This had decent construction as well which brings things up. The issue I see with this one is the one overpowering flavor, and the others in the background too much. This might be only for this vitola though. I would not say this was a bad smoke, it wasn't. This smoke is above average and I might give it another shot in another size. Unless I have a medium roast coffee, or a dark soda pop like Dr. Pepper, I would not pick this one up. You need something to accompany this cigar. Though, I think the blend has a lot of potential and I will possibly try it again in another size. With that, this cigar is on the boarder.

Final Grade: B-/C+

San Lotano Habano Torpedo

I went into Little Havana looking for something new to smoke, and Steve guided me to this brand. From what I know it is only sold in stores. So, I picked up the one that was a medium blend, right in the middle, and gave it a try.

The wrapper on this is Brazilian, while the binder is Honduran. The fillers are Honduran, Dominican, and Nicaraguan.

As I lit this cigar up up I got a wonder taste of a mild pepper and a toasty note with it. As the cigar burned, it opened up to flavors of espresso and leather. The leather was the most subtle of the flavors, but even if you miss it there is no problem. The aftertaste consists of spice and leather. It seems to last too short with the leather, and too long with the spice. Neither stay around long enough to taste badly so that is not something to fret about.

The construction on this was good. Had a easy draw, produced a good smoke, and burned very evenly. The appearance of the cigar was very pleasing as well, with the wrapper being very even. The feel of the wrapper was like that of a fine, if not a tad rough, velvet. It had a fine toothy-ness to it.

The price on this 50 minute smoke was $12.50, plus tax. Now, that price is a little high, but not enough to deter me from having another one. This smoke is worth having.

Final Grade: A+

CAO Italia

Since a few cigar clubs love this smoke, I decided to give it a go. I was told it was a Maduro, and a light one at that. It wasn't though. It is a Habano wrap, which I am a fan of anyway. The seller for me was that some of the tobacco was Italian. Since I had never had Italian tobacco, I wanted to try it.

This has a Honduran wrapper and binder. It is filled with tobacco from Peru, Nicaragua and Italy. This is a unique combination.

The construction was a good one. Nicely wrapped and felt a little tight. The wrap had a veiny texture though which made me concerned of how it would burn.

I torched this cigar and was bombarded by different flavors. It was cedary mixed with spice. Underlying all of this was a slight earthy and creamy flavor. The finish was cedar and cream. The taste lingered but never went south. It stayed consistent throughout. This was a bold smoke. Through the course of this cigar you will notice new flavors and mixes. You get spice, cream, earthy, and cedar. This is a well rounded smoke.

The draw and burn were consistent and even. No flaws on that end.

The one I had was the Piazza size. The price was $13.75, which is a little steep. But, it is worth a try. This complex smoke is something to try. The price brings it down, but not by much. This is an A-/A cigar, but I will put price into consideration.

Final Grade: B+