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I'm sure even the blurry eyed amongst you will have spotted this is a dreaded 'red spot' Cohiba from the General Cigar Company of America and will be expecting me to tell you how terrible it was.
But first a little background courtesy of Wikipedia so feel free to correct me if its wrong. Cohiba as a Cuban brand was created in 1968 but didn't release cigars for sale to the general public until 1982. Meanwhile General Cigars registered Cohiba as a trade name in the USA in 1978 but didn't start using it big time till around 1997. Cohiba SA's attempt to block use of the trademark was defeated in the US Supreme Court (big surprise that) but they have announced that when the embargo is lifted they won't even consider selling to the USA until the name is returned to them.
That said, this was a damned good cigar! It measures 5.5" and has a ring gauge of 50 which was reason enough to punch it. As the name would suggest it is all Dominican tobacco. This cigar was packed so full it had no spring to it at all. The wrapper was a maduro with a rustic veiny look and a matte finish and it smelled of rich mocha. It punched cleanly as you can see and the cold draw was a little tight and tasted of caramel, that was a first for me.
Once lit it drew just fine and the initial taste was dried fruit and spice. Just six minutes in and this was turning out to be very nice indeed with a clean and pleasant feel in the mouth. The burn was sharp with no deviation and the ash a light grey.
After 30 minutes the flavour became slightly tannic with a light woody taste that I couldn't pin down to oak or cedar. The ash dropped at around the inch mark and it required a relight at 45 minutes but I was enjoying it so what the heck.
Coming up to the first hour and it developed a little pepper on the back of the palate but it was never unpleasant and remained mild and clean tasting. I found this at odds with the reviews I was reading that described a tight draw, bad burn deviations and rich strong flavours. Yep, we're smoking the same cigar, must be the American palate.
An hour and a half and the taste is still mild and clean but the nicotine buzz was building so when it needed a second relight I let it go but it would easily have reached two hours.
In conclusion if you see these in the States try one, they retail for around the $20 mark which was damn good value in my sampler pack. I shall look out for them if I'm fortunate to get back over the pond. Hopefully when the embargo is lifted these will be rebranded and continue.
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But first a little background courtesy of Wikipedia so feel free to correct me if its wrong. Cohiba as a Cuban brand was created in 1968 but didn't release cigars for sale to the general public until 1982. Meanwhile General Cigars registered Cohiba as a trade name in the USA in 1978 but didn't start using it big time till around 1997. Cohiba SA's attempt to block use of the trademark was defeated in the US Supreme Court (big surprise that) but they have announced that when the embargo is lifted they won't even consider selling to the USA until the name is returned to them.
That said, this was a damned good cigar! It measures 5.5" and has a ring gauge of 50 which was reason enough to punch it. As the name would suggest it is all Dominican tobacco. This cigar was packed so full it had no spring to it at all. The wrapper was a maduro with a rustic veiny look and a matte finish and it smelled of rich mocha. It punched cleanly as you can see and the cold draw was a little tight and tasted of caramel, that was a first for me.
Once lit it drew just fine and the initial taste was dried fruit and spice. Just six minutes in and this was turning out to be very nice indeed with a clean and pleasant feel in the mouth. The burn was sharp with no deviation and the ash a light grey.
After 30 minutes the flavour became slightly tannic with a light woody taste that I couldn't pin down to oak or cedar. The ash dropped at around the inch mark and it required a relight at 45 minutes but I was enjoying it so what the heck.
Coming up to the first hour and it developed a little pepper on the back of the palate but it was never unpleasant and remained mild and clean tasting. I found this at odds with the reviews I was reading that described a tight draw, bad burn deviations and rich strong flavours. Yep, we're smoking the same cigar, must be the American palate.
An hour and a half and the taste is still mild and clean but the nicotine buzz was building so when it needed a second relight I let it go but it would easily have reached two hours.
In conclusion if you see these in the States try one, they retail for around the $20 mark which was damn good value in my sampler pack. I shall look out for them if I'm fortunate to get back over the pond. Hopefully when the embargo is lifted these will be rebranded and continue.
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Interesting note about the America palate - it's certainly something I've noticed when comparing my own thoughts to those of American reviewers, they do seem to over-state the fullness of a cigar. Maybe it's just that we've been conditioned on Cubans? Either way, you've made me keen to give one of these a go if I happen across one.
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