Cohiba - Seleccion Reserva 2002-2003

[macker89]

I am considering squirrelling one of these boxes away but having never tried them I thought I'd consult my learned brothers for some thoughts and experiences. The obvious question that must be posed is that if they were such great cigars would they still be so freely available after all this time?

Thanks in advance

[Big_T_UK]

Monkey66 has a very low opinion of them and I know another man in the know who says the only cigar or any repute in the selection is the robusto. Put it this way, from word of mouth I would not be putting them on my shopping list.

[Seriesteve]

I split a box of these on there release, with a Fellow Cigar Smoker, I still have 3 or 4 left from that
They were all wonderful, but the Esplendidos and the Robustos were just out of this world Beany,Creamy, lots of smoke with a long lasting smooth and cool finish.
So long as its a reputable supplier, and they've looked after them properly, then I'd recommend them
"Ye pays yer money and takes yer chances"
Ss

[bnelly]

Managed to pick up some singles of these when in Spain - they seem to have quite a few of these left ...

Smoked the robusto last week - very refined, creamy & sophisticated. Not that strong.

Wish I'd bought a few more :-(

[Smallclub]

? The obvious question that must be posed is that if they were such great cigars would they still be so freely available after all this time?

Asking the question is to answer it?

[Puff Scotty]

Carry on old mate, you won't go far wrong putting these away.
I don't know if more ageing will improve them but they are all a damn good smoke now. The pyramides which didn't really shout Cohiba in the first instance are a really delicious mellow experience...

[cbob]

I'm not a Cohiba fan but right at the top of my "Cigar Wish List", the one I update regularly and always take on trips to Cuba, it says :

"Anything from 2002 and 2003"

Virtually everything I've bought from that era has been excellent to superior. One must suspect that those Cohibas will be good as well.
.

[monkey66]

Been some debate over these sticks in several places.

As strong opinion seems to be that the 02's are far superior to the 03's. This may explain some of the wide differences in opinions regarding these sticks.

I didn't note the date of the ones I tried (The Esplindido and the Robusto vitolas). They were severely lacking in dynamics (and many others have had a similar experience). They wern't bad cigars just big and creamy but not much else ...disappointing for a 7 year old Cohiba Reserva.

As already mentioned it does say a lot when there is plenty of them still widely available for about the price of a new Siglo VI ....either the bargain of the decade or just not much cop.

Market rate seems to be $600-$800 for a box of 30!

[macker89]

Well, sounds like a bit of mixed opinion on these. Thanks Commander Bob, I'd heard good things about Cubans from those years and that was one of the things that got me interested in these Cohiba's in the first place.

So long as its a reputable supplier, and they've looked after them properly, then I'd recommend them
Ss

I guess as much as anything, thats what makes me nervous about any purchase like this. I'm really not the type to walk into a shop in London and pay top dollar for a box off the shelf. I tend to try to be a little more thrifty when buying smokes and although I'm very happy with the quality that I get from my regular suppliers there's no guarantee that over the last seven or eight years their storage standards have always been as high as they are today or indeed of the storage standards of any hands that the cigars may have passed through along their lifetime.

[monkey66]

The ones I tried had been properly stored and I was still underwhelmed.

[macker89]

The ones I tried had been properly stored and I was still underwhelmed.

I hear ya, Monkey, old chap and having done a little more research myself too I'm thinking that if you're looking to blind buy some premium smokes there are plenty of things out there that would probably represent a much safer bet.

[Smallclub]

Been some debate over these sticks in several places.

As strong opinion seems to be that the 02's are far superior to the 03's. This may explain some of the wide differences in opinions regarding these sticks.

Exact. There are exceptions, but all the "bad" boxes I've heard of are 03's, purchased in 2009 or recently.
Again, there is a reason why these boxes are gathering dust on the shelves of several discount retailers?