Cabaiguan Robustos Extra

This is also one of my all time favorite cigars. I've had quite a few of these in several sizes and they have all been great. Somewhat on the pricey side in tobacco shops, $9-$12 a cigar because of the new taxes, but you can find them cheaper online. Once again, a cigar made by my favorite blender/manufacturer: Jose 'Pepin' Garcia.

Initial Impressions: The Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper on this was beautiful. The wrapper was silky smooth and had few if any veins and a nice oily sheen. There was no pre-light aroma from this cigar.

Smoking: This cigar was perfectly constructed. The draw was flawless with lots of smoke from start to finish. The wrapper had no issues whatsoever. The burn was smooth and even from beginning to end as well and it burned slow and cool, no over-heating issues from this cigar. The ash was firm and white and stayed on for more than half the smoke, as you can see in the pictures. Once again, this cigar had perfect construction.

Taste: This cigar was a medium-bodied smoke on the lite side of medium and was extremely smooth. The taste started out with a cream-like flavor with some sweetness and the finish had the characteristic spiciness to it, but much milder than some of Pepin's other blends plus some dull sweetness and stayed on the palate for a long time. At around the sixth and seventh pictures the cigar still had that sweet, cream-like flavor, but developed some complexity. I could sense some citrus and cedar-like tastes here. The finish was also moderately sweet and maybe even had some of that CC "twang" to it . Around the 8th and 9th pictures there were also some hints of a medium coffee-like flavor as well. For the rest of the smoke the cigar retained the predominantly smooth and cream-like flavor and those citrus and cedar-like tastes and the finish remained sweet and became more full. The aroma was a light tobacco aroma that was very pleasant.

Conclusion: There is a reason why this is one of my favorite smokes. To some this maybe a bit bland because it is a lite smoke and a departure from some of Pepin's other blends. However, this can truely be defined as a "premium" smoke. The mild-medium cigar had lots of complexity and more importantly had absolutely flawless construction, one of the best constructed Pepin's IMO. These cigars can be found at B&M's going from $8-$10 and I think they are worth every penny. You can find some great deals on these at www.seriouscigars.com (these guys have great customer service and get your smokes to you fresh and pronto, plus free-shipping on all of Pepin's stuff, for the Pepin whores out there). This is a great cigar for newbie and seasoned vet alike. Highly recommendable and if you have a short-list of smokes to try, put it on there. A complex, mild-medium smoke with flawless construction.