Trinidad
Series T Robusto – Cigar Review
From the Humidor at 70%, Time in 2 weeks
Size: 5x 48, Pigtail
Blend: I had a lot of trouble finding information about the
blend of this particular Cuban stick.
This cigar was sent up to me for review by a friend named
Rob who lives down in Melbourne. When the stick arrived it was in Mint
condition with no damage, Thanks Rob!
Construction: This stick had a very smooth oily wrapper with
barely visible seams depending on wrapper colouration; the wrapper appears to
be extremely thin. The stick was very lumpy along its length with an extremely
tight pack. Although the cigar was lumpy, the overall construction appeared to
be excellent and the lumps gave the stick a very rustic, handmade feel.
There was one small split running along an insignificant
vein near the head which I was worried about, any damage to a wrapper pre light
always gets worse in my experience.
Smell: Light tobacco and woody smell, along with dry hay.
Foot; Dry hay with ground coffee beans.
Cold draw: Once I cut the stick the chink in the wrapper was
exacerbated significantly. The cut revealed a perfect draw from this tight
stick whose flavours consisted of gentle white pepper with a smooth taste of
wood and hay.
First Light: Flavours on the first light consisted of an
electric white pepper with toasty wood and bread. Smoke production was
reasonable with thin dry smoke.
Aroma: Sourdough bread.
First 3rd 16min
Light to medium body. Flavours in the first third consisted
of the initial white pepper which smoothed out and reduced slightly. The effects of the pepper went from whole of
mouth to tip of tongue. Other flavours alongside the pepper were sourdough
bread and a woody taste. This stick had a long salty finish which made me think
of the finish experienced after eating an olive.
Retrohale revealed toasty wood with very slight hints of
sourdough.
The burn in the first 3rd was excellent, transitioning
from sawtooth to a straight line when resting.
Second 3rd 30min
Smoke production in the second 3rd increased, the texture of
the smoke thickened and got more moist while starting to dry out the palate
slightly.
There were no significant additions or transitions in
flavour, the salty finish lasted longer and the pepper got a little more
obvious and sharp. Both I believe was as result of having a dryer mouth.
Over smoking this stick in the second 3rd
produces heat and significantly increases the white pepper.
Mid Second 3rd saw the burn start to degrade slightly
and the delicate wrapper was starting to split both laterally and
longitudinally (pictured). I was not
overly concerned in this case as the splits were in a way that would not “run”
in front of the cherry.
Third 3rd 45min
Transitioning in to the third 3rd saw a further
reduction in the pepper flavours whilst the sourdough developed to mouldy with
mild acridity. This stick very rapidly degraded into what I have previously
identified as a “wet” over humidified stick. The aroma started to smell like an
old cigar that I’ve thrown out into the dew sprinkled garden 12 hours earlier.
As the third 3rd progressed the stick started to become
spongy hot and more acrid. I really started to think this sick was just wet, although
it has been in my humidor for 2 weeks at 70%
As I approached the band the head of the cigar was starting
to swell, the wrapper was experiencing blowouts all over the place and the
flavours consisted of mould, wet ashtray and heat. I retired the stick at 58 mins
as a result.
Overall this light to medium bodied cigar was very
consistent in its flavour profile with no additions or transitions throughout.
I found the stick rather boring and unenjoyable, priced at 45-48 bucks a pop in
Australia, I would be downright pissed off with the experience I had with this
cigar. Any $20 stick would run rings around this one.
I’ve smoked a few Habana Trinidad’s before this particular
stick and found them similar in their flavour profiles but far more enjoyable
than this one.
Suggested pairings would be beer to keep the palate moist
while smoking this stick without overpowering the mild profile offered.
Thanks for reading.
Whisgars
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