Robert's Picks

Robert
ROBERT
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TASTE:Coffee, dark chocolate, earth
HOBBIES:Smoking, making music, playing cards
STRENGTH:Medium to Full
FAVORITE BRANDS

Padron 1926 Serie Maduro

The Tabernacle

Punch Diablo

EP Carrillo Essence Sumatra Robusto 5" * 50

EP Carrillo Essence Sumatra Robusto 5 * 50
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The EP Carrillo Sumatra Robusto has a beautiful dark, oily and smooth Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper. This is a really good looking cigar, the type of high quality construction you expect from EP Carrillo, who to me makes some of the best cigars in the world. Upon lighting you are greeted with a great blend of black pepper, earth and dark chocolate flavors. As it burns on a rich espresso note starts to develop and the pepper spice slowly starts to back away as chocolate and caramel notes start to become more prominent. With the EP Carrillo Sumatra you are getting a stellar smoking experience that requires no touch-ups and will keep smokers engaged with its rich and evolving profile. I'd recommend this with a hot cappuccino or perhaps an espresso martini. This is a must try if you are already a fan of EP Carrillo or if you love robust and flavorful cigars in general! Picked on 07/11/2024

RoMa Craft Intemperance VO 1920 George Remus 5" * 56

RoMa Craft Intemperance VO 1920 George Remus 5 * 56
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The RoMa Craft Volstead is quickly becoming one of my favorite smokes! This stick has a beautiful oily Sumatra wrapper with a Mexican binder and filler from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Upon the first couple puffs you are gonna get a fair bit of spice with notes of earth and black pepper but as it goes on this cigar smokes beautifully and smooths out as you get past the first third. As you get halfway through the spice gets muted and you are greeted with notes of dry cocoa and rich coffee, and then as you get to the last third of the cigar we get that boldness again with the black pepper sneaking back in. The ash was very sturdy and I only required one touch up throughout my experience. If you are looking for a complex medium to full cigar look no further. Picked on 06/05/2024

Casa Magna Colorado Gran Toro 6" * 58

Casa Magna Colorado Gran Toro 6 * 58
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Created by legendary cigar blenders Manuel Quesada and Nestor Plasencia, this Nicaraguan puro sports a reddish Colorado maduro wrapper that has a nice oily finish to it. Medium to full body but very smooth to smoke and easy to retrohale with flavors of cedar, coffee, cream and black pepper. Burns incredibly stable requiring no touch ups and has a nice sturdy light gray ash. If you are looking for the perfect concoction of complex rich flavors, a Nicaraguan puro that won’t have you reaching for a glass of milk, this is a silky smooth full flavored smoke with perfect construction that would make a worthy addition to your humidor. Picked on 11/10/2023

Macanudo Inspirado Jamao Toro 5"3/4 * 52

Macanudo Inspirado Jamao Toro 53/4 * 52
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The Macanudo Jamao (Hah-Mau) is the newest limited edition cigar from the popular Inspirado line that I have been itching to try since it was first announced back in June and landed here in our stores. This particular smoke is unique as they went a little experimental with the blend using a habano wrapper that is grown in the Mao region of D.R., while the seed that they used derives from Jamastran, Honduras. The cigar is named after a combination of the names of these two regions. To my surprise, this cigar is fairly mild and smooth, but packs enough flavor that even a full body smoker like myself will not be disappointed in the Jamao. Through the first 15 minutes of smoking this stick, it is somewhat spicy but as you go down the cigar gets richer and creamier to the point where the spice is very subtle. The aroma of this cigar is very pleasant, I couldn’t stop getting comments from people nearby clamoring to know what I was smoking cause it smelled so good! It gives off an aroma almost similar to freshly baked bread, one of the more prevalent flavors I was able to recognize while enjoying this smoke, along with powdered cocoa and cashews. If you are already a fan of the Inspirado White or the Inspirado Orange I can confidently recommend this cigar to someone looking to maybe experiment a bit and try something a little different. Grab this one while you can because only 2,300 boxes are being made! Picked on 07/28/2022

Partagas Black Label Magnifico 6" * 54

Partagas Black Label Magnifico 6 * 54
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Despite being one of the highest selling and most recognizable brands in the cigar world, I have yet until today experienced the delight of smoking a Partagas cigar. For a long time I have been admiring this cigar from a distance until today where I decided to give the Partagas Black Label Magnifico a try. I have always loved how pretty this cigar looks from the sleek black leathery USA Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, which is particularly the type of wrapper I prefer, to the solid construction I could already tell I was in for a good time before striking a match to it. The cold draw was reminiscent of cedar, dried oranges and dark chocolate. One thing I did not expect from this cigar was the spiciness of it. Honestly I was looking for more of a smoother cigar but this spice was still tame enough for a guy like me who doesn’t typically enjoy spicy cigars. Even though spice is a strong note through the first half of this cigar as you keep on puffing you will be quite surprised how creamy this cigar actually is, I was getting notes of dark chocolate, espresso, black licorice and leather. The further you go the flavors become more pronounced and the spice becomes muted almost all together resulting in a smoother experience than I was expecting. From this cigar expect a lot of billowing thick smoke, I definitely recommend eating a full meal before smoking this one. This works perfectly as an after dinner cigar, I could see this going down really well after a nice 8 oz grilled steak . After all the hype I have heard from customers and coworkers, I can finally join the parade of other aficionados who have nothing but high praise for this cigar. If you can get around some of the spiciness of it, I think all in all this is a very rewarding experience for fans of bold, full body, but also smooth cigars and a worthy addition to anyone’s regular humidor rotation. Picked on 06/30/2022

Vega Fina Churchill 7"1/2 * 50

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Vega Fina Churchill 71/2 * 50
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Sometimes even an aficionado who only smokes full body cigars like myself needs a break from all of these fancy, strong smokes, and every now and then I crave something more on the milder side of the spectrum. Enter the Vega Fina Churchill which has been a staple in my humidor for over 5 years ever since I’ve been introduced to this wonderful cigar. The cold draw on this cigar is reminiscent of toasted white bread, cashews, and dried fruits. Once you light this stick, you are greeted with most of the same notes, but with a little bit more creaminess and wheat flavors added into the mix which makes this cigar stand out amongst the other budget-friendly smokes that I have had the pleasure of trying. As you keep on smoking, you will find that for the most part this cigar will keep a very consistent smooth flavor, with this particular stogie getting more creamier and bolder in flavor. I did not notice any tingling spice sensations that I usually get from cigars of similar construction. Throughout this experience you are going to get an easy going, creamy smooth smoke that could be enjoyed at any time from sitting in the yard with a drink on a hot Sunday to playing 9 holes of golf with some of your best friends. Next time you are looking for a great smoke that won’t burn a hole in your pocket look no further! This one is definitely a hidden gem. Picked on 06/14/2022

San Cristobal Revelation Odyssey 5"3/4 * 60

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San Cristobal Revelation Odyssey 53/4 * 60
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The San Cristobal Revelation is the kind of cigar that from the appearance alone gets me excited to start smoking it, from the sleek milk chocolate Sumatra wrapper that almost has a glossy finish to it, to the fancy artwork reminiscent of the tropical islands surrounded by gold ribbons and embossed lettering, this already has the looks of a classic cigar. From the cold draw all the way to the last quarter of the smoke, I was getting a blend of notes reminiscent of nuts, semi-sweet chocolate, vanilla beans and citrus. At the first quarter of the cigar, it was a little bit spicier than I expected, but as I kept smoking, it kept getting smoother and more flavorful with the chocolate and vanilla notes being more pronounced towards the end. The burn was very consistent, and I only needed to touch it up maybe twice through my 45 minutes of smoking this stick. It gave off a solid medium gray ash that was easily stackable. For the money, this is a very solid choice if you are looking for a nice medium bodied smoke with minimal spice and excellent flavor, this was the first cigar from the San Cristobal line that I have smoked. It was quite the "Revelation" that I was missing out on a quality line of cigars. I look forward to picking up more of these and I wish I could give this stick a higher rating. Picked on 03/11/2021
Robert

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