Cigar Weekly

Pre-Smoke Comments

Bill Rathbun (TooTall2): Poo, I said as I opened the package, these ain't Island smokes! But they were very pretty, all dressed up in their conn shade uniforms. Beautifully wrapped, nicely capped and but a single soft spot to mar what else was a very nice package. I swear as I open the box, they yelled "Mild" at me the way the Parkay bowl yells butter. In the tank for 8 days before their time.

dan zemaitis (samogitian): This looks like a well made smoke, no evident construction flaws. smooth wrapper. much lighter in color than i'm used to. a decent ring size.

Jeff P. Slatton (jefslat): The cigars are very smooth with very small veins and a very flat cap. Both cigars were trimmed crookedly at the foot. The cigars look like a more expensive brand, perhaps a Davidoff or a Dunhill.

Kevin S. Foley (goblue797): This robusto sized cigar had a very smooth, thin wrapper with little to no veins. Color was a little yellow/orange. The cigar had an oily sheen and was generally a good looking cigar. The pre-draw had a straight forward tobacco taste and I was looking forward to torching this one up. The burn was even in general. The first sample had a little runner that corrected itself. The ash was dark grey and firm with a slightly flaky quality to it. The draw was perfect and the aroma was sweet and fragrant, almost had a cherry quality to it.

Mel Blount (Natgolfer): This cigar was a well constructed robusto, with a very nice natural brown wrapper. The wrapper itself had a very fine texture, with a hint of sheen, and was very smooth, with no large veins detracting from the excellent first impression. There was one small 1/8" green spot on the wrapper. The cap was very smooth, and the cigar was firmly packed, with no obvious soft spots. Overall, the cigar presented a very attractive appearance.

Michael Rah (ÞLuvDog): Beautiful cigar. Smooth shiny wrapper with absolutely no blemishes, no soft spots and a great pre-light aroma. There is something very familiar about the aroma of this cigar. This cigar looks very well made. Judging from the appearance this is probably a fairly expensive cigar.

Terry Mahan (Lux): Both samples had attractive claro wrappers, with a few small veins. Finish was very fine, construction appeared very good, no soft spots or knots in either stick.

Smoke Comments

Bill Rathbun (TooTall2): The strength of the 2 samples couldn't have been more different. The first sample was mid strength once it got going with a very pronounced malty/nutty flavor. The 2nd had the same flavor only was very barely notable and was very mild. Are you playing w/ me???? In both the flavor lasted until the 2/3 point and disappeared: only to reappear with a vengeance at the end. No bitterness nor no punk tacabbo notes were noticed. In both, the draw and burn were excellent. Both left a nice, light pleasing aftertaste.

dan zemaitis (samogitian): a hint of spice on lighting this that quickly went away. i REALLY like the nice easy draw. seems pretty mild with a bit of flavor. nice amount of smoke.

Jeff P. Slatton (jefslat): Both samples were consistent throughout, if somewhat one-dimensional and milder than I prefer. Overall the flavor was unexciting and somewhat flat.

Kevin S. Foley (goblue797): The cigar started out with a very woody flavor. The cigar was medium in strength and the flavors became more complex as it burned. The woody flavor gave way to some straight forward tobacco flavors. The last third of the cigar became spicy with a tangy aftertaste. There was a distinct twang on the tongue and throat and exhaling through the nose also had a delightful twang to it. There was a particular flavor that I couldn't initially put my finger on, but I soon identified it as an almost Gin like flavor, very interesting. The cigar did burn a little hot towards the end.

Mel Blount (Natgolfer): The initial light took two attempts to succeed, but after that, the cigar smoked wonderfully. The draw was near perfect. The ash structure was very fine, gray to white in color, and firm. The cigar held an initial ash of over two inches and exhibited a definite "Cuban curl". The cigar burned evenly once lit, and the coal was conical in shape. The cigar produced an ample quantity of smoke of medium body and mild to medium strength. The flavor was quite surprising - rich, balanced and fairly complex. There was a definite change in the flavor from the start to the finish, ranging from an earthy taste to a pronounced cedar/wood flavor in the end. The smoke produced a very pleasant taste and good aftertaste. There was not a hint of harshness or bitterness, even though I smoked both samples to the nub.

Michael Rah (ÞLuvDog): The draw was perfect with volumes of thick smoke and a very even burn. The flavor started out very spicy with a slight aftertaste, but after the first inch it either smoothed out or I burned my taste buds off from puffing to quickly. Either the initial spice overwhelmed the rest of the cigar or it just turned flat. Either way, it finished off smooth with very little after taste.

Terry Mahan (Lux): Started out on the mild side, first thing that struck me was a mild tar-like aftertaste. Flavor was largely absent to me, what I could detect seemed like evergreen (cedar?). Both samples drew great, but smoke volume was only a little better than average. The strength intensified to almost medium halfway through, but it never did quite develop the creaminess I like in this type of smoke. Burn was very good with both sticks, never needed to touch one up a bit. Never went out, did get a trifle hot the last couple inches.

Summary Comments

Bill Rathbun (TooTall2): It was hard to score this with the samples so different in flavor, I took a point off the flavor and overall score because of it. The milder of the 2 reminded me of a Red Dot, in both build and flavor - who's flavor I like but that tends to fade out rather than intensify as I smoke it. The 2nd smoke was a beer drinker's dream, a solid malty smoke to go with a malty mug! Which is the smoke you would get on a regular basis in a box???? That, as Shakespeare would say, is the question. Will be interesting to see if others have the same problem.

dan zemaitis (samogitian): a fine looking cigar that's well made. i smoked my first after dinner (barbeque) and i kept wanting more POWER that never came. this is much milder than i'm used to. being one that can occasionally learn from experience, i tried the second during a mid day break. i guess i still need a bit more strength from a cigar. i would recommend this as a breakfast cigar, for occasional or new smokers, or those that prefer a lighter body.

Jeff P. Slatton (jefslat): Although smoking the cigars was overall a fairly pleasant experience, there was nothing particularly special about them. Reminded me a lot of the only Davidoff I ever smoked.

Kevin S. Foley (goblue797): I really enjoyed this cigar. The flavors were complex and satisfying. The strength was medium bodied and built as the cigar burned. I found this to be a very interesting cigar and a nice change of pace from my normal maduro daily affair. I really enjoyed the tangy aftertaste and the nice finish to this cigar.

Mel Blount (Natgolfer): This was a very pleasant smoke, even though it was a bit milder (though not weak by any measure) than my usual taste. It had just enough strength to make it worthwhile, with a generous body, evolving flavor, and an excellent overall character. This proved to be a quality cigar in content and construction, showing no problems whatsoever. I think it would make a very good morning smoke, or perhaps find a niche as the last cigar of the day. I would price this as a very nice $4-5 cigar, and would stock a few at the right price. I would recommend this cigar without hesitation.

Michael Rah (ÞLuvDog): This seems like a nice premium cigar with great characteristics. The initial impressions from the smooth, shiny, flawless wrapper and nice aroma... to the easy draw and nice volumes of smoke lead me to believe I've seen this cigar on the shelves in the 6-8 dollar range. Overall, it was a very good cigar, but the drop in flavor after the first inch makes me leery of buying them.

Terry Mahan (Lux): A very good looking, well constructed cigar, but the taste left me wanting. Have to give high marks to the manufacturer, but the blend is just not what I look for. If you're a fan of mild/medium smokes you might want to give this stick a try, I may have missed some subtleties in the taste given my recent bent toward heavier sticks.

Scores

 Review Results
Final Score: 33.6 out of 50

3 1/2 Stars -- Above Average

This is one of my favorites from this batch of reviews. The La Tradicion Cubana Robusto produced mouthfuls of thick, creamy smoke and I found the light, toasty flavor to be remarkably complex, in a subtle sort of way. The one thing I didn't care for was the flaky ash, which got everywhere. The reviewers in general enjoyed this cigar, although those who are used to much stronger fare found it somewhat lacking in the flavor department. Most commented on flavor nuances of cedar with an occassional bit of spice. Since these are US made, they tend to be slightly higher in cost than Central America-made cigars. But when touring Little Havana, be sure to stop by and see Luis Sanchez and sample some right from the source.

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