Cohiba Royale Robusto 5/30/20

Appearance

A beautiful Nicaraguan broadleaf wrapper with a few prominent veins and a good bit of tooth. The seams are tightly wrapped. There is a nice oily sheen. The filler bunch is well packed with no apparent soft spots. The cigar is made in Honduras.

Aroma

Earth, dried red fruit, cedar and spice on the wrapper. Red fruit, molasses, earth, cedar and spice at the foot.

Prelight Draw

Molasses, earth, dark chocolate, a hint of mint, cedar, and cinnamon spice.

1st

The initial draws bring notes of earth, cedar, faint red fruit and mild cinnamon spice all wrapped in a leathery texture. The draw is firm but not snug. At 1/2” in the burn is near perfect. I’m getting a lot of bits of tobacco in my mouth in the early going. Some black pepper notes join the profile but it’s well within balance at this point. The burn is developing a wave even though I continually rotate the cigar. The ash is salt&pepper gray and tightly stacked. Strength is medium. The ash held on for 1.5” and fell off into the ashtray before the end of the 1st/3rd.

2nd

Upon inspection of the working end I find a double tunnel separated by 1/8”, one larger than the other. Hence the mildly erratic burn. Smoke production is at the high end of medium range. The red fruit notes match the increase in black pepper spice intensity. The tunnels appear to be gone and the burn is self correcting just past the halfway point. Cashew notes join the profile. The black pepper spice is now more prominent than the cinnamon spice. The finish is long with notes of earth, cedar, red fruit, cashew and a black pepper/cinnamon spice combo.

Final/3rd

Entering the final/3rd the 1/8”and 1/4” tunnels have reappeared but have not adversely affected the burn yet. Burn & draw are spot on. One inch from the end, the burn gets erratic again. The black pepper spice tapers back and the cinnamon spice becomes more prominent in the spice department. Strength moves to medium+. Burn line fully self corrects again. The complex, well balanced and flavorful profile continues right to the nub.

Overall

The Cohiba Royale Robusto provides a very enjoyable smoking experience even with the mildly erratic burn issues. A complex, well balanced and flavorful profile with great draw and mildly erratic burn.

At $26 it may be a bit out of reach for some cigar lovers but if you can afford it definitely give it a go.