Cigar Info
Artista Cigars went through a complete rebranding from El Artista Cigars over this past summer and showed off their hard work at PCA 2022. Two of the brand new lines falling under their newly created Artista Series are the Artista Harvest and Artista Midnight.
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.
Artista Harvest and Artista Midnight were both first shown at the PCA trade show. The Artista Series will be home to the company's most premium offerings. Each blend is represented by a moniker and matching color, each are distinct in strength and profile. Due to a name change before release, our pre-release pictures have the Harvest name, but they are the Midnight blend and use the Midnight colors (dark blue). The Harvest uses a yellow-gold color scheme, and was included in our Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival Blind Tasting Event.
Artista Harvest (Yellow-Gold) is a medium bodied blend featuring a Sumatra wrapper, Habano Seco binder, and a proprietary Dominican filler blend. Artista Midnight (Dark Blue) is a full-bodied cigar and that uses a Dark Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Ecuadorian Connecticut shade binder and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, and the U.S.A.
The new Artista line carries over those yellow and blue accents from the band to the cigar box. Artista Harvest and Artista Midnight both come in boxes of 20 and in the same sizes and prices: Box Pressed Robusto 5×54 $10.20, and Box Pressed Toro 6×50 $10.40. The lines are expected to go on sale before the end of the year.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 54
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Ecuadorian Connecticut shade
Filler: Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, and the U.S.A.
Factory: Tabacalera El Artista
Blender: Ram Rodriguez
Number of reviewers: 5 – Chad M. (Chad Tchad) Kevin J. (maninblack77) Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi) Lauren S. (Lauren S.) Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
Price: $10.20
Age: 4 Months
Release Date: TBD
Contributed by: Artista Cigars
Initial Impressions – Artista Midnight Robusto (Pre Release)
Appearance: 87
“This rough-looking box pressed cigar has an oily oscuro color wrapper. There is some bruising around the veins. The seams are tight, but visible and finished with a thick triple cap.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
Aroma: 91
“The aromas coming from the foot of this cigar are excellent! Fresh brownie batter is what comes to mind on the dominant chocolate note. There are hints of damp earth and natural tobacco there as well. The aromas from the body of the cigar are mainly natural tobacco. As for the pre-light draw, which is almost perfect, the notes there are the same notes of the foot, though slightly less intense with the addition of dry cedar.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
First Third
Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“The cigar opens with dark notes on the tongue. Notes of coffee beans and cocoa nibs abound. As I smoke on there is a salty note building on both the palate and the sinuses. There is a slight pepper note as well in the retrohale. The smoke is chewy and course while the finish is relatively short.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
“Used my soft flame to toast the foot and the heat set off a bevy of flavors! An overabundance of coffee, espresso, dark chocolate, and earth with some black pepper mixed in. Wow!! This is a flavor bomb so far! These persisted for the whole first third. Definitely medium to full-bodied. Amazing smoke output as well. An amazing start that I hope keeps going.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)
Second Third
Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“The rich earthy coffee flavor is the main flavor and produces a strong mouthfeel. I do get a hint of some sweetness and acid flavor like a stone fruit light cherry flavor. On the back of the palate, there is some nutty type notes that hints every 4-5 puffs. Retrohale continues with strong red pepper.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)
“There is an overpowering sour note that opens this third. The salty note is still there but in the background. The retrohale is airy and has a peppery finish. The mouthfeel and finish have stayed the same.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
Final Third
Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“The rich earthy coffee flavor has now become a side flavor and now cabinet spice and cocoa nibs flavors are the dominant flavors. Retrohale has become just mild red pepper and cabinet spice flavor.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)
“Nutty notes make a big comeback in the form of dry roasted peanuts in the final third, along with dry earth and dark roast coffee. The chocolate notes have come from more of a brownie batter to salted dark chocolate. That being said, overall saltiness joins the creaminess in the profile making for a very memorable smoking experience. Retrohale gets a slight black pepper tingle with a little bit of leather near the finish. Strength is now solidly medium-full, while body and complexity, while still medium to full, are what I would consider at the upper end of that range, and would be judged to be full by some.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
Overall Impressions – Artista Midnight Robusto (Pre Release)
Draw: 97
“The draw was great, easy, and decent smoke production.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
Burn: 91
“Only needed to correct the burn once or twice.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)
Construction: 90
“This slow-burning cigar was well put together. All elements, filler bunch, and roll, we're done very good. This allowed the dark ash to hold on for an inch at a time.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
Experience Overall: 93
“This was a rich earthy coffee cigar with side flavor notes or cabinet spice, cherry stone fruit, and nutty flavor. The cigar has a strong mouthfeel that coats the palate. Huge smoke bomb of a cigar producing a ton of smoke. Retrohale was at first super spicy red pepper and cinnamon and then calms down towards the end of the smoke.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)
“I almost put this down as epic but I didn't want to overdo it. But in all seriousness, this was an excellent smoking experience for me. The core flavors of dark chocolate, coffee, and earth mixed at times with black pepper and milk chocolate really made this cigar shine. My palate was overjoyed with this smoke. One of the best cigars I've had the pleasure to review. I will definitely be buying some more when the identity is revealed.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)
“The mineral notes of this cigar did not appeal to my palate. It feels to me that it is missing something to be a cigar worth recommending. I'm not sure that I would smoke this one again.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
“I don't know if I just got an off stick, or I am sensitive to whatever they used on the wrapper but this was borderline un-smokable for me. A terrible lingering chemical taste was almost the only thing I could taste the entire time.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
“This is one of the best cigars I have smoked this year. The body and complexity were intense from about the one-inch mark on, and the strength was within the realm of all but most novice smokers or someone with a weak tolerance to nicotine. There are not too many cigars out there this year that I would want to buy a box of. This is not one of those cigars. I can't wait to find out what this is so I can go out and get a box right away!” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 74
| Reviewer | Appear. | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall Experience |
| Chad M. | 87 | 85 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 85 | 88 | 88 |
| Kevin J. | 97 | 97 | 100 | 97 | 97 | 100 | 97 | 97 | 97 |
| Estevan Z. | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 93 | 92 | 90 | 90 |
| Lauren S. | 85 | 85 | 78 | 78 | 78 | 97 | 83 | 88 | 78 |
| Kevin A. | 85 | 95 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 97 | 97 | 95 | 95 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.