Cigar Info
Bugatti | Ambassador Robusto is made at the PDR factory in the Dominican Republic and features a smooth Ecuador Habano wrapper atop a multi-country blend of Dominican, Brazilian, Pennsylvanian, and Nicaraguan long-fillers. Bugatti cigars brand owner Yigal Harel, until recently, worked with Nick Perdomo to produce a line under the Bugatti name. That collaboration ended, and the cigar now comes from Harel’s Bugatti Group, which is working with two factories in the Dominican Republic, according to company vice president Julian Correa.
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.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Nicaragua
Factory: PDR Cigars
Blender: Abe Flores
Number of reviewers: 4 – Eric (smalls29) Derek (StogieNinja) Jeff (ExpendableYouth) Alan (Eulogy)
Price: $9.50
Age: 10 Months
Release Date: December 2015
Contributed by: Bugatti Cigars
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 94
“A very nice uniform brown wrapper with almost no veins. Perfectly round shape, and feels like a uniform pack. A very nice triple cap at the top.” -Derek (StogieNinja)
Aroma: 91
“The foot, wrapper, and pre-draw all have a slight sweetness to them with the foot and pre-draw having a noticeable gram cracker profile.” -Alan (Eulogy)
First Third
Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Well, the sweet smell of the wrapper dos not much the first few puffs of this cigar. I was immediately drawn to one of my favorite aspects of cigars, the peppery tingle of the tongue and lips. I also was hit with the roasted, strong coffee/espresso flavors. Yummy!!! so far. My wife tried it and said she tasted roasted marshmallow. She says if it was wrapped in a chocolate wrapper is would be a s’more. She loves it.” -Eric (smalls29)
“The cigar has a strong woodiness to it right out of the gate with an oily pepper that is hot on its heels. As it creeps past the inside it opens up at full pace and the pepper pulls in ahead. The woodiness and pepper are now neck and neck, but coming up fast from behind is a rich and slightly bitter coffee. Its been a great day for a race, and the draw and output from these contenders has been spectacular.” -Jeff (ExpendableYouth)
Second Third
Flavor: 93
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“More of the same, which is a very good thing. Baking spices and nuts in spades, sweet cream and pepper on the exhale, more spices on the retrohale. The smoke is thick and creamy, and coats the palate. The retrohale is smooth, and rich. This one is right up my alley, and I’m loving every puff.” -Derek (StogieNinja)
“As the race heats up in the second-third the two main contenders are still leading the way with the rich woodiness still ahead by a neck and the oily black pepper still gaining ground. The slightly bitter coffee is still in the race but falling behind and trailing by a full length.” -Jeff (ExpendableYouth)
Final Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Still very enjoyable. Usually by now I am tasting the burnt, sour flavors as I approach the end. This one is different. The flavors have remained consistent. I am enjoying the roasted coffee, espresso flavors and the aroma of wet grass. This combination doesn’t seem to be accurate but that’s what I am experiencing.” -Eric (smalls29)
“The flavors have carried though from the first two thirds and have only become more pronounced. The cedar and pepper are very aggressive compared to the previous thirds and the sweetness is only sometimes present now. The smoke still has a nice velvety feel to it and the cigar does produce very thick clouds of smoke.” -Alan (Eulogy)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 96
“I can’t imagine a more perfect draw. Silky smooth, with just a touch of resistance, and every draw produces ample, creamy smoke with gentle puffs. Maybe the best draw I’ve ever experienced.” -Derek (StogieNinja)
Burn: 96
“Burned razor sharp though out, didn’t require any touchups or relights, and had a nice solid ash that only fell three times.” -Alan (Eulogy)
Construction: 93
“The cigar performed flawlessly throughout the entire smoking period.” -Jeff (ExpendableYouth)
Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Experience Overall: 93
“This was a very enjoyable cigar. I will say that the sweet smell of the wrapper was not an indication of the medium bold flavors. Once my wife said she tasted roasted marshmallow, the flavors seemed to just expand. They never were overwhelming or boastful. The peppery flavors were a nice consistent experience. The taste of roasted coffee/espresso were very enjoyable and the sweet aroma was a nice top off after each puff. I would like to have more of these. A nice smoke on a beautiful spring evening.” -Eric (smalls29)
“Marvelous from start to finish. Maybe I’m feeling charitable, as I’m smoking this on a great nigh, but it’s everything you could want in a cigar. Great draw and burn, complex flavors, satisfyingly thick and creamy smoke. I do wish there had been just a touch more pepper involved, to give it a little more character, but that’s a personal palate thing. This was an excellent cigar which could be enjoyed by new smokers and connoisseurs alike, and definitely box-worthy.” -Derek (StogieNinja)
“This was a really nice smoke. I wasn’t blown away by the flavor profile but overall it was a nice smoke but it didn’t blow me away by any means necessary.” -Jeff (ExpendableYouth)
“I enjoyed the profile of cedar, pepper, and a slight sweetness but it never changed though out the experience. Since this wasn’t that large of a cigar it wasn’t really an issue, but in a larger ring gauge or larger size I could see myself getting tired of it. I would smoke another one of these if give a shot and could even see myself picking up a fiver of these to smoke on occasion.” -Alan (Eulogy)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 93
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Reviewer
|
Appearance
|
Aroma
|
1/3
|
2/3
|
3/3
|
Draw
|
Burn
|
Constr.
|
Overall
Experience |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric | smalls29) | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 93 | 95 | 90 | 90 |
| Derek | StogieNinja) | 95 | 95 | 95 | 97 | 97 | 100 | 97 | 100 | 97 |
| Jeff | ExpendableYouth) | 93 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 95 | 93 | 92 | 90 |
| Alan | Eulogy) | 95 | 92 | 92 | 95 | 90 | 97 | 100 | 95 | 95 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.