Blind Cigar Review: Camacho | Criollo Robusto

 

Vital Stats:

Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 50
Country of Origin: Honduras
Wrapper: Honduran Criollo 98
Binder: Corojo
Filler: Honduras and Dominican Republic
Factory: Undisclosed
Blender: Undisclosed
Number of reviewers: 5—–Dave (mdwest) Gregg (McGreggor57) Robert (NavyPiper) Jason H. (Jokey Smurf) Paul (pmr1010)
Price: $6.00
Age: 3 Months
Release Date: 2013
Contributed by: CigarsCity.com

 

Initial Impressions

Appearance: 88

“This Robusto sized cigar is draped with a reddish hued wrapper leaf and sports ample veins. I couldn’t find a single seam on the wrapper, and there is a triple cap. The cap is unevenly applied and the top piece of leaf almost appears to have come from a different leaf as the color does not match the rest of the wrapper.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)

Aroma: 90

“A slight barnyard along the cigar with the addition of cedar at the foot. The cold draw is sweet tobacco and cedar.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)

First Third

 

Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium

“Once again, this stick takes me a little bit by surprise with flavors reminiscent of cigars found ISOM. Cedar and floral notes fill the palate, and the strength is somewhere between mild and medium. The smoke is fairly harsh and unpleasant though. I think this one could have used a little more rest prior to lighting it up.” –Dave (mdwest)

“Upon being lit, this cigar had a dry white smoke that was fairly heavy coming off of the foot. The first puff or two were a little hard to get a good reading from because of the dryness of the smoke and the amount of it too. But once the initial light was done, it was surprisingly creamy with prominent nutty and leather smoke. For the majority of the first third the smoke continued to pour off of the foot and give me a good burn on the retrohale. As the first third gained ground, the flavors developed nicely and I was again surprised by some of the flavors. A broth like flavor was a big part of the flavors along with the initial cream and nut flavors. But I also tasted what I normally only taste in Cuban cigars. Behind everything else was a nice Cuban power that I didn’t expect. If this isn’t Cuban then the blender did a good job here.” –Paul (pmr1010)

Second Third

 

Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“A little sweetness of tobacco is helping keep the bitterness of the char in check. There is just enough coffee in the background to add a bit of interest. Given how flaky the ash is, I was surprised it held on the the halfway mark of the cigar.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)

“The smoke subsided and evened out for the second third, and for that I was grateful. There were pleasant flavors coming through and I didn’t want to be smoked out and not notice them. Creamy, salty and nutty flavors came through well to make up a lot of the flavors being backed up by that same Cuban taste. The smoke was still quite dry. Wood smoke became stronger as the second third went on and added another layer to an already enjoyable cigar.” –Paul (pmr1010)

Final Third

 

Flavor: 86
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“Final third. Same flavors, just kept increasing from the last part of the second third to now full strength. Pepper did a good job clearing the ol’ sinuses. Got a little bitter at the end, but no big deal.” –Robert (NavyPiper)

“For the final portion of the cigar I did several heavy purges and some of the heavy metal flavor went away, but not enough to allow anything except black pepper to be detected. I’m really surprised, given the nice pre-light aroma that this cigar was as peppery and bitter as it was…unfortunately it just was not enjoyable for me.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)

Overall Impressions

Draw: 91

“With a simple straight cut across the head, the draw was very good. A little easier than perfect but never too loose. The draw remained consistent for the duration of the cigar.” –Paul (pmr1010)

Burn: 89

“The burn line stayed wavy from start to finish, but continually self corrected and never needed any touch ups or much attention. Combustion was consistent from beginning to end as well.” –Dave (mdwest)

Construction: 90

“First thing I noticed was how rock hard this stick was. No give at all. Had me worried a little, but nothing came of it. Wrapper, color, seams looked nice, no major veins or anything. Just a good looking stogie.” –Robert (NavyPiper)

Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Overall Experience: 88

“While I wasn’t “wowed” by this cigar, I do think it’s got potential and might have been better had it been laid down for several more months or maybe stored at a different RH for a little while. I’d consider trying it again in the future for sure.” –Dave (mdwest)

“While the first third held some promise, there was a harshness that came into play around the middle of the cigar. I appreciated the bolder flavors but didn’t feel there was much interest in their development. It’s doubtful I would pick up another one to smoke.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)

“I’ll admit, after seeing how hard this thing was, I was expecting either a God-awful tight draw, or one that was so loose that it wouldn’t draw, but the draw on this thing was perfect for me. I enjoyed the flavors, and the second third really surprised me with it becoming so mild, then rocketing upwards in intensity without warning! I was very pleasantly surprised with the whole smoke and enjoyed it throughout.” –Robert (NavyPiper)

“For me, this was a subpar smoke that I would not revisit based upon this single stick review. If the other reviewers had a different result, then I’d be willing to give it another go…as it is, I would not recommend this to a friend.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)

“I would definitely buy this if it was priced right. Aside from the smoke being dry, I enjoyed it from start to finish. There was never a bitter note in the lineup of many interesting flavors. The progression continued as I smoked and the flavors added to each other, never taking away from the rest. I stored this cigar at 67% for the time it was in my possession.” –Paul (pmr1010)
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Smoking Time (in minutes): 70

Edit

Reviewer	Appearance	Aroma	1/3	2/3	3/3	Draw	Burn	Constr.	Overall
Dave	88	90	88	88	87	90	88	90	88
Gregg	88	90	90	88	85	90	90	90	88
Robert	88	88	88	88	87	92	88	88	90
Jason H.	88	90	88	85	85	88	90	90	83
Paul	90	92	90	92	92	95	97	95	95

To view the complete scores and notes, click here.
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Blind Cigar Review: Camacho | Criollo Robusto