General Cigar announced an extension to the Cohiba brand back in February: Cohiba | Connecticut. This is the first Cohiba cigar to use a Connecticut Shade wrapper. Sean Williams, Cohiba Brand Ambassador said, “Our agronomists partnered with an independent grower in Ecuador’s Los Rios province to produce a silky and lustrous Ecuadoran Connecticut Shade wrapper. Unlike cloth-covered fields that shield the tobacco from the blistering sun in Connecticut, this special wrapper is grown beside Ecuador’s Vinces River and beneath the thick, natural cloud cover that blankets the region. The volcanic soil yielded a wrapper that was intentionally developed for its aesthetic qualities, with veins that are barely perceptible. Looks aside, the wrapper is ideal for blending, as it maximizes the filler and binder leaves.”
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.
After the Connecticut wrapper, the blend uses a Mexican San Andrean binder, Brazilian Mata Fina, Dominican Piloto Cubano, Nicaraguan Jalapa, and Dominican Olor fillers. It is described by General Cigar as mild-to-medium-bodied. Cohiba | Connecticut is rolled at General Cigar Dominicana and is a regular production cigar. It started to ship retailers in early March and was also shown off at IPCPR. It comes in the following sizes: Robusto (5.5” x 50); MSRP per cigar $19.99 boxes of 20, Crystal Robusto (5” x 50); MSRP per cigar $20.99 boxes of 10, Toro (6.25” x 52) MSRP per cigar $21.99 boxes of 20, Gigante (6” x 60); MSRP per cigar $22.99 boxes of 20.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Robusto Length: 5 1/2″ Ring Gauge: 52 Country of Origin: Dominican Republic Wrapper: Ecuador Binder: Mexican San Andrés Filler: Brazil, Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua Factory: General Cigar Dominicana Blender: Johnys Diaz Number of reviewers: 4 – Wes (SosaCub4Life) Alan(Eulogy) Dave W. (mdwest) Eric (smalls29) Price: $20.99 Age: 3 Months Release Date: March 2019 Contributed by: General Cigar
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 88
“I’m finding the wrapper very toothy but in an almost light grit sandpaper way. There’s no oil to the touch to the touch and it seems to be splitting in several spots. There’s a well applied triple cap, very tightly filled, and has the color of coffee with lots of cream. ” –Alan (Eulogy)
Aroma: 88
“Pre-light the foot of the cigar produces mostly floral and herbal notes. ” –Dave W. (mdwest)
Flavor: 90 Strength: Mild-Medium Body/Complexity: Medium
“There’s a very dry mouthfeel from the smoke and profile. Rich tobacco and a very dry leather are followed by a fairly bold level of pepper. Occasionally, I get a hint of grain but it’s a pretty straightforward profile. ” –Alan (Eulogy)
“The cigars exactly like the aroma it produces. The palate is hit with floral and herbal notes with each puff and is a bit Cubanesque in profile. ” –Dave W. (mdwest)
Flavor: 89 Strength: Mild-Medium Body/Complexity: Medium
“There is still a very slight pepper spice in the background. Mostly the cigar is mild, cedar, baking spices, hay.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)
“The flavors have mellowed and the after taste has become sweet and sour. There is a still a nice flavor of coffee with hints of licorice and cinnamon. The after taste still has the taste of a cinnamon coffe but with some sweetener added. So far so good.” –Eric (smalls29)
Final Third
Flavor: 88 Strength: Medium Body/Complexity: Medium
“There’s a slight evolution with the inclusion of pencil lead now. The front is still a mild level of baking
spice followed by leather, cedar, tobacco, and a slightly building peppery finish. ” –Alan (Eulogy)
“No change at all in profile or strength from the first puff to the last one. ” –Dave W. (mdwest)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 91
“The draw was just a tiny bit looser than I typically like, but was still very manageable and may be in line with what others prefer. ” –Dave W. (mdwest)
Burn: 93
“Razor sharp throughout. Never needed to touch up or relight through the smoking experience and it would stay lit even sitting for a few minutes at a time. ” –Alan (Eulogy)
Construction: 90
“The wrapper is very thin and somewhat fragile. Just smoking it caused the wrapper to crack. The seams were very tight though, it had a nice triple cap, and was very solid to the touch so it did seem very well rolled. ” –Alan (Eulogy)
Overall Strength: Medium Overall Body/Complexity: Medium Experience Overall: 89
“Overall the cigar was just a bit too mild and one dimensional for me. Mostly mild with cedar and hay. The 1st third had the most pepper spice but as it went on the spice faded to just barely a hint. I could see this being a good cigar for a beginner or for people who like a light cigar without much spice.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)
“It’s a sort of straight forward experience from beginning to end. The core flavors never really change and other than the introduction of pencil lead at the end, devoid of evolution. It’s not a bad cigar but more of a solid straight forward experience and something that would be good to have while doing something else. I could have had something that fell a bit flat due to the poor smoke output though. ” –Alan (Eulogy)
“A very one dimensional smoke for me, but very easy to enjoy with nice flavor. I think stick would probably be great with a morning coffee. I’d definitely be willing to smoke this one again. ” –Dave W. (mdwest)
“It seems that lately many of the cigars I have had are good to great through the first two thirds but as I approach the end the flavors become bitter and almost unpalatable. This one did start with a nice coffee flavor with hints of black licorice and cinnamon. There was even a nice after taste like a cinnamon dolce coffee that grew sweet over time. However, as I approached the end the flavors left and I was left with bitter flavors. Like the end of the pot of coffee. I would like this one in my humidor.” –Eric (smalls29)
"It seems that lately many of the cigars I have had are good to great through the first two thirds but as I approach the end the flavors become bitter and almost unpalatable. This one did start with a nice coffee flavor with hints of black licorice and cinnamon. There was even a nice after taste like a cinnamon dolce coffee that grew sweet over time. However, as I approached the end the flavors left and I was left with bitter flavors. Like the end of the pot of coffee. I would like this one in my humidor." -Eric (smalls29)
