Cigar Info
In 2015, the Neanderthal became the newest regular line for RoMa Craft Tobac. Word of the Neanderthal project initially surfaced back in 2013. The blend is meant to be a powerhouse in terms of strength, but at the same time deliver flavorsome smoke. It had been shown at the 2014 IPCPR trade show where unbanded samples were displayed, but plans for full release were pushed into 2015. Today we are reviewing the RoMa Craft | Neanderthal HN. Skip Martin, owner of RoMa Tobac has been dreaming of creating this sort of blend of tobacco since 2009 when he was he was first working on CroMagnon. The concept came to fruition once he was introduced to a leaf from the Green River Valley of the US was a regrowth from Pennsylvania broad-leafed referred to as Pennsylvania Double Ligero. A regrowth leaf emerges once the leaves are removed off a plant and a second set of leaves grows on the plant before it’s far from the bottom. This leaf is another to filler blends from Republic of Nicaragua and Dominican Olor and extremely amps up the strength and nicotine levels.
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.
Pennsylvania Double Ligero has double the nicotine of Ligero primings in Esteli, Nicaragua. Nonetheless, the roll of tobacco is smokable and balanced, albeit quite sturdy. A dark and glossy Mexican San Andres Maduro wrapper, along side a North US Connecticut broad-leafed binder provide the roll of tobacco a powerful and sweet tobacco style on the back of the roof of the palate, while spice and made soil make up the flavors.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Perfecto
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 52/58
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Mexican San Andres Maduro
Binder: U.S. Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro
Filler: United States, Nicaragua and Dominican Republic
Factory: Nica Sueño
Blender: Skip Martin
Number of reviewers: 5 – Sandeep (Djangos) Gregg (McGreggor57) Stefan (Stefan) Ryan (Youngryan216) Wes (SosaCub4Life)
Price: $12.00
Age: 7 Months
Release Date: May 2015
Contributed by: Blind Man’s Puff
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 96
“The construction and unique shape of this stick make for a very pretty appearance. The slightly larger ring gauge foot makes this robusto look and feel like a club. This dark, toothy beauty feels heavy in the hand, and makes a loud thunk when I place it on my desk. There are only a couple small veins to speak of.” –Ryan (Youngryan216)
Aroma: 95
“Strong notes of sweaty leather and salt & pepper emanate from the wrapper, whereas the foot exhibits a different spectrum marked by cedar and sweet wood flavors. The cold draw comes through as much more understated, with fresh wood and soft cocoa flavors.” –Stefan (Stefan)
First Third
Flavor: 93
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“Starts off relatively understated, with notes of dry, aromatic bitters that finish with green wood on the aftertaste. It soon introduces additional spice notes (revolving around red pepper) as the woody note turns more dry. Good flavors at the beginning and on the finish, but the midpalate is hollow.” –Stefan (Stefan)
“Very nice spice that isn’t overpowering but is always there. It’s a mix of some pepper spice but some like green chili spice also. The cigar is also super thick, smooth and creamy. The burn so far is great and the ash has held on perfect. Very nice smoke so far.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)
Second Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Oak, cedar, allspice and wet grass signals a change in the profile. While the flavors strike a good balance, there isn’t much change during this third.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)
“The second third of this stick is less complex than the first third, but still very smooth. This cigar is full-bodied, but without being overly spicy. For a cigar with such a bold flavor profile and strength, there is almost no black pepper spice to speak of. For everyone of the cigar’s eccentricities, there is an equal and opposite balance that evens out the smoking experience. Not much has changed in the notes of mineral, cedar, and ground coffee, but that is not necessarily a bad thing – it’s a pretty great flavor profile.”-Ryan (Youngryan216)
Final Third
Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“The final third is also the same one dimensional flavors of tobacco and leather and not much in the way of changing flavors. The pepper is back in the last half inch and ramps up to the end. Enjoyable but left wanting more flavors. No issues with the burn or draw in this third.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
“The final third turns to a mineral-dominant taste that leaves the coffee notes present, yet far in the background of the profile. I can feel a pleasantly calm tobacco buzz from only smoking 2/3 of this stick, which tells me in addition to having a complex and rich flavor profile, this stogie was blended to be a full-bodied beast. However, I haven’t felt overwhelmed by the strength or body of this blend, but I am quite happy I ate a big lunch.” –Ryan (Youngryan216)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 98
“The draw was excellent throughout the entire smoke” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)
Burn: 92
“Even, and slow. Close to perfect.” –Stefan (Stefan)
Construction: 95
“Very well made cigar with a firm construction and slight give. No issues with the wrapper peeling or cracking through the burn.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
The Overall Experience: 90
“Overall a decent cigar with tobacco and leather flavors but not much else in the way of complexity. I would smoke again but may not go in search of one.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
“This cigar started with nice robust flavors and a bit of strength. During the progression, a milder mellower profile developed. The transitions were obvious with a nice range of flavors. While I was hoping for a full flavored smoke, that was my mistake, not the blenders.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)
“A rather schizophrenic evolution of flavors, from spicy to cocoa-savory, to mild and refreshing. Very different from most, and by no means boring, though falling short of being fully satisfying. A bit more nicotine oomph would have helped.” –Stefan (Stefan)
“While I do not normally enjoy full-bodied cigars, this smoke was a great change of pace that didn’t leave me with the nicotine kick some stronger smokes can have. Overall, this cigar struck a lot of the right chords for me. The complexity, the full-body, the smooth early retrohales, and even the slow burn rate were factors that really pushed this one over the edge into excellence for me. The wrapper, although cracked slightly in transportation, did not negatively affect the experience or detract from its burn or flavor. Some cigars get washed out when paired with stronger alcohols, but, this is not one of those cigars. Although I drank only water for my review, I can see this pairing well with a strong whiskey or single malt scotch. Or, if you want to sweeten the experience, a little sipping rum and some bits of dark chocolate would make this the perfect after dinner cigar.” –Ryan (Youngryan216)
“Overall I really enjoyed this cigar. The strength picked up as the cigar went along. There was always a nice spice throughout the cigar that started with some pepper but was more of a chili spice. The smoke was very thick and creamy.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 81
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Reviewer
|
Appearance
|
Aroma
|
1/3
|
2/3
|
3/3
|
Draw
|
Burn
|
Constr.
|
Overall
Experience |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandeep | Djangos) | 93 | 93 | 90 | 88 | 88 | 97 | 85 | 93 | 88 |
| Gregg | McGreggor57) | 90 | 90 | 93 | 90 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 90 |
| Stefan | Stefan) | 97 | 95 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 97 | 97 | 97 | 88 |
| Ryan | Youngryan216) | 97 | 95 | 97 | 97 | 97 | 97 | 92 | 93 | 97 |
| Wes | SosaCub4Life) | 97 | 97 | 97 | 95 | 95 | 97 | 97 | 97 | 95 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.