In June of last year, Royal Agio Cigars USA announced a new line: San Pedro de Macorís. This line was meant to be a more affordable option to their Balmoral line and came origianlly in two blends: Ecuador, and Brazil. The Ecuador uses an Ecuadorian Connecticut shade wrapper while the Brazil uses a sun-grown Brazilian Arapiraca. In February of this year, Royal Agio announced the addition of two new blends to the San Pedro de Macorís line, Nicaragua and Sun Grown. The Nicaragua uses a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper while the Sun Grown uses a sun-grown Ecuador Habano wrapper. Today we will be reviewing the San Pedro De Macoris | Ecuador Robusto.
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.
The name comes from the town of San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic, home of Royal Agio’s handmade cigar factory. All the blends use original Cuban seed Piloto Ligero tobacco filler. All blends come in boxes of 20 and three vitolas: Perla 4 1/8 x 40 (MSRP $4.75), Corona 5 7/8 x 42 (MSRP $5.00) and Robusto 5 1/8 x 52 (MSRP $5.50).
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Robusto Length: 5 1/8″ Ring Gauge: 52 Country of Origin: Dominican Republic Wrapper: Ecuador Connecticut Binder: Dominican Filler: Dominican & Brazil Factory: Royal Agio Cigar Factory Blender: Francisco Batista Number of reviewers: 5 – Kevin J. (maninblack77) Jason H.(Jokey Smurf) Daniel S. (Daniel S.) Diana(ArmyRN) Isaac M.(The Nothing) Price: $5.50 Age: 4 Months Release Date: August 2018 Contributed by: Royal Agio Cigars
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 91
“Beautiful Connecticut shade wrapper with few veins. No soft spots throughout the cigar. ” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)
Aroma: 90
“This sample is very sweet to smell with really no other aroma to mention. Sweet is nice though.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
“My initial draws produced a taste of macadamia nuts and followed with a sweet finish. The retro was buttery with cedar and sweet straw. There was a hint of cinnamon that added some nice spice to the flavors. This is a very pleasant and palette pleasing cigar so far.” –Diana (ArmyRN)
“Right off the bat, this cigar presented flavors of white pepper and alder wood. As the pepper fades away, the cigar transitions into flavors of cafe au lait and peanuts.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
“Much of the same as the cigar progressed into the second portion with a continuance of the sweet cream and white pepper. One thing to note is that the smoke output on this cigar is amazing.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
“Flavors don’t transition much during the second third. Same dry grass flavors. Not bad by any means but not the most interesting Connecticut shade cigar I’ve had. Isn’t leaving much of an impression on my palate. Nice burn line with very few touch ups needed. ” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)
Final Third
Flavor: 90 Strength: Medium Body/Complexity: Medium
“As I am getting into the final third the flavors are still very good. I am getting some ginger which just adds a nice zippiness to this cigar.” –Daniel S. (Daniel S.)
“There is more of a full-bodied and medium strength subtle transition in the last third of the cigar. The sweetness has lessened but the buttery nut flavors have increased. The cinnamon remains lightly in the background but not enough to pop. The butter has moved from whipped to a little heavier but smooth golden butter.” –Diana (ArmyRN)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 95
“This cigar had a really nice, slightly firm draw that provided me with plenty of thick smoke.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Burn: 91
“There was a nice dark, thick burn line to this cigar which remained straight throughout the smoking experience. It required no touch-ups and provided a nice mostly white ash interspersed with some dark gray. ” –Diana (ArmyRN)
Construction: 93
“The construction was on point. I smoked this cigar down to the nub and it stayed cool the whole time.” –Daniel S. (Daniel S.)
Overall Strength: Mild-Medium Overall Body/Complexity: Medium Experience Overall: 89
“This would be a good morning cigar with a cup of coffee to start your day. Very mild and one dimensional but that isn’t always a bad thing. Would I smoke this again? Probably not since I’m a fan of stronger more full bodied cigars. Never left a big impression on my palate. Only 2 Connecticut shade cigars have ever held my attention. This wasn’t one of them. I would give it an 80 for a score. ” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)
“This is a cigar that didn’t really impress me in the flavor department but as a whole it was quite good. If you’re in the mood for something that is eminently mild and creamy then I’d highly recommend this cigar. For me it was less than I prefer.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
“I really enjoyed this cigar! The flavors were a surprise and a nice pace of change. The floral notes mixed with the pepper was odd at first but it didn’t take me long to start enjoying the flavors. This was one of the cigars that made me forget I was reviewing the cigar. I just got up into the flavors and the smoke and smoked it to the nub.” –Daniel S. (Daniel S.)
“I really liked this cigar right from the first glance down to the nub. It was good looking, tasty, well constructed and had enough complexity to keep me interested and happy all the way through. This would be a great morning cigar for me but also a “go to” at any time for a nice well-balanced and relaxing smoke.” –Diana (ArmyRN)
“Paired with that second cup of coffee in the morning, this cigar seems to hit the spot well enough. It burns quickly, in my opinion, so be sure to take it at a leisurely pace. ” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.
Blind Cigar Review: San Pedro De Macoris | Ecuador Robusto
Overall Score – 91 – Very Good
Blind Cigar Review: San Pedro De Macoris | Ecuador Robusto
Summary
“I really liked this cigar right from the first glance down to the nub. It was good looking, tasty, well constructed and had enough complexity to keep me interested and happy all the way through. This would be a great morning cigar for me but also a “go to” at any time for a nice well-balanced and relaxing smoke.” –Diana (ArmyRN)
