*Note: This is not a blind review, this is just to give a quick take on a cigar that was provided to us by the manufacturer.
Reviewer: Aaron
Cigar Info
Victor Calvo is a new brand, but Victor Calvo is not new to producing cigars. The company has been producing cigars for other brands for quite some time. This cigar has an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper with Nicaraguan binder and filler. The Gran Robusto measures in at 5”x55 and carries an MSRP of $4.80.
Initial Impressions
The wrapper is a light chocolate brown with some marbling. There are some medium and fine veins present. The seams are almost invisible which is impressive anytime I see them like this. The caps are neatly applied. The aroma from the wrapper is a light sweet hay and the foot brings a pretty distinct cherry sweetness.
The Smoke
The pre-light draw brings a nice tobacco sweetness. As the cigar starts, I’m getting a bit of damp wood along with just a little bit of pepper. After a few draws, the wood transitions from damp to a dry cedar. Close to the one inch mark, the cedar transitions to oak and there is still some pepper along with it. There is a bit of coffee coming through on the retrohale. Nearing the end of the third, the retrohale picks up with some pepper and adds in a little cream as well. There is also a bit of citrus sweetness that hits my tongue from time to time. The body and strength both registered at medium for me.
As the second third begins, the primary flavor of oak remains. The retrohale is still creamy. Half an inch into the third, the oak starts to add a bit of char to it, almost as if you were using oak in a smoker. With a quarter inch left in the third, coffee comes back in to the mix. The char has faded away, so now it’s a mix of oak and coffee. The body and strength both increased to medium-full.
As the final third kicks off, a little nuttiness mixes in with the oak and coffee, which is a nice combination. The nuttiness fades away pretty quickly and the coffee goes away as well leaving the oak with a creamy retrohale. Nearing the end of the cigar, the char comes back to pair with the oak. The body and strength remained at medium-full.
Overall Impressions
The draw was very good and was right in that range that I prefer with just the right amount of resistance. The burn wasn’t that great. The cigar never went out on me, but the burn went off quite a bit a couple of times and required some significant touch ups to keep it in line. The cigar was fairly firm the entire length with just a bit of give. With the burn issues the cigar had, there was a bit to be desired with the overall construction.
This was an OK cigar. If you really like oak and charred oak, then this cigar might be right up your alley. Not a lot in the way of transitions although there were some slight changes. The cigar required some attention which wasn’t a huge detractor from the experience but it should be noted. Based on the strength profile, not something I would recommend as a morning cigar, but definitely something for the afternoon or evening and you would want to make sure you have something in your stomach before lighting up.
The cigar lasted 2 hours and 10 minutes for me.
I would give the Victor Calvo Habano Gran Robusto a personal score of 87.
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