RoMa Craft Quinquagenario – Blind Cigar Review

Cigar Info

Skip Martin of RoMa Craft Tobac announced the RoMa Craft Quinquagenario all the way back in November of 2021, two years ago from this month. The cigar was officially shipped in September of this year, just shy of that two year mark. The cigar is meant to celebrate the 50th birthday of RoMa Craft co-founder, Skip Martin. The cigar is pronounced “kwin-kwah-jin-ar-ee-oh”, and is a term in Spanish meant to describe someone in their 50s.

The RoMa Craft Quinquagenario is a unique project for the company as it is the first cigar rolled somewhere other than Fábrica de Tabacos Nica Sueño S.A. in Estelí, Nicaragua. For this special cigar, Skip turned to industry ledged Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr., both to assist in blending the cigar and produce it at Tabacalera La Alianza S.A. in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

The cigar comes in one vitola, a 5 x 50 robusto. The blend uses an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, Dominican binder and Dominican fillers. Each cigar has an MSRP of $15 and production was limited to 50,000 cigars. They can be purchased in two ways: a 24-count box, with 2,000 boxes released, and a 24-count bundle, with 83 bundles produced. The bundles were the company way of selling the remaining cigars that were made, but didn't have boxes to put them in.

Vital Stats:

Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 50
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Factory: Tabacalera La Alianza S.A.
Blender: Skip Martin, E.P. Carrillo
Number of reviewers: 4 – Jessica (Stogie Sister) Chris M. (Chris) Sean F. (fullermaine) Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
Price: $15.00
Age: 2 Months
Release Date: September 2023
Contributed by: Blind Mans Puff

Initial Impressions – RoMa Craft Quinquagenario

Appearance: 90

“This slightly lumpy robusto is covered in a lightly mottled medium brown wrapper. It has a subtle oily sheen that keeps me from describing it as paper bag brown. A few small veins climb up the back, and the seams of the roll are fairly well hidden. The end cap is a fairly large triple, a little uneven, but it looks easy to get a good cut without anything trying to peel off.” –Chris M. (Chris)

Aroma: 94

“Notes of cedar on the cold draw, with notes of leather upon lighting.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)

First Third

Flavor: 91
Strength: Mild-Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“The leather notes are still lingering. Notes of clove on the retrohale.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)

“Sweet cocoa, soft earth, and oak lead the profile. Light floral notes are present as well, depending on the draw. The spice mix is a fairly subtle cinnamon and black pepper combination. I got a really oily mouthfeel to start, but as I get into the third it loses a fair amount of the slickness.” –Chris M. (Chris)

Second Third

Flavor: 92
Strength: Mild-Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“Second third brought the same cedar, hay, floral, hint of citrus, with an addition of white pepper. This white pepper left the tongue with a slight numbing sensation, but did not distract from the profile, rather adding a bit of complexity.” –Jessica (Stogie Sister)

“The cigar is burning and smoking great, though the flavors are not very complex. Through the second third, the flavor stays a consistently strong and bitter dark chocolate and coffee flavor. There is the slightest hint of earth and baking spices on the retrohale, but I find it hard to pick up any notes besides the bitterness.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)

Final Third

Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“Black pepper entered the draw to join the cedar, hay, floral, hint of citrus with a long finish, with the occasional white pepper. However, the retrohale now accentuates the floral profile.” –Jessica (Stogie Sister)

“Oak is still up top. The cocoa made a quick shift to dark chocolate, and currently sits up top with the oak. The coffee notes still hang out just beneath that. Floral honey still hits, but the dark chocolate has knocked it back a fair amount. A bit of green peppercorn adds to the spice profile. I say a bit, but it is currently the most noticeable component in the spice mix. Black pepper and cinnamon still staying subtle. Closing in on the nub, I get more and more of the coffee coming through.” –Chris M. (Chris)

Overall Impressions – RoMa Craft Quinquagenario

Draw: 99

“Draw was excellent and produced a good amount of smoke with each puff.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)

Burn: 91

“The burn started out fairly wavy and needed a correction just a little ways into the first third. Past that, it self-corrected before the burn got out of control until the ash dropped. That took a bit of the cherry with it, so one more touch-up.” –Chris M. (Chris)

Construction: 93

“Outside of the veiny and bumpy appearance, this was a well-constructed cigar.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)

Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Experience Overall: 91

“I would have rated the cigar higher had I not needed relights and paying attention to the draws to keep it lit. Definitely want to try the cigar again.” –Jessica (Stogie Sister)

“This was a very balanced smoke until the final third. It didn't lose it completely, but the dark notes definitely took the spotlight in the end. I did enjoy the flavors throughout. Plenty of flavor shifts kept it interesting, which is good because I got over an hour and a half out of a robusto. The smoke time alone is pretty impressive, and with the flavors, I feel quite satisfied. I would definitely smoke this again, probably even grab some for my stash. I have no idea what the price is, but unless it's really steep, I'm inclined to say that you'll be getting a lot of bang for your buck with this one.” –Chris M. (Chris)

“A nice after-lunch cigar with lots of flavor. Notes of cedar, leather, clove, hickory, burnt cookie, cinnamon, and dark cherry. Great burn and construction with a veiny and bumpy appearance. This would be a cigar I'd want in my humidor.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)

“This cigar was the perfect example of a great espresso or dark chocolate mocha cigar. Being a bit too bitter for my palate, I had trouble finding any other notes, though I did occasionally pick up hints of earth and baking spices on the retrohale. The construction on this blend also really shined with an almost perfect draw and burn. While I likely would not revisit this blend, If you are someone who loves strong coffee notes this cigar would be a superstar for you.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)

Smoking Time (in minutes): 78

To view the complete scores and notes, click here

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