Warped Serie Gran Reserva, Camacho Ecuador, Cornelius & Anthony Señor Esugars, FQ Proper, Caldwell Eastern Standard.

Robustojoe Cigar CommitteeRound-14

The Rules.

Each month, a group of experienced cigar smokers participate in tastings of five new cigars. All smoke one of the selected cigars each day, and it is the first cigar of the day. All cigars are paired only with water, and are purchased at the same time from the same vendor. The cigars are stored for at least two weeks in a humidor prior to smoking. Everyone follows strict scoring guidelines. Taste is weighted heavily (50%), followed by construction (10%), draw (10%), burn (10%), and taste evolution (20%). Additional points are awarded for uniqueness or that intangible “wow factor”.

Why a committee?

Cigar reviews are very subjective, and influenced by the smoker’s environment (see When Good Cigars Taste Bad, part 2), personal taste, pairings, and mood. In a committee review, the results are averaged over all participants, providing a better yardstick to measure a cigar’s quality. In addition to a numerical ranking, each review will include tasting notes by each of the committee members. This should help the reader determine if these new cigars are worth purchasing.

Warped-Serie-Reserva-GR88-1988

Warped Serie Gran Reserva GR88 1988 (5.25 x 50)

It’s almost like we smoked different cigars in this round of reviews. One rated this cigar a 79 while another gave it an astounding 96. Flavors ranged from grassy to earthy, with notes of dark coffee, sourdough rye bread, and white pepper.

Strength: 6 out of 10

Wrapper: Nic CorojoBinder: Nic.; Filler: Nic.; Blender: Kyle Gellis; Origin: Nic.; MSRP: $8.10

Camacho-Ecuador-Robusto

Camacho Ecuador Robusto (5 x 50)

This fat robusto offered lots of smoke and complexity. Everyone agreed the flavor transitions were pronounced. Notes of cola, leather, dark chocolate, and orange peel were detected, along with some underlying bitterness.

Strength: 6 out of 10

Wrapper: Ecuadorian HabanoBinder: Brazil.; Filler: DR/Hon.; Blender: Camacho; Origin: Hon.; MSRP: $8.25

Cornelius-and-Anthony-Senor-Esugars-Robusto

Cornelius & Anthony Señor Esugars Robusto (5 x 52)

One reviewer rated this cigar higher than all the others. Many found it tart or bitter, but flavors of malt, dark chocolate, root beer, and mushroom was detected. Burn was uneven for most smokers.

Strength: 6 out of 10

Wrapper: Mexican San AndresBinder: USA.; Filler: Nic.; Blender: Steven Bailey; Origin: Nic.; MSRP: $10.25

FQ-Proper-Corona-Gorda

FQ Proper Corona Gorda (5 5/8 x 46)

An earthy smoke, with notes of red pepper, leather, peanuts, and herbs. Some bitterness hurt the overall score. Construction was good with a nice flavor evolution.

Strength: 6 out of 10

Wrapper: Ecuadorian HabanoBinder: Hon Broadleaf.; Filler: Nic.; Blender: Matt Hunt; Origin: Nic.; MSRP: $9.50

Caldwell Eastern Standard Sungrown Double Robusto (5-1/2 x 56)

All but one reviewer thought this cigar was rather uninteresting. The score was buoyed, however, by the single smoker who thoroughly enjoyed this stick. Notes of toasted baguette, cardamom, grass, pencil shavings, were present. 

Strength: 5 out of 10

WrapperMexican HabanoBinder: Ecuador; Filler: DR, Mexico.; BlenderRobert CaldwellOrigin: DR.; MSRP: $10.50


Rating Legend:

100-95 = Outstanding

94-90 = Excellent

89-85 = Very Good

84-80 = Average

79-75 = Disappointing

74 (lowest possible score) = Un-smokeable

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