Tapewormboy
Member
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2006
- Messages
- 325
Ashton Estate Sun Grown (ESG) - Robusto #21
SIZE: 5.25 inches x 50/52 RG
Dry-boxed for a few hours before since I just got them yesterday and I prefer my smokes on the dry end. (60-62%)
Smoking time: ~1.5 hours
CONSTRUCTION: Very good solid feel to this stick. No soft spots unlike the Churchill which seemed to have many construction problems (soft spots mainly). Cap is done perfectly. Draw is perfect with just enough resistance. Ash is a light grey and uniform in color, less flaky than the Churchill and holds on longer. Construction (including the quality of the wrapper) is a step above the ESG Churchill. Wrapper is just more uniform in color (surveying the ones at the store too). I'm guessing that this is because the Robusto needs a smaller wrapper leaf compared to the Churchill and therefore the factory can be more selective about what they use. I've seen too many patched holes and non-uniform wrappers in the Churchill size. Some of them downright bad and ugly.
FLAVOR First 1/3: My initial impression is that it reminds me of something I've smoked before. The flavor is definitely different from the ESG Churchill. I don't mean that it's something else completely, but rather that you can tell that it's got a tweaked blend for the extra thickness. This Robusto reminds me a lot of a Cuban Montecristo #2 and Edmundo for some reason. I seem to be getting a lot of coffee flavor in the first 1/3 (which is a flavor I like alot). The unique flavor of the ESG Churchill is not very present right now. The strength is a hair over Medium.
Second 2/3: Strength is picking up slightly. Still lots of rich coffee flavor. The finish in my mouth is good. Thick and very tasty to me. Still no sign of what I call the "ESG Churchill" flavor that seemed to predominate in that stick. The smoke is thick with flavor and coats my mouth. Good. Some of the ESG Churchill flavor is coming in as I get past the half way mark.
Last 1/3: Strength has picked up to Medium-Full. More of the same coffee-toasty flavor from before. Flavor profile did not change for me (something I like, which others might not).
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: If I didn't care about price, I would smoke these much more often. Construction, flavor, burn, everything is great. Strength is not overly strong that it will kick your ass and leave you for dead (medium-full at best). The "sneaky strength" reviews talk about? Not with the Robusto. A well-balanced flavor. Overall, it's a better cigar than the ESG Churchill IMO.
COMMENTARY: MSRP on this sucker is $17.50, which is high. Very high. Too high IMO. Ashton needs to work on how they are pricing the ESG line. It would be one thing to come out with the Robusto first, price it at $17.50 and have everyone complain about the outrageous price. Then have the Churchill as the second size and price it at $18. But they did it in reverse, making the Robusto seem like a very poor value. Just a guess, but maybe they intended this to compete with the Davidoff 100 Anniversary Robusto ($15 MSRP). "and next will be a petit corona priced at $17.00"
ALSO: Ummm...the band covers a FULL 1/3 of the length of the cigar. That's right folks. The band is in fact 1.75 inches long, exactly 1/3 of the length of this Robusto.
Pictures below showing a comparison of the ESG Churchill and Robusto. Also my smoking progression. Ash holds great!
LEFT: ESG Churchill #20
RIGHT: ESG Robusto #21
SIZE: 5.25 inches x 50/52 RG
Dry-boxed for a few hours before since I just got them yesterday and I prefer my smokes on the dry end. (60-62%)
Smoking time: ~1.5 hours
CONSTRUCTION: Very good solid feel to this stick. No soft spots unlike the Churchill which seemed to have many construction problems (soft spots mainly). Cap is done perfectly. Draw is perfect with just enough resistance. Ash is a light grey and uniform in color, less flaky than the Churchill and holds on longer. Construction (including the quality of the wrapper) is a step above the ESG Churchill. Wrapper is just more uniform in color (surveying the ones at the store too). I'm guessing that this is because the Robusto needs a smaller wrapper leaf compared to the Churchill and therefore the factory can be more selective about what they use. I've seen too many patched holes and non-uniform wrappers in the Churchill size. Some of them downright bad and ugly.
FLAVOR First 1/3: My initial impression is that it reminds me of something I've smoked before. The flavor is definitely different from the ESG Churchill. I don't mean that it's something else completely, but rather that you can tell that it's got a tweaked blend for the extra thickness. This Robusto reminds me a lot of a Cuban Montecristo #2 and Edmundo for some reason. I seem to be getting a lot of coffee flavor in the first 1/3 (which is a flavor I like alot). The unique flavor of the ESG Churchill is not very present right now. The strength is a hair over Medium.
Second 2/3: Strength is picking up slightly. Still lots of rich coffee flavor. The finish in my mouth is good. Thick and very tasty to me. Still no sign of what I call the "ESG Churchill" flavor that seemed to predominate in that stick. The smoke is thick with flavor and coats my mouth. Good. Some of the ESG Churchill flavor is coming in as I get past the half way mark.
Last 1/3: Strength has picked up to Medium-Full. More of the same coffee-toasty flavor from before. Flavor profile did not change for me (something I like, which others might not).
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: If I didn't care about price, I would smoke these much more often. Construction, flavor, burn, everything is great. Strength is not overly strong that it will kick your ass and leave you for dead (medium-full at best). The "sneaky strength" reviews talk about? Not with the Robusto. A well-balanced flavor. Overall, it's a better cigar than the ESG Churchill IMO.
COMMENTARY: MSRP on this sucker is $17.50, which is high. Very high. Too high IMO. Ashton needs to work on how they are pricing the ESG line. It would be one thing to come out with the Robusto first, price it at $17.50 and have everyone complain about the outrageous price. Then have the Churchill as the second size and price it at $18. But they did it in reverse, making the Robusto seem like a very poor value. Just a guess, but maybe they intended this to compete with the Davidoff 100 Anniversary Robusto ($15 MSRP). "and next will be a petit corona priced at $17.00"
ALSO: Ummm...the band covers a FULL 1/3 of the length of the cigar. That's right folks. The band is in fact 1.75 inches long, exactly 1/3 of the length of this Robusto.
Pictures below showing a comparison of the ESG Churchill and Robusto. Also my smoking progression. Ash holds great!
LEFT: ESG Churchill #20
RIGHT: ESG Robusto #21
