zeemanb
Well-Known Member
A good friend of mine got back from Cuba a couple of months ago; he's a distiller/bar owner/renowned "mixologist" from here in KC and went down for an in-depth tour of rum processing. He isn't a huge cigar guy, but also definitely isn't someone who would be taken in by glass top boxes of Fauxhiba's. Along with a couple of boxes of shockingly good Monte 4's, he brought back a couple of boxes/bundles of unbanded 6x50 or 52ish smokes that he said they got from the Cohiba factory on the recommendation of the guide who accompanied them during their whole trip and took them on a factory tour. I've known several people who have come back with good custom rolls, farm cigars, etc., so I don't have any clue as to how factory-level acquisition or purchasing may or may not work. As far as the smokes themselves, he just said they were pretty much all their guide smoked and they enjoyed them during the whole trip....also they were "made with tobacco already aged for several years and cost way more if purchased retail". As far as the name, he said he thought they were called "limited reserve" when sold retail....I'm no Cohiba pro, so that didn't ring a bell. I think a Siglo VI would be the closest size in regular production.
Anyway, I've been gifted a ton of "Cubans" that turned out to be decent at best and totally untrusted/unsmoked at worst. This was an incredibly good looking smoke with a velvety smooth wrapper and slightly spongy feel, and I totally trusted that my buddy didn't get it from some kid off the street or an alley in Miami before or after his trip. I haven't smoked enough Cohibas to give it a solid comparison, but the construction was absolutely perfect, laser even burn throughout, plenty of smoke, burned cool to the nub. Flavors were clean and grassy, sweet hay, and barnyard with a deep, savory burnt coffee flavor on the finish getting more pronounced as it burned down. Complexity was big, but the strength is what really shocked me...there aren't many smokes I won't have first thing in the morning or on an empty stomach, but this one could have been rough in that situation. It gave me a decent buzz. Overall it was just a fantastic smoke, enough that it kind of makes me hate my friend for having the rest of them, lol.
No real point or agenda to my ramble....I don't have any way of finding out what it really was other than definitely Cuban and one that I think anyone would love. Out of all of the Caribbean cruise, Mexican vacation beach aquisitions or questionable smokes from "a friend of a friend who knows a guy who got it in Cuba" that I've received over the years, this thing was just a winner. If I ever DO find out its retail identity, if there is one, it's one I'd buy for sure unless they were priced like Behike's. If I can trick him out of a couple more I'll definitely pass one along to someone for a more professional review.
Anyway, I've been gifted a ton of "Cubans" that turned out to be decent at best and totally untrusted/unsmoked at worst. This was an incredibly good looking smoke with a velvety smooth wrapper and slightly spongy feel, and I totally trusted that my buddy didn't get it from some kid off the street or an alley in Miami before or after his trip. I haven't smoked enough Cohibas to give it a solid comparison, but the construction was absolutely perfect, laser even burn throughout, plenty of smoke, burned cool to the nub. Flavors were clean and grassy, sweet hay, and barnyard with a deep, savory burnt coffee flavor on the finish getting more pronounced as it burned down. Complexity was big, but the strength is what really shocked me...there aren't many smokes I won't have first thing in the morning or on an empty stomach, but this one could have been rough in that situation. It gave me a decent buzz. Overall it was just a fantastic smoke, enough that it kind of makes me hate my friend for having the rest of them, lol.
No real point or agenda to my ramble....I don't have any way of finding out what it really was other than definitely Cuban and one that I think anyone would love. Out of all of the Caribbean cruise, Mexican vacation beach aquisitions or questionable smokes from "a friend of a friend who knows a guy who got it in Cuba" that I've received over the years, this thing was just a winner. If I ever DO find out its retail identity, if there is one, it's one I'd buy for sure unless they were priced like Behike's. If I can trick him out of a couple more I'll definitely pass one along to someone for a more professional review.
