Cigar.com Cuban Label Cigar Review
Alright, here’s the deal. A couple of months ago I got curious about the quality of some of the private label cigars that are out there. Thanks to their easy and mostly color coded naming system my sights quickly acquired Cigar.com’s stable of cheap private label cigars. After smoking all of the different varieties that Cigar.com has to offer I realized that none of the cigars were really excellent and by that I mean something that I would give 90+ points to. But some of them are definitely passable cigars.
That is why I am going to change the format here a little and either give the Cigar.com house blends a PASS or FAIL. To keep things fair, all the cigars sampled are in the 5″ x 50 robusto vitola. I have already rated the Sun Grown Label and gave it a passing grade. Now onto this cigar.
Here is what Cigar.com has to say about it’s Cuban Label house blend:
For this blend we use a high quality Nicaraguan filler and binder. However, the Cuban Label gets most of its character from the special Cuban/Sumatra hybrid seed sun grown in Ecuador. With the perfect blend at hand, we depend on the expert cigar makers and rollers at Tabacalera Fernandez to put the finishing touches on the Cuban Label. This Nicaraguan factory has an esteemed reputation for making flawless cigars. The result is a peppery and earthy full-flavored cigar with a medium to full-body. The Cuban Label is complex and balanced with a long pronounced finish.
These cigars come in five different sizes: churchill (7.5″ x 50), gordo (6″ x 60), corona (6.5″ x 42), robusto (5″ x 50) and torpedo (6″ x 52). As of the publishing of this post, they cost less than $3.00 when individually purchased and can cost less than $2.50 when purchased in a box of 20 except for the gordo vitola which costs $4.00 for a stick and $60.00 for a box of 20.
Beautiful this cigar is not. Dull brown is the color and there are some veins and bumps all over the cigar. A sizable soft spot can be found from the foot to about an inch down from the foot of the cigar. With that being said I have smoked this cigar a couple of times before this review and I have liked it… pretty much… well, mostly.
Laundering Incineration!
What the Hell? I cut this cigar and as I am doing some maintenance to the cut, you know, making it look good and functional, and I see what looks like a very light brown stem sticking out. Alright, that is no big deal but then I start pulling it out and, honest to God, it doesn’t look like it is tobacco. It looks like it is a piece of paper! That is weird and I can say that has never happened to me with all of the cigars that I have smoked. Not a good omen.
The sensible part of my brain is having this inner dialogue about whether or not it is smart to smoke this cigar but, while debating with myself, the sensible part of my brain realizes that I have already lit the cigar and am smoking it. As the sensible part of my brain slinks off to whatever dank corner of my skull that it calls home I am struck by the fact that this is actually a pretty good cigar. The spice is good and is the dominant flavor. Like the description on the site says this is definitely a peppery cigar. There are also notes of cedar and some grass (I’m trying to pin that flavor down but the best I can come up with is that it has a Chinese food flavor to it). No paper flavor yet.
Entering the second third and the spice, while still enjoyable, has become a little bit overbearing and has a certain amount of harshness to it. By no means is this a deal breaker, especially for a cigar that is meant not for greatness but just for smokability. Still no paper flavor yet.
Nearing the end now and it’s still spicy. The spiciness, if you like that flavor in a cigar, is something that I think you would enjoy in this cigar; as long as your expectations are not over the top. It’s a good cigar but it is not very well rounded, especially after the first third when it becomes a monochromatic spice machine. But, since I appreciate spice, I enjoyed this cigar. Medium-full bodied with a good draw and burn. Never tasted paper, which means I probably pulled it all out.
PASS
Camacho Triple Maduro 50/4.5 Cigar Review
I do not usually make a big deal about the band on the cigar (in this case the over-sized normal band and the one on the foot) but I think that the band perfectly encapsulates what this cigar is all about. The bands are sleek, stark and over-the-top. Mostly silver and black, with a thin line of red and some other colors, the bands give you the sense that this stubby cigar means business. Having smoked some before, I know that it means serious business.
Besides the flavor what is really impressive about this cigar is how Camacho was able to make a cigar with all maduro leaves smoke well. Maduro leaves are thicker than normal and can have burn problems.
This cigar looks awesome. Very oily without any noticeable imperfections. The dark wrapper beckons for me to cut and light it, so that is what I am going to do now.
Cigar Stats
Robusto
Length: 4 1/2″
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Honduras Maduro
Binder: Honduras Maduro
Filler: Honduras Maduro
Price: $11.30
Kurtz Flame!
It starts out wild and spicy but (mostly) calms down within a quarter of an inch. By spice I do not mean the warm, cinnamon kind of spice. I mean black pepper or maybe even some cayenne pepper. Tasty stuff. There’s also cocoa, coffee, earth and a whole host of other flavors that come and go.
A couple of weeks ago I saw a review of this cigar at Tom’s Cigar Reviews and they were smoking it in the morning. Why do I mention this? Well, mainly because it is a full bodied cigar and I can definitely see where the uninitiated would have a hard time with its strength. But, to be honest, if you have smoked full bodied cigars for a while you shouldn’t have too much of a problem with this cigar. Don’t be afraid, it’s an awesome cigar and well worth any dizziness that might ensue. If you are a little wary then smoke it after a meal.
The smoke is very creamy. There is also a rich nutty flavor as well. Overall, the Camacho Triple Maduro is a very complex cigar with lots of great flavors. The draw is superb and the burn is basically even (required a couple of touch ups this time).
Almost finished now. It stays consistently strong: both in strength and in flavor. The price of this cigar will probably make many do a double take but I think it is worth the extra money, especially if you want to treat yourself. And, after smoking a few of these cigars, I’m impressed with their consistency. Truly great cigars are hard to come by – this is one of them.
95 points
CAO America Monument Cigar Review
I smoked one of these around Christmas-time and I thought it was a wonderful cigar. It was very peppery and had loads of flavor that I loved. I gave it 93 points, which is a score I don’t frequently give. I even said this:
- This cigar epitomizes America. It has brash flavors and a punch to it that almost no other cigar I have ever tried has. I will definitely be smoking another one of these in the future.
Wow! That’s high praise. Does it still deserve it? Here’s my new review on the CAO America Monument:
It is a very beautiful cigar. Smoking it on Inauguration Day, 2009 in honor of America, George W. Bush and the new president, Barack Obama. This cigar has a wonderfully constructed barber poll wrapper (one darker and one lighter wrapper) and there are some oils on the wrapper. Perfect construction. I’m drinking Wild Turkey Single Barrel and a Cherry Coke.
Cigar Stats
Torpedo
Length: 6 1/4″
Ring Gauge: 54
Wrapper: USA/Connecticut
Binder: Brazil
Filler: Dom. Rep., Italy, Nicaragua, USA/Connecticut
Cost: $8.00
American Flame!
Great draw and it’s a full bodied cigar at the start. Leather with a red cracked pepper core, which is reminiscent of the previous one but there’s something different about it. I’m less than a half an inch into this cigar but I’m thinking it is at least as good as the previous one.
Now that I am half an inch in this cigar has lost some of its strength; it’s now more medium-full than full bodied. And it’s more leathery than peppery now. I’m also noticing a sweet flavor in the background, almost blackberry.
Halfway through and I’m disappointed with this cigar. The last one was a flavor bomb. This one doesn’t have the explosion of spice that I remember so fondly. Even though it doesn’t have that explosion of flavor I loved from the other one I still think it’s a great cigar but just barely.
I have smoked it a little further and it’s at the lower end of full bodied. The pepper is completely gone and the leathery/blackberry flavors have taken over. It does burn well though.
Consistent flavors most of the way through. I just wish the pepper from the beginning had stayed and even gotten stronger. It is still a very good cigar but the flavors just don’t stand up well to the previous one, which is a shame.
Anyways, go America!
90 points
Other CAO America Reviews & CAO News:
Don Tomas Sun Grown Rothschild – Cigar Review
This is a cigar I smoked Tuesday after I turned in my final report for an entrepreneurship class I took this semester. That means I smoked it in my car and without any drinks.
It is a good looking cigar, very short and stubby. Dark as well. Looks like it should be a fairly decent cigar.
Cigar Stats
Length: 4 1/2″
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Honduras
Binder: Hon.
Filler: Hon.
Price: $6.00
Final Light!
This is a very powerful cigar from the very first puff. Actually, it looks menacing just when you look at it. Very full bodied. It’s almost unwieldy though.
Tons of spice with this cigar, extremely peppery. There is also this dry meaty taste with this one. Mostly an even burn although there were some times when I thought it was going to get out of hand.
Unfortunately, this is not a very complex cigar. If you want a bull in the China closet type of cigar then this is the one for you. But if you are looking for something more refined then you should go elsewhere.
86 points
