The CAO Surplus Sweet Robusto is a simple, easygoing cigar that leans heavily on its sweetened cap to define the experience. It doesn't offer a great deal of complexity or evolution, but it remains balanced and enjoyable for those who appreciate sweeter cigars.
Wonderful sweet and creamy nuttiness up front but the staleness in cedar wood was too impactful and disappointing. Without that, this OZ Maracana Robusto would have been a great desert like cigar with all the sweetness and coffee tones. A pass for me.
The AVO Expresivo Robusto is a tasty cigar that has the major factors of a good cigar covered (sweetness, spice, earthiness). The overall good flavors were paired well with an oily/buttery mouthfeel that kept me engaged throughout the entire cigar. Would love to revisit.
Overall, the CAO Surplus Shade Robusto had a solid start with some enjoyable sweetness, creaminess and a touch of chocolate that provided the most interesting part of the smoking experience. Unfortunately, the profile became progressively simpler as the review continued, eventually settling into a largely wood-driven experience without much additional development. For a budget cigar, this offering punches well outside of its price class.
The Smoke This Trust Me Habano Robusto is a good cigar. The flavor profile is lovely from beginning to end, and the profile itself has nice components. It was balanced and complex. There was not a lot of transitioning throughout the cigar, but there was enough complexity to provide for a good smoking experience. Great burn and draw as well, which helps in an easy smoking experience.
The Black Works Studio Boondock Robusto had a nice start, with a bold mix of toasted oak, dark earth and black pepper. The pepper began to fade as the cigar went along and with the earth moving to the front of the profile with the oak, it took a step down in the second third and maintained that level the rest of the way. The overall profile was pretty linear from the second third on.
The La Aurora Family Creed Series Perseverancia Box-Pressed Robusto is a good little cigar, and I don’t think I would have this blend in another vitola. The cigar would either lose its qualities with a larger ring gauge and/or be too much for me to even smoke. Great flavors of rich earth, leather, warm spices and pepper.
The Saint Luis Rey Eiroa 30th Anniversary Rothchilde is an overall great cigar being candy like in sweet and creaminess with balancing earthiness and spice. But whomever the QC team is for this company needs a talking to. There's no reason to apply such an ugly cap to an overall good looking cigar.
The CAO Surplus Maduro Robusto had an average flavor profile throughout, focused around earth and toasted cedar. The black pepper built up as the cigar went along and the creamy cocoa was a nice touch. While this isn't a cigar I'd come back to with any real frequency, this is a fantastic bundle and budget cigar. The score matches up with many cigars that are priced 5 to 10 times what this costs. If you are a smoker on a budget, you'd be hard pressed to find a cigar that performs better than this at around the two dollar mark.
The Montecristo White Series Rothchilde started well, with a full combination of flavors, but took a step down in the second third as the pepper mellowed and some wood bitterness joined in. It took another step down in the final third as the wood bitterness ramped up and the toast became very heavy. Overall, a cigar that started with promise, but degraded through each third. The price is pretty high for the offering, but regardless of that, just based on flavor profile, not something I'd really see myself coming back to.