Pre-light Experience

The wrapper on the New Cuba Superior Connecticut Robusto is dark tan with hints of green along with some darker lines where veins from beneath have pressed against. There are some lightly raised veins present, the seams are smooth and the caps are well applied, but there are blobs of white, which I’m assuming are an excess of pectin. The band is red, black and gold and denotes the brand and country of origin. The aroma from the wrapper is musty hay, cedar and ammonia zinginess while the foot is cedar, hay and light ammonia zinginess. The pre-light draw brings airy cedar along with an immense sweetness that has been added to the head of the cigar, and then I get a mild spiciness on my lips.

First Third

The cigar begins with toasted cedar and some black pepper along with the immense sweetness coming from the head of the cigar. At a half inch in, the sweetness mellows a bit, allowing the tobacco to show through a bit more. The retrohale is lightly musty, toasted cedar along with lightly zingy black pepper. At an inch in, some light, dry earth joins the profile. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is up front, with the sweetness from the head a bit behind, then some black pepper and then the light, dry earth in the background. The strength was mild-medium.

Second Third

As the second third begins, the black pepper has mellowed to become even with the dry earth in the background. The toasted cedar has also gained a light mustiness. At a third of an inch in, the sweetness has mellowed a bit more. At a half inch in, the mustiness transitions to creaminess. The retrohale is now musty, toasted cedar, earth and light black pepper. At an inch in, the sweetness from the head is now pretty light. As the third comes to a close, the lightly creamy, toasted cedar is up front, with black pepper and earth just behind the middle of the profile and light sweetness from the head in the background. The strength bumped up to slightly below medium.

Final Third

As the final third begins, the creaminess picks up a bit. At a quarter inch in, the black pepper and earth are now in the middle of the profile. At a half inch in, the toast level increases a bit. The retrohale is now creamy, toasted oak with light amounts of earth and black pepper. As the cigar wraps up, the creamy, toasted cedar is up front, with black pepper and earth in the middle and some faint sweetness remaining in the background. The strength remained at medium.

Burn

The burn was a bit wavy at times, and needed one touch-up to keep everything in line. The ash held on through each third.

Draw

The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.

Overall

The cigar began with toasted cedar and some black pepper along with the immense sweetness coming from the head of the cigar. Some dry earth joined a bit later. The second third saw the toasted cedar gain a light mustiness and the sweetness had mellowed a fair amount. The mustiness later transitioned to creaminess. The final third saw the black pepper and earth pick up a bit as the toast level increased and the sweetness was very faint. The New Cuba Superior Connecticut Robusto had a nice start, with the sweetness mixing with the components from the tobacco. As the sweetness faded the tobacco components were more prevalent and the overall profile took a slight step down and maintained that level the rest of the way. This is an interesting cigar with the added sweetness from the head. I like sweet things, so it didn’t put me off, but I could see how others could be. The cigar is well priced and the performance of the cigar fits well with it. I’d be interested in smoking this without the sweetness just to get a feel for the cigar itself, but I don’t see how I’d accomplish that. I probably wouldn’t come back to this cigar on its own, but with a cup of coffee in the morning, could see it being a viable pairing. I’m on the fence on this one.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.90

Cost/Point

$1.27

Scoring System

Personal Cigar Review: New Cuba Superior Connecticut Robusto