Pre-light Experience

The wrapper on the Room101 Snake Shake is dark brown and has some slightly raised veins that carry a lighter color to them. The seams are a bit raised and the caps have some lifting edges as well. The band is black and gold with a snake around a bone on front and Room101 Custom on back. The aroma from the wrapper is musty cedar and cocoa while the foot brings sweet cedar, earth and cocoa. The pre-light draw brings a lightly sweet cedar note.

First Third

The cigar begins with toasted cedar, dark earth and a cinnamon forward baking spice. At a half inch in, the cinnamon forwardness of the baking spice goes away. The retrohale is toasted cedar, dark earth and a zingy baking spice. At an inch in, a light cocoa powder note joins. As the third comes to a close, the profile is toasted cedar and dark earth even up front with baking spice a bit behind and light cocoa powder in the background. The strength was right at medium.

Second Third

As the second third begins, the baking spice mellows quite a bit and the cocoa powder has departed. At a half inch in, the baking spice transitions to a slightly creamy black pepper and the overall fullness of flavors has dropped down a bit. The retrohale is now toasted cedar, dark earth and lightly creamy black pepper. At an inch and a half in, the earth is now dry. As the third comes to a close, toasted cedar and dry earth are even up front with black pepper a bit behind. The strength remained at medium.

Final Third

As the final third begins, the toast level increases. At a half inch in, the toast level is now very heavy. The retrohale is now just heavily toasted cedar and dry earth. At an inch in, as the cigar warms up, a light vegetal note becomes present. As the cigar wraps up, the profile is heavily toasted cedar and dry earth up front with black pepper and the vegetal note a bit behind. The strength bumped up to slightly above medium.

Burn

The burn line was straight throughout and the ash held on in three quarter inch increments.

Draw

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

Overall

The cigar began with toasted cedar, dark earth and a cinnamon forward baking spice. The cinnamon forwardness left pretty quickly. A light cocoa powder note joined a bit later. The second third saw the cocoa depart and the baking spice transitioned to black pepper and the earth became dry. The final third saw the toast level become heavy and a vegetal note join in. Construction was perfect. The Room101 Snake Shake presented very full flavors through the first half, but it was a pretty basic set of flavors that didn’t really grab my attention. The fullness of flavors waned in the second half, but that didn’t really change the enjoyment level for me. Just an average flavor profile throughout and not something I’d be in a hurry to return to.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$2.78

Scoring System

Personal Cigar Review: Room101 Snake Shake