Aaron Loomis

 John McTavish

Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the Cohiba Rubicon Box-Pressed Robusto is a uniform dark brown and has some lightly raised veins present. The seams are extremely smooth and the head is well finished. The band is orange, black, holographic silver and white and denotes the brand and line. The aroma from the wrapper is a mix of earth and some wood, while the foot brings cedar, leather, earth and mild spice. The pre-light draw brings a very detailed cedar, leather a good bit of spice, with the spice very present on my lips as well.
John: The Cohiba Rubicon Box-Pressed Robusto comes in cellophane and does not have a UPC sticker. It features a single primary band, and for artisanal complications, the cigar is box-pressed. The cigar weighed 16.3 grams, and I measured the humidity at 63.5% with the Humidimeter Pro. Aromas from the wrapper included sweet raisin, tobacco and wood. From the foot, I was getting a similar profile, but with more balance, showing equal parts fresh-cut cedar and rich, raisin-sweet tobacco.

Cohiba Rubicon Box-Pressed Robusto

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted cedar, a mix of crushed red pepper and black pepper, along with some earth. At a half inch in, the crushed red pepper fades away, leaving a good dose of black pepper. The retrohale is toasted cedar, earth and decently zingy black pepper. At an inch and a quarter, the black pepper mellows a bit. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is up front, with black pepper a bit behind and earth a bit further behind. The strength was slightly above medium.
John: The first third gets out of the gate with sweet tobacco leading off, followed by wood through the finish. A delayed light-plus pepper comes through the post draw. As the first third settles in, light earth joins through the retrohale. A few puffs later, chocolate develops in the retrohale, adding some depth to the profile. By the halfway point of the first third, wood has moved to the front of the profile, shifting the balance away from the initial sweetness.

Cohiba Rubicon Box-Pressed Robusto

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the earth becomes even with the black pepper. At a half inch in, the black pepper mellows some more. The retrohale is now creamy, toasted cedar and earth, with mild black pepper. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is up front, with the earth a bit behind and the black pepper a bit further back. The strength remained at slightly above medium.
John: The second third takes on rich, malty tobacco through the post draw, with delayed earth lingering on the palate. As the second third settles in, earth begins to take over the post draw. By the halfway point, sweet tobacco is again leading off, with baking spices making up the center of the profile, mildly dry wood defining the finish, and earth continuing to dominate the post draw.

Cohiba Rubicon Box-Pressed Robusto

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the black pepper mellows a bit more. At a quarter inch in, a light creaminess joins the profile. The retrohale remains creamy, toasted cedar, earth and mild black pepper. At an inch in, the toast level of the cedar becomes pretty heavy. As the cigar wraps up, the heavily toasted cedar is up front, with the earth a bit behind and the black pepper and creaminess in the back half of the profile. The strength remained at slightly above medium.
John: The last third gets going with sweet wood and spices leading off. Medium-strength dry and tannic wood defines the finish, while baking spices move up to medium-plus strength through the post draw. As the final third settles in, medium-minus baking spices develop through the retrohale. By the halfway point, earth on the post draw has increased to medium-full strength and completely dominates the post-draw palate.

Cohiba Rubicon Box-Pressed Robusto

Burn

Aaron: The burn was a bit wavy at times, but never needed any intervention. The ash held on in inch and a quarter increments.
John: The burn started wavy but straightened out early. It remained straight through the second third, becoming wavy again in the last third before straightening out once more as the final third continued.

Cohiba Rubicon Box-Pressed Robusto

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
John: I measured the draw at 72 inches of water with the CigarMedics draw machine. Subjectively, I found the draw to be approximately 3½ to 4 notches toward the resistant spectrum, making it quite snug.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted cedar, a mix of crushed red pepper and black pepper, along with some earth. The crushed red pepper departed fairly quickly. Later, the black pepper mellowed a bit. The second third saw the earth increase and then the black pepper mellow some more. The final third saw the pepper mellow some more. Later, a light creaminess joined in and the toast level of the cedar became pretty heavy. The Cohiba Rubicon Box-Pressed Robusto had an average flavor profile throughout, focused around toasted cedar, earth and black pepper. The pepper lightened as the cigar went along. Overall, a fairly average experience, but a decent offering for a lower priced Cohiba. I just don’t see it as a cigar I’d really return to though.
John: The Cohiba Rubicon Box-Pressed Robusto opens with promise, delivering a pleasing combination of sweet raisin tobacco, wood and subtle pepper that feels well-aligned with the expectations set by its pre-light aromas. The first third is the strongest portion of the cigar, offering balance, gradual development and moments of added depth from chocolate and earth in the retrohale. As the cigar progresses, however, the profile becomes increasingly earth-driven, particularly through the post draw. While sweet tobacco continues to appear intermittently, it struggles to consistently counterbalance the growing dryness and tannic wood that emerge in the latter portions of the cigar. By the final third, earth fully dominates the post-draw experience, narrowing the profile and limiting complexity. Construction was solid overall, with a burn that self-corrected despite some waviness and a draw that, while notably snug, remained manageable throughout the smoke. The draw resistance could have been related to the box-press shape, but that would be pure speculation on my part. In the end, this Cohiba Rubicon Box-Pressed Robusto is a cigar that starts stronger than it finishes. It delivers enough early balance and flavor clarity to avoid falling below an Average rating, but the gradual loss of nuance and increasing dominance of earth prevent it from climbing higher. It’s a competent, every day type of smoke that will appeal to those who enjoy earth-forward profiles, though it may leave others wanting a bit more evolution and refinement by the time the cigar comes to an end. Total smoking time was 1 hour and 51 minutes.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.65

Cost/Point

$1.50

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.65

Cost/Point

$1.50

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Cohiba Rubicon Box-Pressed Robusto