Aaron Loomis

 John McTavish

Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The Room101 Namakubi Chingon comes wrapped in tissue paper and then slid into a blue and silver paper sleeve. After removing the cigar from the sleeve and paper, you can see the wrapper on the cigar is medium brown with some darker spots present and a few raised veins. The seams are smooth and the tapered head and foot are well finished. There are two bands, with the primary being blue and silver and denoting the brand and line. The secondary band is silver and blue and denotes it as a limited for 2024. The aroma from the wrapper is cedar and paper, likely from the tissue paper wrap. The foot brings a general mix of wood and earth. The pre-light draw is a creamy mix of cedar, leather and earth.
John: The Room101 Namakubi Chingon comes wrapped in paper featuring Japanese writing, with tissue underneath covering the entire cigar. It’s a Salomone shape and features a primary Namakubi Room101 band along with a secondary “LTD 2024” band. I weighed the cigar at 15.3 grams and measured the humidity at 64.9% using the HumidiMeter Pro. Aromas from the wrapper included tobacco must, earth and wood. With only a small portion of the foot exposed, there wasn’t much to discern in terms of foot aromas.

Room101 Namakubi Chingon

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with a creamy mix of toasted oak and earth along with some black pepper. At a half inch in, some construction paper joins the profile. The retrohale is toasted oak and earth with light amounts of black pepper and construction paper. At an inch and a half in, the earth becomes even with the toasted oak up front. As the third comes to a close, the creamy mix of toasted oak and earth are even up front, with black pepper just behind the middle of the profile and some construction paper in the back half. The strength was slightly below medium.
John: The cigar opens with a combination of chocolate, espresso and earth, while sweet tobacco and earth carry through the finish. Baking spices enter the retrohale at medium to medium-plus strength as the first third settles in. Earth on the post draw builds past medium strength and takes on a mineral quality as the profile develops. By the halfway point, the baking spices recede to medium-minus strength while the earth stabilizes at medium.

Room101 Namakubi Chingon

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the black pepper mellows a bit. At a half inch in, the creaminess attached to the toasted oak and earth increases in fullness. The retrohale is now earth, toasted oak and some light creaminess. At an inch and a half in, the black pepper is now in the background with the construction paper. As the third comes to a close, the creamy mix of toasted oak and earth are even up front, with black pepper and construction paper in the background. The strength bumped up to medium.
John: The second third begins with creamy espresso and earth, with minerality following and lingering into the finish. A delayed dry wood note shows up on the post draw. As the cigar settles in, chocolate returns through the finish. Approaching the midpoint, dry wood and minerality move to the forefront, taking over the profile.

Room101 Namakubi Chingon

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the black pepper and construction paper both increase in fullness a bit. The retrohale is now just creamy toasted oak and earth. At an inch in, the earth takes a slight lead in the profile. As the cigar wraps up, the earth is just ahead of the toasted oak, with both carrying some creaminess and the black pepper and construction paper are in the back half. The strength remained at medium.
John: The final third opens with creamy, medium-strength baking spices, accompanied by minerality and earth through the finish. As the cigar progresses, the creaminess intensifies, while wood settles in as a supporting note. The profile remains steady but doesn’t significantly evolve.

Room101 Namakubi Chingon

Burn

Aaron: The burn was a bit wavy throughout and needed one touch-up to keep things in line. The ash held on in about inch and a quarter increments.
John: The burn started wavy but self-corrected. It became uneven again in the second third, requiring a touch-up. At the halfway point, the cigar went out and needed a re-light. From there, the burn remained straight for the rest of the smoking experience.

Room101 Namakubi Chingon

Draw

Aaron: The draw was a bit tighter than I prefer but didn’t cause any issues with the smoking experience.
John: The draw measured 52 inches of water on the Cigar Medics draw machine. Initially, it sat about three notches into the resistant spectrum, but as the burn line reached the shoulder, it opened up to roughly two to two-and-a-half notches resistant. While on the tighter side, it remained manageable throughout.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with a creamy mix of toasted oak and earth along with some black pepper. Some construction paper joined in fairly quickly. Later, the earth became even with the oak up front. The second third saw the black pepper mellow a bit and then became pretty mellow. The creaminess increased in fullness. The final third saw the oak and earth increase in fullness. Later, the earth took a slight lead in the profile. The Room101 Namakubi Chingon had an average flavor profile throughout, focused around the creamy mix of toasted oak and earth. The profile felt a bit flat as the flavors didn’t really pop and were a bit muddled. It never really evolved into anything that grabbed my attention. Not a cigar I’d see myself coming back to, and that’s regardless of the very high price point.
John: This cigar delivers an engaging start, with the combination of chocolate, espresso and earth creating a rich and layered opening that feels like it’s building toward something more complex. The mineral-driven earth and baking spices through the retrohale add a nice dimension early on, giving the first third a sense of purpose and direction. As the cigar transitions into the second and final thirds, that early promise gradually gives way to a more mineral and wood forward profile. While the creaminess that develops later helps round out the edges, the overall progression feels more like a narrowing of the profile rather than an expansion. The flavors remain balanced and enjoyable, but they don’t quite recapture the depth of the opening third. From a construction standpoint, the cigar performs reasonably well, though the tighter draw early on and the need for a re-light keep it from feeling completely dialed in. In the end, the Room101 Namakubi Chingon is a cigar that shows flashes of richness and complexity, particularly early, but ultimately settles into a more average experience as it progresses. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 13 minutes.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.40

Cost/Point

$4.63

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.60

Cost/Point

$4.46

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Room101 Namakubi Chingon