Cigar Weekly

A relative newcomer to the Habanos S.A. line is Vegas Robaina, which was launched in 1997 in honor of the Master grower Alejandro Robaina. Robaina's family has been producing some of the finest wrapper leaves from the San Luis area of the Pinar del Rio region since 1845. Robaina's wrappers are used on some of Cuba's finest cigars.

The Vegas Robaina line consists of only five sizes which are produced primarily in the Jose Marti factory. Overall production is approximately 3 million cigars a year:

• Famosos (5x48)
• Familiar (5.1/2x42)
• Unicos (6 1/8x52)
• Classico (6 1/2x42)
• Don Alejandro (7 5/8x49)

Vegas Robaina cigars are generally described as medium bodied smokes.

Cigar Weekly reviews are blind taste tests conducted by our readers. Reviewers are sent three samples with all identifying marks removed. Reviewers are chosen randomly from the list of everyone that has signed the Cigar Weekly Guest Book. Their comments are below.

Pre-Smoke Comments

Andy Kerman (ChicagoHemi): Cigar #154 is a Hababos Corona, slight box press with a Maduro color wrapper. Bunch is soft with a major soft spot near the head. The wrapper is smooth, thick, with a few pronounce veins. Possibly H92 from appearance and burn characteristics. Very subtle musty pre-light aroma. An even burn with a typical dark gray ash, one sample had a runner at the start which straightened out quickly.

Greg House (Poohdvm): Cigar #154 has a slightly coarse dark reddish brown wrapper. Nice oily wrapper The cigar felt firmly packed and no soft spots noted. The cap was fairly smooth. One cigar had horrible burn qualities. It ran, tunneled, and went out. The other burned great, making a dark gray ash.

Jim Chandler (Cedarman): A dark oily corona with pleasing amounts of bloom. I promptly Xikared it clean without damage. A nice firm cigar, slightly square pressed with a semi-rustic wrapper.

Kendall A. Payne (Sancho Panza): Nice, dark and oily maduro coloured wrappers. These box pressed coronas are easy on the eyes, although the wrappers are a little veiny. The pre-smoke aroma is that of a matured cigar.

Ron Cocchiola (Gold Maduro): Very nice dark brown wrapper. The cigar was a little veiny. No soft spots. The cigar is bunched very well. Nice even triple cap. ISOM for sure!!

Smoke Comments

Andy Kerman (ChicagoHemi): A very on-dimensional smoke with mild strength and thin body. The virtually absent flavor had a dirty/earthy texture. Very short earthy finish.

Greg House (Poohdvm): Medium to full bodied smoke. This cigar had some kick to it. I was vibrating a little from the nicotine by the time I finished one. The cigar began with warm spicy flavors that built on themselves to a strong peppery flavor late in the smoke. The aftertaste had the same biting peppery flavors.

Jim Chandler (Cedarman): This was a Manly Man's smoke! Tons of earthy, slight throat burning smoke. Sharp edged, semi complex and a flavor that made you crave another puff. There seemed to be a grassy twang followed by an aftertaste of earthy wood flavors. This cigar would hold it's own on a windy day.

Kendall A. Payne (Sancho Panza): The draw is very smooth and easy; volumes of smoke fill my mouth. At once, the strength and spiciness of the cigar catch my attention. The ash is a dark grey in colour, almost black, and firm. Tasting time, about 40-5 minutes.

Ron Cocchiola (Gold Maduro): After cutting and lighting the cigar drew perfectly. The cigar started off very nice. Good rich flavor with a black pepper background. About 2 inches into the cigar the profile changed to be very floral tasting. The cigar did mellow out a bit, but the floral taste stayed with me for the rest of the cigar.

Summary Comments

Andy Kerman (ChicagoHemi): Definitely not representative of the great Habanos Coronas like the Partagas Cabinet, Cohiba, or Saint Luis Rey. A very lackluster vitola with little flavor and thin body. I don't care much for the dark wrapper color cubans as from my experience, the colorado-colorado/claro wrapped cigars are generally of higher quality. It's too bad as I was really looking forward to an elegant full-flavored treat, which this was anything but. I would not recommend this cigar.

Greg House (Poohdvm): One sample was too frustrating for me. I could not keep it lit or burning correctly. It left me wondering if these were the same cigar. The second sample was very enjoyable. It burned great and the flavors continued to build and mature throughout the smoke.

Jim Chandler (Cedarman): A rustic corona obviously born on an Island South of Miami. A good cigar to smoke on a afternoon walk after eating a nice juicy cheeseburger. This cigar isn't for everyone, but a seasoned smoker might appreciate it's bold character.

Kendall A. Payne (Sancho Panza): Very, very nice corona, one that I think I've had in my humidor many times before, and will have again.

Ron Cocchiola (Gold Maduro): Overall, I enjoyed this cigar. I had to relight once about half way threw and it burned a bit uneven. The only draw back I see is the youth of this cigar. I think with more humidor time it should be a great smoke in another year. Even with the youth of this cigar, I still enjoyed it. I think it might be a Juan Lopez Corona.

Scores

Review Results
Final Score: 36.7 out of 50

4 Star -- Excellent

Review Summary by Joseph Giordano

Vegas Robaina Familiar is a good looking corona with a firm bunch and a dark, oily, slightly veiny wrapper. The draw was a little tight but smoke volume was excellent. These samples had a very rich almost maduro-like flavor with an abundance of twang in the onset.

Overall, our reviewers seemed to enjoy this smoke, which earned high marks in appearance and flavor. Most of the reviewers sited earthy and spicy flavors, albeit a couple did note some burn problems. The Vegas Robaina Familiar is in the middle of the VR lineup. It's not as mild as the Unicos but not quite as strong as the Famosos.

I personally found these to be a very rich tasting cigar with a thick smoke and long finish ending on a cedary/spicy note with a nice but strong cocoa like aroma. I consider these an excellent medium bodied/medium strength smoke and highly recommend them.

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