Cigar Review: Cubao

No. 1, 7.125" x 49 ring gauge, approx. $11
The Cubao is brought to us by the same team that produces the 601 series of cigars: Espinosa y Ortega of United Tobacco and Don Pepin Garcia. The cigars are made in Garcia's factory in Esteli, Nicaragua and are made from a blend of Nicaraguan filler and binder along with an Ecuadorian Sumatra Oscuro wrapper.

Upon taking the cigar out of its cello wrapper, the aroma is overwhelming and powerful--almost enough to knock me out of my seat. The aroma of cocoa is strongest but there is also some coffee and manure present. The wrapper is exquisitely oily but there is a sizable patch about 2 inches above the foot. There are no soft spots, though, and this cigar looks, feels and smells good enough to eat. The prelight draw has just a bit of resistance and the flavors are sweet and spicy.

At the beginning, the flavors that stood out the most were dark-roast coffee and roasted nuts. There was also a decent amount of spice after the first few puffs. Very rapidly the spice and pepper became the dominant flavors. By the end of the first third, though, the spice mellowed a bit allowing for the slightly bitter flavor of dark coffee to come back through. The ash fell off in neat one-inch segments showing a quality construction; the draw and burn line were also impeccable so far.

Shortly into the second third, I started to realize that this was an intense cigar--very full-bodied and already having some nicotine kick. The flavors are intense, too, whether it be the coffee or spice that is currently in the fore. As this segment progressed, the flavors took a more nutty turn.

After proclaiming how bold and intense the Cubao became by the second third, I was very surprised that it mellowed out so much in the last third. There were cocoa notes and an underlying coffee flavor but no spice to speak of and nothing as "in your face" as when I first lit up. Nonetheless, this is definitely not a cigar for beginners--overall, it is full and strong and one of the most complex smokes I have had. Great selection for the cigar connoisseur. It is a little pricey but worth every penny for those occasions you choose to spend the cash.

Body: 9/10
Strength: 8/10
Complexity: 10/10

AFP Scale:
Prelight: 1.5/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10