Saturday, October 30, 2010

Pinar del Rio Habano Sun Grown robusto (5" x 50)


I picked up a few five packs of these from cigarmonster.com after I had heard some good things about them. One reviewer hinted that they were a "poor man's Oliva V" so I had to get some. After having four or so I am ready to review!



Here is what one vendor has to say about the Pinar del Rio Sun Grown

Pinar Del Río Habano Sun-Grown cigars showcase a blend of extra-long-aged Nicaraguan and Dominican tobaccos with a lush, oily, Dominican-grown Habano leaf - like the deep, red-brown wrappers grown in Pinar Del Río, Cuba - that laces the palate with rich flavor.Cigar Press wrote: "Medium to full in body and rich, creamy aroma, with a lot of spice in the nose. Complex. Excellent smoking cigar." Discover these outstanding premium cigars created by Abe Flores and Juan Rodriguez today


Upon lighting this guy I realized that I really do like these cigars-though they can be a little flakey on the flavor and the burn. I attribute some of this on the cold weather of Fall-two I had were really perfect and the third (smoked at 5:00. a.m. with Family in the cold October morning) was a bit bitter. The one I smoked for this review was bittter at first and I realized that I needed to slow my draws down-made a world of a difference. I've found that most non maduro cigars I've smoked in the cold (or when going from one temperature to another) tend to suffer from flavor or burn issues-can't really blame the Pinar, right?




After about ten minutes of smoking, the Pinar burn corrected and I did not feel like I was smoking some kind of leprous exploding cigar. I keep thinking "this is like a diet Oliva V" and I think that can be a good thing-though at several points I started craving that extra body that the V brings to the table. 



The flavor is kinda nutty with a creamy element and that semi-tart flavor that I associate with sun grown smokes. I'd say it is a medium flavor and body smoke-a really nice break from the full growns I've been enjoying the most for the last year or so. The triple bands are nice too and the cloth band at the tip makes these cigars stand out on the shelf.


I think I paid $2 or $3 for these on sale and at that price, they are a good deal. I think they run around $6 at the cigar store.  I'd rate this stogie a 2 on my four point scale-a good and enjoyable smoke. The one bitter one and the apparent sensitivity to environmental factors keep it from earning a 3. I'd pick one up on sale again, without hesitation.



Here's a bonus pic of me smoking the Pinar. It's kind of a bad photo but in the shadows  I'm kind of mysterious so here you go!

2 comments:

Eric J. Reid, Open Road Communications said...

Interesting. Maybe we'll have to trade for one of my SLR Maduro's -- see what's up!

Big Sexy said...

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