I initially reviewed this cigar 7 months ago, if you go back and read the review it did not really hit the spot, the construction was not very good, and the whole experience was very disappointing. Since that review I have continued to read reviews that rate this cigar much higher than I did, and whilst not describing it as an epic cigar, most reviews say this is a good solid cigar.
At the end of the review I did suggest that my experience may have been due to a bad stick, so I decided to give this cigar another go. In order to contrast this review and the original, the original review is in blue, the new review in black.
Appearance 7.5/10
The cigar has a light brown wrapper, with some small veins, and a couple of larger veins. The band is understated, but well printed and gives the cigar an understated look.
The general appearance of the second cigar was in line with the first one I smoked, so there is no change in score for appearance.
Construction & Draw 8.5/10 (Previous 5.5/10)
Construction was less than perfect on this cigar. The wrapper had a couple of large veins in it, but it looked loose in a couple of places, and had a small break about halfway down the stick. The cap construction was a little scrappy, and the cigar has a very short cap so I had to be quite accurate when cutting.
As I smoked the cigar my concerns about the wrapper turned out to be well founded, as it began to unwrap, and the small break opened up as the heat spread throughout the stick. It was also disappointing that the ash would only hold on for around half a centimeter before it dropped off.
The cigar seemed to be quite well packed with tobacco, which is surprising because the draw was incredibly light, it was like sucking on air, and this was a contributing factor that spoil my enjoyment of this cigar. The cigar produced a lot of creamy and very sweet smelling smoke.
The construction of the second cigar was much better than the first, the wrapper had the same mix of veins but there were no places where the wrapper looked loose, and there were no breaks in the wrapper. The cap construction was far better than the first example, and there was more of a cap which made cutting easier.
This cigar seemed to be better packed than the first, and this made the draw tighter and far more in line with other Robusto’s I have smoked. All in all it would seem that this cigar did not have the construction problems I had with the first stick.
Flavour 7.5/10 (Previously 7.0/10)
This cigar is supposed to be medium to full bodied, I would say that for me it defiantly stayed medium strength, never becoming full. Predominantly this stick has a woody, sweet tobacco taste, at times I felt I could almost pick up a slight leather taste, but it was not a strong note.
Whilst the flavours were pleasant, they did not really change as I smoked the cigar, making it very one dimensional.
The flavour profile of the second cigar was very similar to the first, however I could detect some good hints of cocoa after the first 1/3 of the stick, there seemed in general to be a little more complexity, so I have increased the rating slightly.
Value 8.0/10 (Previously 7.5)
In trying to work out the score for value I have assumed that I may have just got a bad example of the cigar, and I have concentrated on the cost vs flavour profile. In this regard its not a bad cigar, just pretty average, for me there was little change in the profile throughout the stick and although pleasant I like to experience changes in the flavour profile.
As this cigar did not suffer form the construction problems of the first, its only correct that I increase the rating, however my initial scoring did not weight the construction problems highly in the calculation so the improvement is only marginal.
Summary 8.0/10 (Previously 6.5)
I picked up this cigar as I had read a number of reviews online that said very good things about this stick, however I did not enjoy this cigar anywhere near as much as others who have reviewed one seemed to. The flaws in construction were annoying, its been a long time since a wrapper came apart on a cigar I have smoked, but the draw really spoilt the experience, it was to easy.
To be fair this is not a bad cigar, maybe I just had a bad example, and if I tried another I might have better luck, normally I would do this. Unfortunately for the Regius just after smoking this cigar I tried a C.Gars Nicaraguan Selection Robusto which is a much better cigar and slightly cheaper, and this impact my scoring… review to come soon…
Overall I have increased the rating by 1.5, I think this is a fair rating. Now I have smoked one that has no major construction issues, this is a pretty competent cigar, and represents good value for money. I may even get a couple more to put in the humidor, just to check the construction lol.
UK Cigarnewbie 