Pinar del Rio cigars are rolled at the La Fabrica Don Leoncio on the Dominican Republic and recently all their cigars were reblended, repacked and got a price drop. Not for sale in Europe, I was lucky to get my hands on a fiver in a box split that one of my American friends did on Cigar Asylum. The new Pinar del Rio Oscuro is made with a Brazilian oscuro wrapper, a Dominican criollo '98 binder and filler tobaccos from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. The robusto has the classic 5x50 size.

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The cigar has a classy double band and some black cloth on the foot of the cigar to protect it from damage. The wrapper is dark, shiny and oily. The construction feels good and I smell a strong straw and barnyard smell. The predraw is fine.

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I taste pepper with some coffee and after a quarter of an inch some musty wood. After an inch I taste herbs and wood. After a third I get a lot of leather with some pepper and herbs, but the pepper slowly fades away.

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Halfway I taste leather only but that changes into wood with nuts. The nut flavor fades to the aftertaste. After two thirds I taste wood with herbs and pepper.

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This cigar lasted me ninety-five minutes, which is extremely long for a 5 inch robusto. I got a lot of thick smoke. The draw is great and the burn is good. The ash is light gray, dense and firm. This cigar is full flavored and medium to full bodied.

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Would I buy this cigar again? I still have a few left from a box split, once they are gone, I won't get more.

Appearance: 8 / 10
Construction: 8 / 10
Draw: 8 / 10
Burn: 7 / 10
Smoke & ash: 8 / 10
Aroma first part: 7 / 10
Aroma second part: 7 / 10
Aroma third part: 7 / 10
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:-)
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Nice review again...thanks
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Nice review. I have tried to enjoy these, have torched about 5-6 of them. Just cannot get into them. :-)
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:-) I have torched a couple of these and haven't been happy with them, its a shame because they can frequently be found at some really great prices on the monster
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Nice review - thanks !
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I have smoked three of a five pack I bought and have had to fight every one of them, which is a shame because I want to like them. All three have had super tight draws and burned crooked as hell. The last one was dry boxed for about a week and still had burn and draw problems. Maybe I'll drybox another and try again tomorrow.:-)
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If that wrapper is Mata Fina, there is a good reason maybe that many of you are saying that you want to like
them but can't. That tobacco will make you sick if it is not blended down some. Perhaps if the wrapper
is B.M.F., then it is too much, and lip contact besides. It can taste a little like spoiling meat sometimes. If it
is blended properly it is pretty damn fine tobacco. Then again, it might not BE Mata Fina at all.
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I was wondering about these and how they compare to the original blend!

I really enjoy the original release!:-)
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:-) Nice reveiw, I just order a box from CI & was not sure about it.... :-)
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Why would it make you sick? Too strong?

I just smoked another today that was pretty good. The first I've been able to smoke more than an inch or two. Nice draw but it had a funky burn, so I had to keep touching it up.
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Thanks for the review Ferd...
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I haven't smoked a stogie or contributed here in quite some time, but I just pulled one of these out of the humi and thought I'd share my experience a little. I must say this cigar has at been resting at least a year or two in my humi and this is probably the first cigar I've smoked in, maybe, a year or so.
Upon lighting I was welcomed with a flavor of burnt wood, leather, and a healthy dose of spices. About a quarter of the cigar gone and experienced what was almost a burst of sweetness ranging from honey to cocoa. It only lasted about 10 minutes or so and went back to to somewhat mild wood, leather, and spice.
Overall, this cigar was fairly one dimensional and ranged from medium to light wood and leather with some spice. No burn issues whatsoever and was a pleasant welcome back to stogies. I've been out of cigars for quite some time and have no idea what these run, but I'd be open to trying more.
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