Cigar: Cuban Crafters Cabinet Select Chairman
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Habano 2000 (not stated but I believe to be Nicaraguan)
Filler: Sun Grown Cuban Seed Habano (not stated but I believe to also be Nicarguan)
Vitola: 6x60
Price: 118.75/box of 25
Setting: Sun Room, 4pm, about 50 degrees out, drinking a Barq's.
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Pre-light: This is a large firmly packed cigar. The wrapper is a nice dark brown with dark streaks in it. It is a bit lumpy with prominent veins and the wrap is obvious leaving some small gaps. The cap looks to be a pigtail that someone cut off the tail. The cigar has a nice barnyard smell to it. The cap cut easily with the Cranial Screw Top method though the cold draw left me spitting out some small pieces of tobacco. There was only a light taste of tobacco on the cold draw. Draw has just a touch of resistance, which is nice for such a large cigar.
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First third: The cigar took a bit to light up, but that's to be expected in such a large cigar. Once fully lit I took my first puff and was greeted with a somewhat unusual roasted nut flavor. Not a bad flavor, but not one I've tasted before. Paired with that is some leathery flavors and a touch of bitterness. The finish is light and clean though slightly bitter. As I get about an inch in the bitterness starts to fade and the leathery flavor comes to the front. The ash is holding strong with no flakiness. The burn continues to be wavy but hasn't needed any touchups.
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Second third: While, right at about the two inch mark the ash dumped on my lap in a big lump. Sure is solid stuff. The flavors on this thing really like to change a lot. The leather has faded and now a woody/cinnammony/nutmeggy taste has come to the fore. Reminds me of Christmas. The body is in the medium plus range, but definitely not full. Smoke production is about average. The slight bitterness remains but is not a problem. The burn line has evened out for the most part. The finish has thickened up a bit but still pretty clean.
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Final third: Well, I'm hitting the final third a bit over an hour in, which seems kinda short for such a big cigar. But everything is coming along smoothly. The spice flavor has dimished with a bit of the leather and earthy tobacco taste now coming to the front. And again, the ash dumped in my lap right at the two inch mark. The body has picked up in the final third to more of the full range. Not feeling too much of vitamin nic though.
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Final thoughts: First I want to thank MarkinCA for gifting this to me last summer. Overall I thought it was a pretty good cigar. Enough flavor changes to be interesting and ended on a really nice note. Smoke time seemed a bit fast for such a large cigar at an hour and a half, most robustos take me that long. But burn and construction were great. Don't know if I would go seeking them out, but would definitely smoke another and even pick some up at a good price. Just too much stuff I like better in this price range. But to those thinking about it they are for sure worth giving a shot.
Liked it: Yes
Buy again: Probably not, unless I saw a great deal
Reccommend: Very much
[Reply]
Nice review Steve as always. My parents purchased my display humidor (not sure why) but, my dad was talking to one of the customer service reps for cuban crafters which is based in Miami and he stated that since my humidor took so long to arrive, that he would send me a sample to try. I'm looking forward after reading your review to smoke these when they come. He was also talking about how the commi island is hurting for tobacco because of all the hurricanes, basically ruined a large portion of the crop. Overall, customer service was very imformative and helpful. Go Cuban Crafter!
:-)
Thanks for the review!
D-Rock
[Reply]
Thanks for the review & pics.
I've never had the Churchill, but I'm a big fan of the Robusto when it's on sale. Go to the Cubancrafters.com website & sign up for their e-mail list. They send out special deals about once per month.
[Reply]
It's the cigar cutting method that's gonna take over the world.
:-)
You place the cutter around the cap and gently sqeeze, then rotate the cigar only cutting the cap and none of the filler. Peel of cap and done. Cranial Screw Top Method.
:-)
Doesn't work so well with torpedo or belicoso cigars, btw.
:-)
[Reply]
