I Just Like Cigars

Cigar Name: Cubao No. 6 Natural Robusto

Reviewer Name: Kekoa Kai
Size: 5 ½ x 52
Wrapper: Ecuadorian-grown Sumatra Oscuro
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua

Introduced by EO Brands in 2008, this cigar was blended by Don Pepin Garcia and is rolled in Nicaragua. As for the name of the cigar, company literature reveals that:

It is believed that the name “Cuba” comes from the Taino word “cubao” which can be translated into either “where fertile land is abundant” or “a great place” (coabana.)

Appearance and Construction

This was a beautifully rolled cigar with a slightly oily feel, and no visible flaws. Wrapper had several visible veins giving it a slightly rustic look, but was smooth to the touch. The triple cap was perfectly done. The pack of the cigar was firm with no soft spots.

A guillotine cut was used on this cigar. Pre-light draw was effortless, and my first thought was that the draw was loose and might burn too fast but that remained to be seen. Pre-light, this Cubao had a slightly sweet and earthy aroma.

Flavour

The cigar gave nice bright peppery spice right off the bat, not overpowering but very apparent. Leather and wood tones were dominant in the aroma/flavour. The spiciness became less apparent after the first third, but never went away entirely. Nice overtones of coffee and mocha came into the picture from time to time particularly towards the last half of the cigar. This cigar was a flavourful one offering a good degree of complexity to the smoker.

Burn

After a rather shoddy light job on my part due to the strong breeze, the burn line evened itself out within the first half inch. From that point on the burn was not perfectly even, but any slight deviations from a straight burn continued to self correct throughout the entire smoke. No touchups required. By the last inch, this stick made it apparent that it was done as it started producing minimal smoke and the draw became restricted. This robusto provided a smoke time of just over an hour, although it may have lasted a little longer without the strong breezes that were blowing.

Overall

This is one flavourful, complex and very enjoyable cigar with excellent construction. I would put it firmly in the medium/full segment of the strength continuum. I wouldn’t smoke this one early in the morning or without having eaten something beforehand. Draw ended up being near perfect from my point of view. As a special bonus, when it came time to remove the band it came off effortlessly with no damage to the wrapper underneath. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this cigar to any but the most inexperienced palate. Kudos to EO Brands on this one.