Cohiba Siglo II REG JUN 19 (CRW)

[The Squiggler]

Cohiba review weekend: siglo ii

I think deep down I knew I was cracking this box a bit early, but having heard so many accounts of great young Cohibas recently I figured I’d give it a shot.

The aroma at cold—about what you’d expect from a siglo—hay, honey, mild tobacco. First light reveals a bit of graham cracker and fresh cut grass, accompanied by some of that youthful acridity which is impossible to ignore, mostly tapering off after an inch or so, transforming into a bit of bitter leather. No pepper or spice to speak of. Strength is low-Med. Burn is even and consistent.

Into the second third the leather note softens up a bit, mingling with flavors of mild tobacco and a touch of graham cracker and baking spice. The mongrel is still present, but thankfully mild (unless I puff too fast). Beyond that not much has changed.

The band takes a huge chunk of the wrapper with it as I peel it free, and at this point I’m getting a bit fed up as the cigar doesn’t seem to want to stay lit as it is. The flavors remain consistent, though the baking spices do seem to ramp up a bit. Not unpleasant overall, but certainly not the subtle beauty this cigar will likely become in another 3 or 4 years.  If a bit of time down manages to tame the mongrel that's currently kicking around in these little guys and allows a bit of sweetness to shine through I think these will turn into real winners. Overall score at the moment: 83/100

 

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[The Squiggler]

Whoops, about 5 minutes late. Ah well... Hopefully worth the read for some folks at least.


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[rcarlson]

Enjoyed your belated review.   I've been knocking down some 2-year olds and pull a lot more strength out of 'em than you describe.  Since they're affordable, I know I'll reload at some point.  But I think a Cohiba requires the cooler smoke of a larger ring gauge to do its thing.  Not sure time will make these too much better; hell if I know.  The little guys are for filling the gaps between the bigger guys for me.     

[The Squiggler]

12 minutes ago, rcarlson said:

Enjoyed your belated review.   I've been knocking down some 2-year olds and pull a lot more strength out of 'em than you describe.  Since they're affordable, I know I'll reload at some point.  But I think a Cohiba requires the cooler smoke of a larger ring gauge to do its thing.  Not sure time will make these too much better; hell if I know.  The little guys are for filling the gaps between the bigger guys for me.     

I'm not expecting these to become mind-blowing via aging, but the main problem with them at this point is the acrid/ammonia flavor and bitterness.  Do away with that and they're 91 point cigars instead of 83 point cigars (IMHO).  These have been down for 90 days (*edit: actually more like 60), but the moisture content still seems way too high (a bit of sputtering and burn problems), so they may even see a jump in quality within 6 months or so (or after a good dry-boxing).  They'll probably never have the depth of a CoRo or esplendido, but that's not really what I'm after with these anyway so that's not going to let me down in the slightest.  If they develop to offer a light sweetness and mild floral essence I will be beyond pleased.

[rcarlson]

2 minutes ago, The Squiggler said:

If they develop to offer a light sweetness and mild floral essence I will be beyond pleased.

I'm with you on that.  Mine came in pretty wet too.  Once they got "right," they started down the path of what I was after.  

[The Squiggler]

3 minutes ago, rcarlson said:

I'm with you on that.  Mine came in pretty wet too.  Once they got "right," they started down the path of what I was after. 

Good to hear.  These have been in the cab since I got them (@65).  I should toss a couple in the drybox at 62 and see what happens.