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Cohiba Sublimes Extra 2008

Kingantz

Growing too fast.
Joined
Oct 6, 2007
Messages
7,648
This cigar has a Colorado Claro shade wrapper that is smooth, slight oils noticeable and small veins throughout with a perfectly constructed triple cap. It has a good weight in the hand, slight give when squeezed, and with the cap opened up with a perfect punch I find the draw very tight. What small amount of air I do get through has a mild, fresh tobacco taste.

I get the foot lit and puff on the cigar a few times, however the draw is just way too tight, unable to get much smoke out at all. What does come through has a very rich flavor to it, making me really disappointed that the draw isn’t better. The burn is good with a very compact, dark gray ash forming, however at about an inch it starts to lean slightly due to a soft spot. I continue to try and draw on the cigar for the first inch, squeezing the cigar around the band and drawing at the same time actually produces a decent amount of smoke. After ashing the cigar, I go ahead and clip the foot to open up more draw area.

Clipping the foot helps a little with the draw, and although it has more resistance than I like, I’m able to get good smoke out that gives me a mild cinnamon spice on the back of the tongue and throat. The smoke itself is a mild to medium strength feeling slightly oily on the tongue with tastes of roasted nuts, a touch of vanilla, cedar wood, and grassiness. There’s a very clean finish left on the palate that is somewhat short.

Reaching the halfway mark, the draw is working rather well with a good amount of medium strength smoke coming through. The spice that was somewhat mild earlier in the smoke seems to have turned to more of a white pepper spice on the throat, possibly due to smoke flowing through better. Flavors are consistent with the finish continuing to be very clean with a bit of tannic, semi-lasting on the palate. The burn got quite uneven at one point, however did correct itself well with a dark gray, compact ash forming and holding strong.

No idea why, however heading into the final third the draw became tight once again making it difficult to get good smoke through. I attempted to push the draw tool through, however only a short way in I heard the wrapper pop with a small crack appearing right above the band. I continued on, having to take very slow, long draws to try and get a decent amount of smoke through. Flavors are not very good at this point, more charred wood and a somewhat bitter taste with the palate being left quite dry.

Due to the tight draw and flavors just not working well at all, I decided to sit it down. I have to say I’m somewhat disappointed with this cigar, apparently because of the draw issue. I did let the cigar sit out for several hours, however believe it was still a bit on the damp side upon lighting, how much this effected the smoking I’m not sure. Once the cigar had warmed up, it was quite soft except for right at the band where I could feel a hard knot, which I feel is the real culprit. The section where the draw was working well, flavors were very good with a nice spice and good strength/body. Unfortunately, it was short lived.
(Not sure how, but several pics taken were missing)

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Edit to add missing pics
 
Damn, what a shame. :( Those are pretty pricey, aren't they? Gotta love the Cuban QC.
 
That's a shame, I know I'd be looking forward to that one all day. You didn't try a draw-poker of some sort?

EDIT: Ah, I see you did and the wrapper cracked... Ouch...
 
Unfortunate experience Greg.

Your review is nearly identical to what I experienced to the first (and most likely last) Cohiba Lancero I had a couple of years ago in Santa Lucia, Camaguey province.
 
Haven't had a chance to try these yet, but I've heard varying reviews of them. Most folks have either been in love with them or sorely disappointed in them (and that only gets exacerbated by the price). Hopefully you get a chance to try another down the road and have a more positive experience. I'm still on the fence on these. If a chance comes along to buy one or two, I might have to try them out. The 04 Sublimes are crazy good right now and I'm wondering if the Sublimes Extra have the same potential.
 
Sounds like it was over humidified a bit, were you running 70 or 65 where you stored it? The Cohiba stuff seems to soak up humidity very quickly and then draw tough, especially towards the end of the smoke. I can't remember what causes it, some sort of mix of tar and hygroscopic properties iirc.

Is it the only Sublime XL you have?
 
Sounds like it was over humidified a bit, were you running 70 or 65 where you stored it? The Cohiba stuff seems to soak up humidity very quickly and then draw tough, especially towards the end of the smoke. I can't remember what causes it, some sort of mix of tar and hygroscopic properties iirc.

Is it the only Sublime XL you have?


great. can you do a review of oral cancer while your at it. thanks.
 
Nice writeup and awesome pictures. I have read that cohibas have some fugly ash and from the pictures it sure does towards the end.

Thanks!
 
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