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CP Newbie Review of the RoMa Craft Aquitaine Knuckle Dragger

zeemanb

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2015
Messages
1,341
Flying solo on my day off, so with a rare 70 degree July afternoon, I pulled out a Roma Craft Aquitaine Knuckle Dragger (4x52) from a recent box purchase. I've been running my yap about RC for weeks, so I can at least give some more detailed input as to why these have been so heavy in the rotation lately.
 
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Prelit draw is raisins, natural tobacco, and a little bit of hot pepper.  Went with a straight cut to really get the smoke production going….but construction is something I’ve never had to worry about with Roma Craft.  The wrapper is smooth with one large vein and the cigar is very firm overall…kind of like a T52 in my experience. 
 
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Smoke production is heavy out of the chute, burn is a little wavy which is I blame on my crappy job of lighting it.  The flavor gets right down to business…pepper in the back of the throat and in the nose.  In my experience, these little Knuckle Draggers and the Neanderthal  SGP’s start off with a “wall of flavor” the first ¼ before they settle into distinct notes.  That’s just my experience, sharper palates may pick up on more individual flavors from the start.  The Aquitaines tend to level off a little faster for me than the CroMagnons, and before too long I’m getting burnt wood, sweet earth and sharp, woody, lingering finish.  I’m not someone who gets a ton of nuances from retrohaling.  I almost always get some degree of green vegetal flavors and however much pepper is there…not a big pepper bump from the Knuckle Dragger in the retrohale. 
 
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About 1/3 in the finish only gets thicker but the woodiness eases off in the flavor department and the earthiness picks up.  I don’t think I’m going out on a limb to classify this as a full flavor, full bodied smoke.  Ice water is my drink of choice with these.  Strengthwise the size is great because I’ve had larger sticks from Roma Craft sneak up on me when it’s early in the day or I haven’t eaten.  The Cranium can get you by the boo-boo….and I have yet to fire up one of the humongous Slobberknockers I got in the mail a few weeks ago.  This is a cigar I can smoke on the way to work when I’m looking for something with a little punch to it, but it’s also satisfying on a lazy afternoon like today.
 
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Close to the halfway mark, the finish eases up a bit and there is a little bit of fruitiness on the nose and some spice I can’t discern.  The earthy notes are coming on strong, and the finish transitioned into kind of a licorice-y, herbal profile…like an unsweet root beer or something.  The construction is just perfect, knock on wood that has been my experience with almost every RC I’ve smoked. The draw is very easy and smoke production is huge. The stick will start heating up a bit if you go too fast, which helps regulate your speed.  The ash hangs on solid to almost the halfway point, and it would probably keep on going but I’m not a long ash practitioner so I knock it into the tray. 
 
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About 2/3 in, the long finish and full body actually backs off a bit, and the pepper makes a comeback in the nose and throat.  The flavors don’t stay away long, and when they come back it’s more of that herbal flavor, earth and burnt wood.  No big nicotine kick, which is a nice (or not, depending on what you like) change of pace for a stick with such big flavors.  The profile doesn’t change much at this point, no bitterness and an even burn to the very end.  
 
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Overall, whether I reach for an Aquitaine or a CroMagnon just depends on my mood.  For the money, I find these to be no-brainers...the box I got from Smallbatch with one of their email discounts puts the Knuckle Draggers between $4.50 and $5.00 per stick.  Plenty of bang for the buck if you're looking for a well constructed full-bodied, full-flavored cigar.  As I mentioned before, strength can be on the high side depending on the size but I haven't run into too much trouble as long as I smoke at an even pace and don't go for a big smoke early in the morning.  When I get around to another review, it will be one of the Neanderthals.  They are a bit like a CroMagnon on steroids, probably not the first of the brand to reach for unless you regularly smoke pretty strong cigars.  I guess I'm verging on RoMa Craft whoredom...I'll try anything they put out.
 
Excellent review, my friend. I think I may now have to break out this cigar in the next size up (Mode?) tonight.
 
MichaelD said:
Excellent review, my friend. I think I may now have to break out this cigar in the next size up (Mode?) tonight.
 
Thanks, the Mode 5's are great smokes.....I go back and forth between whether I like the Cromag or Aquitaine more with those.
 
Well done; thanks!  RoMa Craft has really been knocking it out of the park.  Your review has me wondering why I don't smoke more of these.
 
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