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Obsidian robusto

kann

kann

One Leg Of Fury.
Joined
Apr 29, 2011
Messages
10,781
Ring: 5x54
Wrapper: Dominican Maduro
Filler: Nicaraguan



I grabbed an Obsidian robusto last night, since it was rather marginally comfortable outside. This is my third one of these, from a CI sampler I got a long time ago. The first two were VERY underwhelming. In fact, I believe I described them as "nothing". As in, no taste, no flavor... nothing. I could have been drawing air through a 54-ring gauge straw and gotten more smoking satisfaction out of it. Well, I knew I wasn't going to make it outside for a full hour to smoke, so I decided to grab the stick I knew I wouldn't mind throwing away.

It's been sitting in the humidor for probably six months or more by now. I don't remember when, exactly, I got them, but it's been a while. This one, though not exactly a head-turner by any means, definitely had more substance than the first two I smoked. It was quite peppery. Although I prefer cigars with smoother flavors of chocolate, coffee, nuts or even the distinct raspberry of the PfN MFLB, I was satisfied with the pepper because it was more than I was expecting out of it, honestly. Very even, peppery flavor profile for the two-thirds I smoked last night.

If it has nothing else going for it, at least it looks good. Construction was good; the wrapper dark and oily. The large band is nice eye candy. It lit easily and burned fairly even. It required no touch-ups and the ash was tight, holding on for about an 1.5" before I ashed it, myself, to keep from having it drop off on my shirt accidentally. The wrapper produced a LOT of smoke. I don't recall if the previous cigars did this, but this one was pretty substantial both at rest and with the draw.

Overall, the fact that it had ANY impact, whatsoever, surprised me. I'm interested to see if forgetting about the other one (I gave one away hoping to hear someone else's opinion on it) for another six months adds any further flavor or body to it. Even still, I can't say I exactly cared for it. It might make a good lawn-mowing cigar, but I don't think I'd be looking to spend money buying any more of them. It is a typical CI hype product, and from what I've seen, many of those same CI hype products are deeply discounted not too far into the future. I am not the ever-experienced cigar journeyman, but in my limited experience, I can't see this one turning out much different.
 
Thanks for the review. I've often wondered about these when flipping through the CI catalog.
 
I always wondered about these as well. It was either these or the Cuba Libre One which were like $150.00 a box and then a few months later were down to the neighborhood of $60.00 a box.
 
I have smoked three, the first was so-so, there was something distinctively different that I could not identify. The second one I felt was very good, very enjoyable. So I tried a third and again back to just ok. I am not sure if this is a consistence thing or what. I have two more and will let that rest and try again.
 
I have smoked two of these do far and I was not to impressed. They look good Dark oily but just not much flavor rp
 
After searching around for some other independent (not paid advertisement) reviews, it seems that the beautiful dark wrapper is beautiful and dark because it is dyed. Intewesting...

It also seems that many other seem to share the same sentiment of the cigar and its provided smoking experience.
 
Nickerson said:
I always wondered about these as well. It was either these or the Cuba Libre One which were like $150.00 a box and then a few months later were down to the neighborhood of $60.00 a box.
Click to expand...


Cuba Libre One's have never been $150 a box, on either CI or cigars.com. (purchased 9 boxes in 2011, and 3 in 2010). They were sold out for a bit, but they've never broken $100 a box on any size.

And it blows the Obsidian out of the water......
 
Interesting review. I haven't had the Robusto, but I did fire up a Belicoso on New Year's Eve. I found it to be extremely flavorful and remarkably smooth. After sitting in my humidor for about a week, it picked up a nice chocolate/mint aroma, which had me a little worried at first. Tangy on the lips taking a test draw before lighting it. The first draw held a lot of spice and leather with a hint of cedar. The chocolate still came through, but the minty flavor I was expecting was gone. Tons of sweet smoke courtesy of the Maduro wrapper. I've got a Toro that's been resting for nearly a month now. Since all vitolas seem to differ in flavor, maybe this one will be the proverbial "dog rocket"...
 
Thanks for the mini-review, Toombes. I'm actually glad you were able to find it a different experience than I did. It also reinforces a trend I noticed when looking at other reviews. It seems that those that DID enjoy the cigar were smoking a vitola other than the robusto. You might be correct in that certain vitolas in this particular cigar could differ drastically from other vitolas (to where it makes it a completely different cigar with the same band on it). I have no intentions of buying this in any other vitolas, but if you get the chance to smoke a robusto, I'd love your take on it.
 
Time to revisit this. Apologies in advance if there are some typos. I'll return later and edit as needed. At the moment, my hands are freezing and my head is spinning...

I saw this last one from a sampler fiver sitting on the shelf in my fridgidor, and I remembered that my last experience with this particular cigar was markedly different than my first two. I also remembered that I wanted to return for a final go round after another six months or so. I dredged up this review I did some time ago, and realized that nearly a year has passed. Certainly enough time to know if there was going to be a different experience with some down time on this not-exactly-premium stick.

Much the same situation as the original review: it's cold outside and I figured I probably wasn't going to last an hour or more. It wasn't as bad as I thought outside, and I ended up smoking it until I knew I was at that "one more drink is going to push you over the threshold from happily buzzed to dear God I'm going to yak... point.

Same cigar as the original review. Liquid compliment was a pint of Guinness. Literary compliment was Tom Clancy's newest, "Threat Vector". About half an hour before hand I had consumed a can of Red Bull and a package of peanut M&M's, so I figured my blood sugar level should have been alright. I set out to really pay attention to the smoke and see if I noticed anything significantly different than last time.

As I took it out of the cellophane and removed the rather prominent "band", I gave it a good sniff up and down the stick and across the foot. It smelled exactly as if I stuck my nose in a box of my wife's Marlboros. No typical cigar nuances, just straight tobacco aroma. The cut was clean and a straggler from the sliced cap came off easily without causing any sort of unraveling or other construction issues. Pre-light draw was unremarkable.

The cigar lit easily and burned pretty evenly though there was, I guess, slight tunneling as I could see it burning down about an eight of an inch (maybe even less) before the wrapper caught up. It wasn't a razor-crisp burn line, but there were no significant burn issues for the first third. During the second third, a small bit of the wrapper, perhaps a half inch here or there, would fight its fate, but aside from one instance it caught up with just a little patience. I let it the ash build up and purposely let it go until it fell off on its own, and it held on for a good two and a half to three inches before the initial ash fell off. I recall that the first review had a tight ash, as well. Overall, the burn was acceptable, though not perfect.

(more to come... I'm fighting nausea at the moment...)



I'll leave the break in here. Mudder O'Gawd I haven't had my ass kicked by a cigar like this in a long time. I don't remember either of the others I smoked hitting me like this. Anyway, back to the review:

Initial draw was rich. I can't say exactly what it tasted of, but it was not unpleasant and very full. Throughout the smoke, there was a consistent taste of shelled, roasted sunflower seeds. Like, the kind you get at a salad bar. I couldn't place it at first, but once it came to me, I was sure of what I was sensing. The first third went well. Mostly the sunflower notes and even a very distinct hit of liquidy caramel here and there. Nothing terrible, though it didn't stand out as a cigar I'd go out of my way to smoke again. The ash was discussed earlier, as well as the burn.

Second third saw the underlying sunflower seed fade away for a bit, and here I started getting strange tastes. I think I understand "earthy", now, and "leather", as well. They weren't strong or persistent, but they were there. One taste that caught me off guard and was very unmistakable, was a quick hint of gasoline. It was more than a hint, it was the teacher's answer sheet. It was only for one draw, and then it was gone, but it was there. It reminded me of filling up the lawnmower during the summer with my face too close to the tank as it nears the top. It was a quick sensation from the cigar, but it was quite prominent for that short time. The sunflower seed undertones returned later in the second third.

I smoked about three-quarters of the cigar. It was not unpleasant enough to put out, but I could feel the nicotine hitting me in a negative way, and quick. I thought I stopped in time, but apparently I did not. This thing kicked my ass. I wanted to throw up. I raided my kid's PEZ stash and even tried drinking another Red Bull, but I didn't get far on the drink. I finally curled up in bed and went to sleep with the ceiling spinning above me.

Final thoughts are that with probably a year and a half'ish of sitting in my fridgidor, the profile definitely changed from when I originally obtained the five pack. The first one I smoked was "nothing". I tasted nothing. It was a worthless stick that wasted my time. The second one rested for approximately six months, I believe, and had a peppery taste to it. However, it was still an underwhelming experience. It was remarkable for the simple fact is that it was a different experience from the first smoke, and I was interested in finding out if more rest would bring about further change. This final Obsidian cigar answered that question. It definitely did change in the time it was sitting in the humidor. This was not an amazing smoking experience, by any means. It did not place the Obsidian on the "buy again" list. What it was, though, is the experience I would have expected from the first impression, which left me flat on the brand. Many say that aging the cheaper, NC cigars is fruitless. I can't dispute that, but I do believe, through my own experience here, that aging this particular cigar did improve its flavor profile (or added one, is more like it), though it still did not make it an outstanding cigar.

I'm glad I got to try this, even though the nicotine rocked me on this last one. It was definitely an educational experience for me. Would I recommend this cigar? Not unless you can find it dirt cheap, and then have the patience to put a few months on it, at minimum. I would not recommend a box buy. From reading around, it seems that different vitolas are markedly different than the robusto. I'm half-tempted to try the vitola "Experiment" box set sampler from CI just to see what the differences are. I most likely will not, however.
 
OK, finally finished that monster of a review. Didn't intend for it to be that long, but, so it goes...
 
I really like these cigars, I have never had one that didn't have a great caramel, chocolate flavor. I think they are great but that's IMO.
 
Do you normally smoke the robusto, or do you prefer them in a different size? I've read that each vitola offers something significantly different from the others. I'd be interested on someone's take with a smaller RG and length.

I did notice the caramel, which was quite pleasant.

*EDIT* Also, have you noticed any differences in the cigars the longer they've been sitting in the humidor, or is it generally a consistent experience?
 
kann said:
Do you normally smoke the robusto, or do you prefer them in a different size? I've read that each vitola offers something significantly different from the others. I'd be interested on someone's take with a smaller RG and length.

I did notice the caramel, which was quite pleasant.

*EDIT* Also, have you noticed any differences in the cigars the longer they've been sitting in the humidor, or is it generally a consistent experience?
Click to expand...

I have had a few different vitolas and even bought the sampler box with the "off" shapes, I have enjoyed all i have tried.
 
I came to the forum trying to find some information that could either dissuade me from or encourage me to impulsively take advantage of the Obsidian box deal currently on CigarsInternational. Obsidian isn't too high on my list of brands that I'd like to try but Pinar del Rio is and some of those are included in the deal.
It's a lot of cigars for not a lot of money, and the Obsidian White Noise is pretty neat looking, but with these reviews of the original Obsidian, I think it's better to ignore this deal(like I wish I'd done with that Gurkha sampler!)
 
Get the Pinar Del Rio instead. Gurkha and Obsidian, in my opinion are not worth it no matter how good the deal.

C
 
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