Cigar Review: Bombay Tobak MBombay Classic

Vitola: Robusto
Size: 4.5″ x 48 ring gauge
Price ~$9.00
Obtained From Ron at MBombay Cigars as a review sample

Background

Today I’ll be taking a look at a new cigar on the market, the MBombay Classic from Bombay Tobak which is a new distribution company from the owner of the Fame Lounge in Palm Springs, CA.  I hadn’t really heard much about them before Ron approached us with the site sponsorship and review samples.  They have released two lines to start the Classic (seen here) and the Maduro.  The Classic line comes in five sizes, Belicoso (5″ x 52), Churchill (7″ x 48), Corona (5″ x 43), Perfecto (6″ x 50) and a Robusto (4.5″ x 48).  They come packed in 20 count boxes and have a retail prices that ranges from $8.50-$11.50.  The classic is comprised of fillers from Nicaragua, Peru, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic, a binder from the Dominican Republic, and an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade 2001 wrapper.  I smoked one of the belicoso cigars before this one.

Prelight

I know the published size says is 4.5×48 but felt and looked exactly the same size (5×52) as the belicoso I had.  The wrapper on this cigar was a nice golden tan in color with a good amount of oil to it.  There were some fine and medium sized veins as well.  The band on it was very ornate and very colorful, although it was a bit difficult to differentiate where the band stopped and the wrapper started in bright sunlight.  When I put my nose to the wrapper I could detect the aroma of sweet hay with light barnyard coming from the foot.  After clipping it and taking a cold draw on it I got some graham and honey with a good draw.

Flavor

The cigar starts off with a good amount of spice on the tongue and retrohale.  This does tone down a bit after a few puffs.  I started to note flavors of hay, leather, wood, hints of cinnamon with a slightly sweet finish.  I did get a slight amount of bitterness from it as well.  The cigar was firmly in the medium strength range to start.  As I moved into the second third the flavors were pretty much the same as the first third.  The spice was still present but wasn’t as intense.  The bitterness was still there as well.  Once I got to the final third the only change to the flavor I noticed that I started to get hints of copper and that the bitterness had almost gone completely away.  The cigar pretty much stayed medium strength throughout.

Construction

Overall the draw was great.  There was a small tunnel that developed but it didn’t cause a thin draw for more than a few puffs.  The burn line was pretty straight in spite of the gusting breezes that were going on when I was smoking it.

Value

I’m kind of on the fence on the price here.  The price range of this cigar puts it in about normal for cigars from small companies.  But it’s price point also puts it above the cigars I like of this blend type.

Conclusions

Overall this wasn’t a bad cigar, but there just wasn’t anything that grabbed me, and a Connecticut Shade wrapped cigar really needs to do that since I’m not the biggest fan of that varietal.  I will note that these cigars seem a little young as I noted bitterness in of both of them.  This parejo shaped cigar didn’t have as much as the belicoso I had previously.  I think these will be better with just a bit of age.  I’m curious to see what the Maduro tastes like if I can find it locally.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: .5/1
Total: 8/10