Vitola: Robusto- 5.125” x 52 ring gauge
- MSRP $32.00
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
Davidoff has been “replaying” various limited editions for the past two or three years, partly because it’s a way of bringing out “new” product in the age of FDA regulations and substantial equivalency…bring out a “grandfathered” product again! The Robusto Intenso was first released as a Limited Edition in 2005 and was re-released in the second half of 2020.
Robusto Intenso features six specific tobaccos in the blend: 4 Dominican fillers (Smilla 254 Visus, Yamasa Visus, Piloto Visus, and San Vicente Majorado Ligero), a Dominican San Vicente Seco binder, and an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. They describe it as a “6-star cigar” because 5 isn’t enough:
- The first star is for the Havana-seed filler tobacco, grown in the rich red soil of the land north of San Domingo, which signifies spice and intensity.
- Second star is for the Piloto filler tobacco from an exclusive part of the Valle del Yaque, which lends depth to the aroma.
- The third star is for the San Vincente Mejorado filler tobacco from Santiago Rodriguez, which brings complexity.
- Fourth star is for the Hybrid 254 filler tobacco from Jicomé, which stimulates the sweet and sour taste buds.
- The fifth star is for the San Vicente binder, which adds a different dimension of sweetness.
- And the final star is for the special Ecuadorian wrapper, fashioned from small quantities exclusively grown for Davidoff, encircling the whole with a singular spiciness.
I have smoked several of these before this review sample, all of which were purchased at Burns Tobacconist. If you don’t have a Davidoff Appointed Merchant near you, our sponsor, Small Batch Cigar, has them in stock at the time of this writing.
Prelight
I sometimes wonder if Davidoff gets tired of cigars that look immaculate and perfect. If I dared ask that of Jeff Stone or Henke Kelner when they were in the same room, I imagine I’d get a withering look…or a laugh…or both. Anyway, yes, this continues the tradition of Davidoff releases that are practically perfect in every way. The main band is the standard Davidoff white label with “Limited Edition” on the left arm. The secondary band is in line with what they’ve done lately, just listing the name of the blend in plain type. It’s all very elegant, clean, and…well…perfect.
The wrapper leaf was a milk chocolate shade of brown with some oiliness under my fingertips and very little bumpiness. It had an aroma of earth, barnyard, and fall leaves that have worked on decomposing through the winter and into the spring. The foot had more earth, along with complimentary notes of bread, cocoa powder, and coffee beans.
After clipping, I got an almost-perfect draw (it could have been 10% looser for my tastes) and a cold flavor that mixed chocolate-covered cherries, black pepper, citrus, and pizza dough.
Flavor
Firing up the Robusto Intenso was a challenge with it being what seemed like the windiest day of fall. The bright sunlight made it impossible to see my torch’s flame but the sputtering noise made it pretty clear that it was having trouble staying even. Once going, though, I experienced roasted nuttiness and coffee bean flavors up front, backed up by notes of earth and bread, with a slightly peppery finish. The retrohale had a more intense red pepper flake.
As I got into the second third the bready notes increased while coffee receded. Earth and citrus and pepper still played secondary notes, dancing around the palate, while the nose got pepper and nutty notes.
The last third was a continuation of the symphony of bread and citrus and pepper along with a little underlying dark fruit sweetness.
Construction
If you guessed that construction on a Davidoff was perfect, you would be correct.
Value
As with other Davidoff LE releases in the past few years, these are expensive. The fact that it was fantastic made it worth the price.
Conclusions
The Robusto Intenso is another very worthy addition to the Davidoff Limited Edition release schedule and one that I wouldn’t mind seeing every two or three years. In this day when FDA concerns make new blends difficult, if not impossible, having something extra special from the past every few years make a lot of sense. This blend is complex and rich, justifying every cent of the admission price north of $30 per stick.
Some images courtesy Davidoff
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10