Cigar Review: HR by Cubanacan Cigars

Vitola: Toro
Size: 6” x 52 ring gauge
MSRP $21
Samples provided by Cubanacan Cigars

Background

One of the stories of 2014 was that of Cubanacan. Early in the year, they ended a distribution relationship and decided to take back their own sales. They proceeded to attract some top talent from other companies, then debuted a new collaborative line with Hirochi Robaina, grandson of the legendary Cuban tobacco grower. The company’s website describes the move in these terms:

Hirochi Robaina, grandson of the Legendary Alejandro Robaina dubbed the “Godfather of Cuban tobacco “ who was born in Alquízar in La Habana Province of Cuba but he grew up and lived most of his life in the renowned tobacco-growing Vuelta Abajo district of Pinar del Río Province where his family had been growing tobacco since 1845. Alejandro took over the operations of the plantation after the death of his father Maruto Robaina. The tobacco leaves from Robaina’s plantations are often considered among the best in the world and have been used by high quality cigars brands such as Cohiba and Hoyo de Monterrey. Before he passed away Alejandro left a hand written note saying (Hirochi, you are my hope, you can’t fail me, your grandfather.

A hope that Hirochi since vowed to maintain alive by continuing his grandfathers legacy. Expanding his horizons, Hirochi now unveils a unique blend from Nicaragua named HR a full bodied cigar rich in flavor and an exquisite aroma that will surely please your palate.

As usual, I missed the big show, but I did finally score a couple samples of HR when Nate from Cubanacan contacted me about reviewing some of their cigars. I smoked one when they first showed up, then waited a couple weeks before I lit up this second sample. The filler and binder of this cigar are all Nicaraguan (Estelí and Jalapa for the filler, Jalapa for the binder) while the wrapper is an Ecuadorian Habano Maduro.

Prelight

The HR definitely has the best look of anything coming from the Cubanacan factory so far. The cigar build looks excellent on first glance, and the band is elegant, classy, and suitably high-end in appearance. The use of brown, cream and gold reminds me a little of Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur bands, but only in the colors used, not in the design…besides, that actually brings back good memories for me as that was one of my early favorite cigars. The wrapper leaf was a dark chocolate brown with tons of oil but fairly small veins. Giving it a good sniff, I picked up earth and leather notes mostly. The foot is of the closed variety, so I really got nothing more with I took a whiff of that.

I clipped the head with my trusty Xikar Xi. I got a great prelight draw that tasted of cocoa powder and earth.

Flavor

This was one of those instances where the closed foot actually seemed to help lighting, rather than hinder it. It didn’t take long to get fully and evenly burning, after which time I tasted a thick earthiness that had touches of dark fruit sweetness and unsweetened cocoa powder underneath, along with just a hint of red pepper on the finish. The retrohale had the blast of pepper that I expected from the Nicaraguan-heavy blend. Anther 10 minutes went by and I hadn’t made much headway…this cigar seems to burn very slowly for some reason. The flavor of earth with a touch of sweetness hadn’t changed, although the pepper on the palate was starting to build up a bit by midway through the first third.

The second third of the HR began with a rich dark chocolate note up front and earth following close behind. So far the cigar had been quite full-bodied, although not really full-strength. As the cigar progressed, the pepper on the tongue became more of a chili pepper flavor.

The last third was more dark chocolate with a little sweetness, along with more full-bodied earthiness and a steady delivery of chili pepper.

Construction

Besides a couple minor touch ups, there were nothing negative to report here: great draw, very even burn line, solid ash up to almost a full inch.

Value

This is tricky…this cigar is in the $20 range, which for me is a very exclusive club of cigars. After two samples, I really like the cigar, but stop short of saying it’s worth the price of admission. If pressed to declare “What price tag would have compelled you to give a full point for value?” I’d have to say probably somewhere in the $13 to 15 range.

Conclusions

The HR is truly a very good cigar, providing a rich, satisfying smoking experience. But…I just feel like it falls a bit short of being worth the $20 price that’s attached to it. It could just be a matter of timing to be honest; I’ve had cigars in the not-too-distant-past that didn’t thrill me upon release, but after they sat for a couple months, they were much better. That’s impossible to say without trying another after they have shipped and sat in a properly humidified environment for a while. What I can say now is this: it definitely is the high point of the Cubanacan catalog and something you should try if you can get your hands on one.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: .5/1
Total: 8.5/10