Cigar Review: Neanderthal by RoMa Craft

• Vitola: HN (Figurado)
• 5” x 52/58 ring gauge 
• MSRP $12
• Purchased at Silo Cigars

Background

Skip Martin set about making his first cigar in 2009. I remember him telling me at one point that he was looking to make something just for himself, but if other people wanted to smoke it, that would be fine, too. The result was Cromagnon, what would eventually become the first blend from RoMa Craft Cigars. He followed it up with Acquitaine, Intemperance BA and EC, and line extensions and special edition releases. Then he came back around to the idea he had at first…and with his increased knowledge of tobacco he was able to produce the cigar he had really intended several years earlier: Neanderthal.

This new blend debuted in a single size earlier this year, with a second store and event exclusive size available as well. The HN is a figured that starts at 52 ring gauge before flaring out to 58 about 3/4 to 1 inch from the foot, then slowly taping back to 52 at the head. It features 4 types of Nicaraguan leaf, in addition to Dominican Olor and Pennsylvania Double Ligero Broadleaf, in the filler. This “Double Ligero” leaf is a “regrowth” leaf that comes after a plant is primed once already; the result is a leaf with a naturally higher nicotine level…about double the amount…which allows for the creation of a much stronger blend. Added to this are a Connecticut Broadleaf binder and Mexican San Andres Maduro wrapper.

I had the Neanderthal in the Petite Corona size earlier this year after weaseling a Petite Corona sampler pack from someone at the RoMa Craft booth at the trade show. It was as strong a cigar as I can recall. I picked up this regular release sample at Silo Cigars in Knoxville recently…and made sure I ate a heavy and filling lunch before sitting down to review it.

Prelight

The RoMa Craft cigars have come a long way in the last few years, just in terms of appearance. It’s subtle, but the addition of bands make these cigar instantly recognizable to anyone that has seen them before. The layering of bands uses a white band with deckled edged, then a slightly smaller band in a specific color centered on top of that bottom band. For Cromagnon, the color band is black…for Acquitaine, it’s brown…for Neanderthal, we have a burnt orange. That orange band has “Neanderthal” blind embossed into it, and the RoMa Craft logo reversed out of it at the point where it is glued. It is a subtle look, but unique and immediately recognizable, which is what you want in today’s crowded cigar humidors.

The wrapper leaf was a dark chocolate brown, with an excessively oily feel and a little sandpaper toothiness under my fingers. It had aromas of earth and coffee bean and just a little bit of anise. The foot had natural tobacco, earth and leathery notes to it.

With the very flat top to this cigar, I knew my best choice would be to punch it, but I also didn’t want to make for too small a channel for the smoke, then risk the build-up of tarry tobacco juice as a result, so I decided on a double-barrel-punch. The result was a very good cold draw that had plenty of earthiness to it, along with semi-sweet chocolate, pepper spice, espresso bean, and pepper spice.

Flavor

I fired up the Neanderthal and was immediately taken with the sweet flavor that was almost brownie-like…notes of bread and chocolate…right up front. Underlying that were more bitter and complimentary notes of coffee and earth, along with a finish that had cedar and black pepper. The retrohale of the Neanderthal had a dual punch of red pepper and roasted nuts.

Burning my way into the second third, the sweeter flavors had taken a back seat to a more leathery flavor profile. While the leather notes were prominent, the notes of cocoa powder, bread, coffee and earth did not fade completely away. The different tobaccos in play definitely helped amp up the complexity.

The leathery flavors continued to dominate in the last third while the high nicotine content of this blend became evident. I still got sweeter notes from the Maduro leaves scattered throughout the blend, and espresso and earth underneath that.

Construction

The ash held on for the entire first third. The draw was nothing short of fantastic. The burn line was even enough for having Maduro wrapper and binder leaves.

Value

Neanderthal is not cheap, but it may be RoMa Craft’s best tasting blend…I haven’t quite decided if I prefer it to the Cromagnon or not. For that, I’d say the price is justified.

Conclusions

Simply put, the Neanderthal is a damn tasty cigar with tons of complexity. It is a full-bodied blend while also being a very strong cigar. To be honest, I’m not sure if this is the strongest cigar I’ve ever had, but it’s in the top 5, I’d say. It might lose a little of its strength when aged extensively, but doing so might also put a damper on the flavors that come through, so I’d say…if you love a strong cigar that tastes great, too, you surely can’t go wrong with this one.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10

RoMa Craft Neanderthal is available at site sponsors Small Batch Cigar and Stogies World Class Cigars.