Cigar: Protocol Sir Robert Peel Natural
Size: 6×52 Box-Pressed Toro
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Rosado
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
MSRP: $11.95
Cigars provided by the manufacturer
For those of you who are regular readers might remember my review of the Protocol K9 that I did last year. It struck a chord with me as it ended up on my favorites list for 2018. This spring, I bit the bullet and smoked the last of the Protocol K9 that was floating around my humidor. Fast forward a few months, I was elated to be contacted by Cubariqueño Cigar Company to see if I would be interested in checking out their new offering that released last month: the Protocol Sir Robert Peel. Coming in both natural and maduro blends, the cigar is named after Sir Robert Peel who is considered to be the father as to what we know today as the modern police force. I would like to thank Cubariqueño Cigar Company for the opportunity to try and review their cigar.
No construction issues on the cigar chosen for review (third cigar smoked out of the group). For box-pressed cigars, I usually opt for a larger V cut and this was no different. The cold draw after the cut brought about faint leather and pepper onto the palette while the pre-light aromas were a mix of wood and toasted nuts. The light gave a balanced draw with opening flavor notes of strong wood, spice, and a citrus-like acidity on the front side of the palette with pepper on the aftertaste. This is a medium bodied cigar from the start with a balanced and smooth draw that stays easy on the palette. 20 minutes into the cigar was when I found the spice to begin vanishing from the profile while the pepper aftertastes, while subdued, still lingered. 18 minutes after that, the pepper was more or less gone from the cigar while the wood flavor began growing ever stronger. It was this point where the strength began modestly rising, just passing into the medium-to-full bodied range by the very end of the cigar. Total smoking time on the Protocol Sir Robert Peel clocked in at quick 1:01.
Besides a relight or two on the cigar, the cigar smoked without an issue. Judging from the smoking time, I found the Sir Robert Peel to smoke a little bit on the quick side but that could just be me. All in all, this was an enjoyable medium cigar that was a pleasure to smoke.
By-The-Numbers
Pre-light: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
To recap the Protocol Sir Robert Peel:
- The Sir Robert Peel is a nicely blended medium bodied cigar with a fair amount of complexity in flavor.
- The natural blend in my opinion would be more than doable for the vast majority of cigar smokers regardless of their tastes.
- What will separate folks from this cigar however is the cost. The almost $12.00 per cigar is right on the line of comfort for me but in my opinion worth the price.
- I would definitely purchase these if found in my local B&Ms. The maduro version of this cigar is on my list to try.
- I enjoyed these for sure but still prefer the Protocol K9. Maybe the maduro will sway me…only time will tell.
Thank you once again to Cubariqueño Cigar Company for the opportunity to review the Protocol Sir Robert Peel. Thank you to all of you for reading.
