Originally published at Tiki Bar Online
Ambition (Robusto), 5” x 50 ring gauge / MSRP $7.65
It’s always nice to try out new blends if only to see what other people are thinking when they come up with new products. I recently was contacted by James from Rebellious Cigars, a regional company that currently is placed in several shops in South Carolina, including Outman Cigars in Greenville, which the Rebellious crew consider their “home shop.” They wanted to get information about the Chattanooga Tweet-Up, which is natural since they are only 250 miles away according to Google Maps (or about 475, according to Apple Maps…strange…hmm). I told them all about the Tweet-Up and they will be sponsoring the event; I also offered to review their blend if here on the blog if they wanted…and that was good with them, too. I smoked 3 cigars for this review, although all were different sizes and I saved the Robusto–called Ambition–to write about. According to James, the filler is 40% Jalapa (Nicaragua) Viso, 40% Estelí (Nicaragua), and 20% Dominican Piloto Cubano; the binder is a Nicaraguan Habano; the wrapper is an Ecuadorian Habano. This “Signature Series” from Rebellious Cigars is also available in 6” x 50 and 6” x 60 sizes, retailing at $8.15 and $8.95 respectively.
The band on these is pretty large…an inch and a half from top to bottom, as a matter of fact. It does serve as a showcase for some beautiful calligraphic typography, though, that serves as the Rebellious Logo. I love the shape of the letters and the swirling ornamentation around the lettering…what I don’t love is the color they used…kind of a neon lime green, bordering on yellow, laying on a black background. It ends up being a bit anachronistic looking and jarring. A simple silver foil might have pulled the whole thing together better. It encircles a wrapper that is a nice light brown with a gorgeous coating of oil. Construction appeared to be very good, but you can’t tell everything about that just from looking at the outside. The wrapper had an aroma of hay with a bit of underlying earthiness; the foot had a riper earthiness, as well as a woody note and some sweet hay. After cutting the cap off, I got a very good draw that had orange peel and hay flavors right up front.
Getting the Rebellious Ambition started took a little more time and gas than I really thought it would. Seems like the tobacco is just extra moist or oily, maybe? Eventually I did get it evenly lit and got earth and hay flavors right off the bat, along with a touch of that orange peel flavor I got in prelight. Oddly that is a flavor I normally associate with Peruvian leaf, but it comes through loud and clear here despite having no Peruvian content. On the nose, the smoke was very earthy with a dash of black pepper. The smoke was quite drying to the palate, making me very happy I had my water handy. At the end of the first third, the cigar had settled into a grassy flavor profile, with plenty of the orange and citrus notes in the background as well as some earth and cedar from time to time. Body started around medium and the needle did not move so far.
The second third continued the themes started later on in the first third: grassy, some earth and cedar. The sweetness remained, although it moved away from a citrus note to a more general “sweet tobacco” flavor. Construction was excellent; I had a very straight burn line with no touch-ups, a consistently great draw, and strong, solid ash that didn’t flake into my lap.
In the last third, I got more of a molasses sweetness that dominated the flavor before the cigar ended. There was still plenty of earthiness and cedar in the background, too. I would say the body ended where it began, right at the medium level, and strength was right there, too. Of the three I had, this Robusto size definitely was the standout. The 6×60 was muted in flavor and the Toro didn’t distinguish itself quite as much. I found this to be a good cigar that should appeal to a large cross-section of smokers, but it might not have enough body, kick, or flavor explosion to appeal to everyone. Rebellious Cigars will be debuting their “Submission Series,” an MMA-themed line with a Maduro wrapper at the IPCPR show.
Body: 5/10
Strength: 5/10
Complexity: 6/10
AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10
