Vitola: Short Robusto
Size: 4.5” x 56 ring gauge
Price: $9.25
Purchased at Silo Cigars
Background
Last month, I reviewed a new cigar called Smoking Jacket, made by the Kelner Boutique Factory and blended by Hendrick Kelner, Jr., son of the famed master blender for Davidoff. I discovered during the research phase of the cigar, that there were 4 different sizes of Smoking Jacket, each with its own specific blend. While every vitola of a line needs a tweak to the blend to stay “in the family” these vitolas are more than just tweaked. The Robusto Imperial that I reviewed last month used 40% Dominican, 40% Nicaraguan and 20% Peruvian Pelo d Oro leaf, while the wrapper was Brazilian Cubra. I enjoyed it well enough that I decided to give at least a couple other vitolas/blends a try, so when I was in Knoxville shortly before Christmas, I made a point of stopping by Silo Cigars to pick them up. Today I’m looking at the Short Robusto, which is reportedly 60% Dominican, 40% Nicaraguan and 20% Kelner Family Reserva (which makes 120%…but I just report the news); the wrapper is a Dominican leaf aged for 9 years.
This review is based on my first experience with this vitola/blend.
Prelight
To start, the band is the same…the exact same…for each of the four vitolas…which I may have mentioned are four separate blends. I find this a perfect opportunity for confusion to reign in the humidor. And the boxes had no information as to blend make-up on them, either. And one person at the shop didn’t know they were different blends at first. Actually, he said there were two different blends, each in two sizes…which is directly in contradiction with what’s on the Facebook page. So to say this is confusing is a bit of an understatement. It’s a good looking band, but there should be some way to tell the different blends apart. Just my 2 cents. (Also, this is just a bit of a rant…overall, the cigar looked good, but I wanted to get my feelings on the marketing aspect out there.)
The wrapper was the shade of a Starbucks Caramel Latte…or just a heavily creamered cup o’ joe for those who don’t frequent the Bigbucks Coffee Company. It had a very oily feel to it and a couple medium to large veins. I got an aroma of wet earth and hay on the wrapper, along with cedar, pepper and more earth on the foot. The cigar looked mostly well-put-together, although the cap was just a little janky…like someone was in a hurry to finish or something. Not a huge deal, but it was noticeable because the lines of the cap weren’t smooth and even around the shoulders. It didn’t cause any problem when I clipped the cap off, so no harm, no foul. The cold draw was excellent and tasted of earth and cedar.
Flavor
Lighting up was harder than expected. I was sure I had it going, then looked at the foot and saw a section near the center that appeared to not being burning. So I hit it again…same result…and again…and it was slightly better. But it still wasn’t bright orange like the rest before I gave up…didn’t want to risk overheating the rest of the leaf or scorching the wrapper. The Short Robusto Smoking Jacket led off with damp earth and cedar on the palate, while I got a chili pepper nasal burn. After about five minutes I got some black coffee notes joining on the palate, resulting in a more substantial body and distinctive flavor.
As the first third burned into the second, the coffee developed into a creamier note and the cedar picked up a bit. The pepper spice diminished somewhat, although no leaving the building completely. By the time I got to the last third, the pepper was pretty much an afterthought, as I got loads of cedar and some sour citrus notes. The coffee and earthiness had mostly disappeared, although there was a bit of natural tobacco sweetness in the form of a flavor that I associate with some Dominican cigars like La Aurora or Fuente.
Construction
I found the burn line to be even enough, needing no touchups through the first third. The ash was solid…so much so that I had to forcibly remove the ash at one point because I wanted to avoid dropping it on the floor. The draw was excellent throughout.
Value
The price of $9.25 is a little on the high side for a Short Robusto; not much, but I almost feel like breeching that $9 on this vitola would make me think twice. Still, it is a “boutique” cigar (for whatever that means these days), so a slightly higher than average price is probably to be expected.
Conclusions
I enjoyed the Smoking Jacket Short Robusto, but I did not fall in love with it. While some people enjoy a cedar-heavy flavor profile, I found this one to be too much for my palate, not being balanced well enough with other flavor for me. Regardless, it is a very well made cigar and will surely appeal to some of you readers.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10
This article originally appeared at Tiki Bar Online
