[BlackIrish]

The cigar: REO Robusto, 5 x 52

I was lucky enough to get this cigar in my first Newbie PIF -- thanks, Backstepper!

Prelight: This is a solid little robusto, slightly pressed. The wrapper is dark, with a slightly oily sheen, smooth with only small veins. After I sized it up, I decided that the sturdy and slightly flat head would take a plug cutter just fine, and so it did. Despite the firmness, the prelight draw was easy, and I tasted rich tobacco flavors.

Burn: the cigar lit easily and burned somewhat slowly. The burn was generally straight, though I experienced a slight boating in the second half. It needed a few touch ups to keep it going in the last third, as it almost went out on me once or twice. The draw was excellent, and the REO produced good volumes of cool smoke. The firm ash was light to medium gray.

Flavor: dark tobacco and mild spice at the start, with a medium body (I've seen it described as full, but it was solidly medium to me). The finish was mostly clean and light. As the smoke progressed, it mellowed into a creamy richness with notes of coffee, some chocolate, some nuttiness, very slight sweetness. The flavor stays pretty consistent throughout, tasty but not especially complex. I've read reviews that report some harshness in the last third, but I didn't experience any; perhaps mine had the benefit of some age.

A very good, well-constructed cigar. I'd definitely smoke it again.