Cohiba Red Dot Robusto Review

[Mr. Ed]

*Initial Impressions: I decided to start 2008 off tonight with something I've never smoked before. I received this cigar in a sampler that I bought from Famous-Smoke a little while ago. Truely enjoy the Pequenos from this blend, but I've never had one of the bigger ones (good or bad, right?). The wrapper had one or two small little blemishes on it, but was smooth on the whole and looked very good. I love cameroon wrappers



*Smoking: It was pretty damn cold and windy outside ( as you can see by the gloves ), but that caused no problems. The burn was razor-sharp, the draw was excellent, the ash was nice and firm and didn't flake off, and it burned very slow and cool. Great construction.

1) Started out with a "leather" like taste that was pretty medium-bodied with some hints of sweetness with a nice aroma. The finish was mildly sweet.



2) Same "leathery" taste here, but now there was a little bit of spice. Finish remained sweet and mild.



3) The "leathery" taste here became more robust and deeper, and the finish also began to have a deeper and longer lasting sweetness.



4) Became even more full-bodied at this point and the taste grew in complexity with some more spice. The finish was very deeply sweet and "leathery" at this point and stayed on the palate for a long time.



5) Nubbing it.



*Conclusions: This was a very enjoyable smoke that grew more and more full-bodied and complex the longer you smoked it. Flawless construction here. Not as complex or good tasting as some higher-end smokes in this price range, but nothing to complain about at the same time. That is where I believe that this smoke fails. Most people seem to poo-poo this smoke based on the value. I think if General Cigar priced these near the Punch or HdM lines or even the Macanudo line, the red dot Cohibas would be much more celebrated. Alas, the name does the sales and it is over-priced, a lot of better sticks at the same price or less. This is a good blend they've got here, but they seem to be over-playing their hand. The Pequenos of this blend are superb as far as quality and value. I don't think I will be trying the bigger versions much more often unless I receive them as a gift or sampler.

*Final Score: An 8/10 on the Mr. Ed scale

Thanks for reading

[MithShrike]

Thanks for the review!

[Advil]

nice review, i love the red dots. too bad they're a little pricey. I love the crystal corona.

[NAV3]

have a few of these sitting in my humi...thanks for the review i can't wait to smoke em!

[Dgar]

Nice review!

Thats one tough cameroon wrapper to take those cold temps.

I have one in the humi that I need to smoke, this will be my first Cohiba, NC Cohiba that is ....

[Bax]

I like these alot. You can get a 5-er for less than 20 bucks on C-bid if you're lucky. Nice review!

[duhman]

I just smoked one of these and was not that pleased. It started out tasting like a cigarette. That went awy after 3/4" and then it tasted better until a little more than half way. Then it got an ashtray taste that lasted foran inch or more. That went away and the rest of the smoke was good to the end. I have a hard time saying what I like about a good smoke but I can pick out the things I don't like. This was my first one so I will try them again in some time.

[IceChant]

Nice review, if I could I would give it a try but I can't get it in here as it uses a Cuban brand name.

[ja3480]

Thanks for the review

[hotreds]

I agree with you- the red dot is a fine ceegar. Someday, hopefully, I'll be able to comapre it to the "original!"

[joshtpa]

got a fiver from cbid in a large sampler and havent smoked one yet. Now I might have to pull it out.

[JAK]

I agree with you on the pequenos, those are one of my favorite small cigars. Great review.

[duhman]

I tried one again and this time I was pleased. A rich leathery taste with a touch of spice. A good smoke with a perfect burn all the way. I don't know what happened with the previous one. I'm glad I gave it another try. The review was spot on.

[Mr. Ed]

These are generally pretty good, but overpriced. They suffer from the comparison to other Cohiba. If you can find them cheap they're a nice buy.