Taboo: SF Original Robusto 5x54 Review

[MarkinCA]

Let me tell you something, if you haven’t burned one of these SFO’s yet, you need to get off your keister and do so. What a wonderful experience it was smoking this stick from Taboo. Its appearance is slightly on the ruff looking side, with an oily tackiness, and firm construction (my kinda stick!). The SFO employs a Costa Rican Maduro Wrapper which lends to a relaxing sweet tobacco prelight aroma through the nose (there’s another scent in there I’d like to call licorice, but don’t hold me to it). Draw is above average, just right, and maintains itself from start to finish. Of interest, when checking the draw, immediately a peppery sweetness attached itself to my lips. I smacked my lips again to re-check the draw and there it was again. Like sugar water was used to fix the cap to the head. Nothing negative, just simply enjoyable:


I pulled out my Torch PB-207 and fired-up this thoroughbred, because when the gates opened, this stick jumped out and took the inside track with a solid medium to full body flavor and strength from start until finish. A majority of the time it keep trying to push the envelope to full body. Note: this stick you want to work slowly and not fast, and make sure you have a good meal prior to lighting-up:



About the first quarter inch, flavors of pepper and sweet tobacco kept hitting my palate. The pepper left and only the sweet tobacco flavor remained until the end of this smoke. During the remainder of this smoke, the flavor was heavy and mainly sweet tobacco with mild scent of hay and lite pepper in the background:



The burn was fairly even, requiring some touch-ups here and there, but I think that’s due to some humidity the sticks may be holding onto. Since my humi is running around 65% to 66% RH, I’ll let the remainder of these sticks rest for a month and revisit them at that time. You like smoke? This one has copious amounts of aromatic smoke:





All in all, I spent about two hours getting to know my SFO Robusto (and sometimes it tried to buck me off. Probably the ligero fillers. Note #2: Do not work this cigar fast!). If you like a LFD DL-600, ITC 10th Anniversary Robusto, or LGC Series R #6, then I know you will love the Taboo SFO Robusto in 5x54. This stick is going to be in my regular rotation from now on. On a side note, it would be interesting to see this one in 52 RG sometime.

To Rob, I don’t know who is doing the blending and rolling on this stick, but please give them a big thumbs-up on this one…

[TripleF]

Great review Mark!! Fantastic pics!! Superb overall job!!
Thanks!

[longknocker]

Nice Review & Pics., Mark! I have some resting in my Humi also. If it's anything like the ITC, I'll love it! Thanks again for the review!

[Volt]

Great pics and review. My pattette isn't what yours is but I think I have this on the agenda for today. It's either this one or two on the more medium size. Gotta make sure I can get 2 hours to smoke at one time.

[BamBam]

I smoked one of these a couple Friday's ago. It is definitely a powerful stick, definitely on the full body side for me.

[Major Captain Silly]

Great review! I'm finding there may be a Taboo cigar for every "cigar mood" I'm in at the moment.

MCS

[gnukfu]

Nice review! I got a bunch of these a couple of days ago and I'm going to light one up after dinner tonight. Can't wait!

[gnukfu]

I just smoked my first SFO.

The flavor profile was just like Mark described and I did notice the licorice notes you also experienced Mark.

The construction was beautiful - this cigar was triple capped.

The draw was absolutely perfect which is important to me. As a matter of fact I have noticed that every Taboo I have smoked has a great draw.

Overall, a great, flavorful, well constructed full bodied cigar and another winner from Rob!!! Two thumbs up!

[BigMak]

I'm getting very tempted to try these, even
though I pride myself on being a $2 and under smoker.

By the way, that's one of the best pics of a cigar I've
ever seen! Wow, what detail! Good job and thank you!

[JJVaughn]

Smoking one of these right now. Your review is dead on. Taboo will soon have yet another returning customer from CS.

For all of you that haven't bought from Taboo yet, believe the hype!

[MarkinCA]

Originally Posted by BigMak

By the way, that's one of the best pics of a cigar I've ever seen! Wow, what detail! Good job and thank you!

[SIZE=3]Thanks. Sun reflection had alot to do with that...[/SIZE]

[RevSmoke]

Wow, that's incredible. Got a sampler from Taboo the other day. Was looking at these and although I wanted them to rest from their travels about 2 weeks, well.... I got impatient.

I am a volunteer for the Embarrass Fire Department, and last nite was our monthly business meeting. We also were going to be trading equipment over from our old truck (a GMC from 1954) to our new truck (a used rig from 199?). So, I knew we'd be outside part of the time, so I jumped the gun.

Nice review. It was an easy draw. I agree with the flavor profile, sweet tobacco, lite spice, but I got hints of butterscotch... Licorice??? Hmm, have to think about that... Better yet, I got a few more, if I just... (note to self --- patience, wait for them to rest and read rest of this post)

I did have a minor problem, and this is probably due to not letting them sit to rest and settle in - while it burned fairly evenly, it also tunneled incredibly. At one point, it was a good 3/4 inch under the wrapper. I had a good inch & a half solid white ash, but about a 1/2 inch of the wrapper just below the ash looked puckered in. I rubbed off the ash and had to look into the foot to see the cherry - nice even burn, just left the wrapper unconsumed. Actually thought it was kinda humorous. I torched it a bit and continued on.

The tunneling was a minor inconvenience, this was a great smoke.

[tccigar]

Mark,
Thanks for the review. Smoking one now. Great flavor. This cigar is not for everyone. If you can't get pass the first inch (because of the strength), you will not make it to the best part of this cigar. Try any other Taboo Blend but this one if you do not smoke full body.

Inventory is low on this stick.

Have a great week,CS
Rob

[WyoBob]

Originally Posted by RevSmoke

I did have a minor problem, and this is probably due to not letting them sit to rest and settle in - while it burned fairly evenly, it also tunneled incredibly. At one point, it was a good 3/4 inch under the wrapper. I had a good inch & a half solid white ash, but about a 1/2 inch of the wrapper just below the ash looked puckered in.

Did you notice a return to "the best flavor" after touching up? It seems that I can notice the beginnings of tunneling simply because the flavor profile has changed and that an immediate touch-up restores lost flavor. (I'm talking about cigars in general, not Taboos. And, I think this happens more in maduro cigars although I have very little experience with cigars with other wrappers.)

WyoBob

[duhman]

This is one of the best full bodied cigars but you have to plan around it. I'm all for seeing a thinner version.