Series 601 Maduro (Blue label) Robusto Review

[billybarue]

Ricky gifted out a load of series 601's and was looking for some reviews so here goes.

Pretty verbose so if you want the readers digest version - Recommend, but I wanted to give a diligent review to thank 12Stones for the gift.

Cigar - EO Series 601 Robusto (5.25 x 50)

Retail (Best On-line Price) - $145/20 (Cigars International)

Storage – about three weeks with my other Pepin smokes at 65% to stabilize (not sure when Ricky [12 stones] purchased it. Dry box for two days with about 15 other smokes.

Construction Looks like a triple cap, wrapper nice and smooth (wouldn’t call it oily). Absolutely first rate construction.



Cut – Palio, easy cut

Pre-light draw was perfect for me – (medium +) leaning toward the tighter side. A nice little tug, but definitely not tight.

On the fire up a little bit of a bite on the tongue and I am having some trouble keeping it lit. Need to double puff before you get a decent amount of smoke. A little bite again, but we are just starting out, but I can’t help but think some more age would tame that “bitiness”. Ashed at 1 inch. Pretty ragged burn so far.



Beginning the 2nd third and the flavor has smoothed out nicely, and am now getting a little better smoke production. Better smoke and smoother taste has thankfully lessened my confusion on this stick. The “double – puff” beginning was a little aggravating. Smoke could be better yet though. I notice when I put it on the ashtray there is a lot of smoke off the foot of the cigar, but nothing out of the top of the stick. There should be at least some smoke coming out the tip.

Nice maduro flavor backing the Nicaraguan tobacco, it has a hint of sweetness as opposed to many maduros with a cloying “sachariny” sweetness - this is obviously very nicely blended. Very nice aroma, with a medium (+) finish.

Passed the mid point and the burn getting acceptable. Smoke production is better, allowing flavor to come through. I think the Nicaraguan filler doesn’t allow the Maduro to dominate, and in my mind this could be a tricky marriage, similar to the difficulty of marrying Connecticut shape wrapper with spicy Nicaraguan tobacco. It is done very well in this stick, though. Very nice aroma to this cigar complements the taste. The aroma is sweeter than the taste, almost pipe-like.



Half-way through and the cigar has softened up on me, and I think that indicates to me where the short-comings are on this cigar– WITH ME. I think the cigar is too wet. I store my Pepins at 65% and am just starting to dry-box diligently. The Louisiana humidity has given me problems in the past - I really think cigars “wick” humidity during the smoking process. The girth of this stick and solid construction led me to believe it was dry-boxed enough, but the mushy feel lets me know I was wrong.

That explains the trouble lighting in the beginning, the less than perfect burn, and difficulty drawing.

Clearly a fine cigar. Trouble with this review is that I have also smoked the 601 Habano Toro Kenny gifted and thought it was excellent, and that one was in perfect smoking condition. I will still give this stick a pretty enthusiastic recommend. Watch your storing and keep it on the dryer side. This is a must try for maduro fans, and fans of PAMs. I am definately going to try this again and make sure my storage is better.

Thanks Ricky! [SIZE="3"](FOR GAUGING PURPOSES THE NAME IS 12STONES!!!)[/SIZE]

[texasbadbob]

Good review!

[montecristo#2]

Joe - great review.

I actually bought a fiver of these a while back, how could I resist a Pepin maduro?

My experience was slightly different. I smoked one a couple of days after I received the package and the cigar was a little dry for me. I have to say the draw was almost too loose, as it produced tons and tons of smoke. I normally like my cigars like this, but this one was almost too much. The construction was solid as well, with a great ash.

The flavor profile was a little off to me and I think you nailed it.

Originally Posted by billybarue

This is a must try for maduro fans, and fans of PAMs.

To me, this cigar tasted a lot more like a Padron than a Pepin. I don't know if it was the maduro wrapper, but after smoking one of these, I thought it would be a good (cheaper) alternative to some of the higher priced Padron's.

Not a bad cigar, but not sure if I would buy more in the future as Padron's really aren't doing it for me these days. I will let the other three sit for a while and try again in a couple of months.

Great review and nice pictures!

[bhudson57]

Another great review! Thanks!