Country: Nicaragua
Size: Robusto
Length: 5.5”
Ring gauge: 54
Wrapper: Maduro
Filler: Nicaragua
Strength: Full
Cost: $3 -$4 per cigar
Now every now and then, I run across a cigar that floors me from looks alone. It’s true I’m newbie at the cigar game but I’ve been through my share, believe me. The dark shaded sticks known as Maduros are the ones that makes me feel, let’s say….. scared. It’s like going to a restaurant and saying before you cross the door step, man, I don’t like Thai food, then you leave with a to-go box and dare anyone at home to touch your box of awesomeness.
That is what the Obsidian Robusto did for me. Just like a child, if I am swayed out of my comfort zone, I hate it, but once exposed to it, love is generated. Let me tell you (because I consider the reader of this review one of my friends) that before I smoked this, I lost my sister expectantly and hadn’t had a cigar for a week, so it was on the cleanest pallet available for a cigar smoker. I had the cigar on the way home from my parents and enjoyed it despite being fairly fresh. I had only a hour of down time, so consider this my way of dealing with all of my grief at that moment.
In a word, the Obsidian is memorable. Memorable packaging, memorable sizes, memorable in appearance, and a memorable level of flavor and power. It is skillfully married to produce one enchanting handmade stick. My thoughts on it were that the band is freaking huge. It isn’t gaudy because it is basically black with some very light writing on it, but this appears to be a 5×54 jaw breaker and the band covered 80% of it. However, my one and only fear of getting it off without damaging the wrapper was alleviated when it simply slid off. It had a very earthy smell of leather and coffee and the veins were very pronounced but constructed beautifully. It was raining quite hard that day with a weird fall cold front coming in which made it unusually warm so I ran the air conditioning on with the windows on only cracked in my jeep while I smoked it.
I lit it with wooden matches this time and once fired up, it smelled like a freshly ground dark roast, just a rich deep smell that had a hint of sweetness like molasses or raisins. The burn wandered quite a bit, but it stayed lit and all it needed were a few touch ups. The flavor was amazing for a cigar with such little rest. This is a full bodied cigar for sure. It had a peppery ash has a zebra-like look to it as it burns. Very classy, and strong. Ash held on throughout 80% of the smoke before it fell.
In conclusion, like most oily maduros, this one I expect will only get better with age so if you get a box of them save a couple for a year or two, I expect you will not be disappointed. Coming in at around $3.50 a piece, this is easily a go-to smoke for daily enjoyment and as the brothers in my hood say: “Don’t let the smooth taste fool ya.” This is for the cool in you.
Final Verdict Ratings:
Flavor: 7
Value: 9
Overall: 8
Complexity: 6
Finish: 8
Aroma: 7
Strength: 5
Overall: 8
Great review, I’m picking up a box of these for the holidays. If it’s as good as you say, it’ll become a mainstay in the humi.
Awesome! You have made me want one. I am actually drooling right now. When do they come off backorder?
Mark,
It looks like we’re going to be receiving another shipment of these the week of Christmas. They are a great stick, no doubt!
I purchased a sampler of these that also included a not well known offshoot called the Obsidean Experiment. They were smooth, rich and peppery and even had some mild hints of leather and earth. i liked them so much that I bought a sampler of these for a few of my buddies for Christmas. I have never heard a a bad word about them. Keep up the great work. I truly enjoy reading your blogs. From one fellow cigar smoker to another, I wish you all the best. Keep up the good work. Bob