Graycliff Professionale Robusto
Blue label - with second band – Vintage 1999
Cmontgomery sent me a few cigars, this was among them. I had looked at these, but never pulled the trigger on one, as it I could get about 10 cigars for the cost of one of these if I shop the deals. Being an unknown, and not one to jump on board anything just for hype - I thought I’d wait. Sooner or later I’d have reason to try one. Well, I was blessed to be gifted one. Thanks!
1) Aesthetics: Robustos are my favorite size, and this was a gorgeous example of that size. A wonderful, oily, caramel wrapper with minimal veins (and those present were small) makes this a great looking stick.
Score for aesthetics: 4.8
2) Pre-light Construction: Firm cigar with nice weight. I was hoping this wasn’t going too tight. After cutting, a sample draw showed I needed be worried.
Score for Pre-light construction: 4.6
3) Post-light Construction/How it smoked: Ooops, the gorgeous wrapper is a bit delicate. The bands were poorly applied, the smaller one was actually glued to the wrapper and in trying to remove it, a small portion of the wrapper came with it - not causing a hole to the binder leaf, but one would not have expected that. It did tunnel a bit, but not too badly. It was a very easy draw.
Score for post-light construction: 3.5
4) Flavor and strength: This was an incredible smoke. I have never experienced one quite like it. It exhibited a flavor I had never encountered before - citrus - almost like a spiced orange tea. Considering I was drinking a Sam Adams Cream Stout with it, the citrus overtones were not a contribution of the beverage. This is not a powerhouse, but a solid medium-bodied cigar. It also gave hints of leather and burnt chocolate.
Score for flavor and strength: 4.9
5) Aftertaste/Finish: I was surprised by the ephemeral nature of the finish. Poof and it was gone, even without a sip of stout in between. What little there was though, was pleasant spiciness. What amazed me was that the next morning, I didn’t get up with the aftertaste of a cigar lingering on my palate - normally a cigar always leaves some taste for the morning... This is a huge plus!
Score for aftertaste: 4.5
6) Aroma: I always enjoy the sideslip smoke and aroma of a good cigar. This one brought comments from a couple other people - “hey, I didn’t know cigars could smell nice.” Again, there were the hints of citrus spice, and what I love as good solid tobacco smell.
Score for aroma: 4.7
7) General Comments: To bad this is not more moderately priced, I’d snag a batch. If I ever see them in the price range I can justify, I will grab up a couple of them.
Overall score for the cigar: 4.7
I would again like to thank my benefactor for the opportunity to try this delightful smoke. It was definitely a treat! Thanks!!!
Blue label - with second band – Vintage 1999
Cmontgomery sent me a few cigars, this was among them. I had looked at these, but never pulled the trigger on one, as it I could get about 10 cigars for the cost of one of these if I shop the deals. Being an unknown, and not one to jump on board anything just for hype - I thought I’d wait. Sooner or later I’d have reason to try one. Well, I was blessed to be gifted one. Thanks!
1) Aesthetics: Robustos are my favorite size, and this was a gorgeous example of that size. A wonderful, oily, caramel wrapper with minimal veins (and those present were small) makes this a great looking stick.
Score for aesthetics: 4.8
2) Pre-light Construction: Firm cigar with nice weight. I was hoping this wasn’t going too tight. After cutting, a sample draw showed I needed be worried.
Score for Pre-light construction: 4.6
3) Post-light Construction/How it smoked: Ooops, the gorgeous wrapper is a bit delicate. The bands were poorly applied, the smaller one was actually glued to the wrapper and in trying to remove it, a small portion of the wrapper came with it - not causing a hole to the binder leaf, but one would not have expected that. It did tunnel a bit, but not too badly. It was a very easy draw.
Score for post-light construction: 3.5
4) Flavor and strength: This was an incredible smoke. I have never experienced one quite like it. It exhibited a flavor I had never encountered before - citrus - almost like a spiced orange tea. Considering I was drinking a Sam Adams Cream Stout with it, the citrus overtones were not a contribution of the beverage. This is not a powerhouse, but a solid medium-bodied cigar. It also gave hints of leather and burnt chocolate.
Score for flavor and strength: 4.9
5) Aftertaste/Finish: I was surprised by the ephemeral nature of the finish. Poof and it was gone, even without a sip of stout in between. What little there was though, was pleasant spiciness. What amazed me was that the next morning, I didn’t get up with the aftertaste of a cigar lingering on my palate - normally a cigar always leaves some taste for the morning... This is a huge plus!
Score for aftertaste: 4.5
6) Aroma: I always enjoy the sideslip smoke and aroma of a good cigar. This one brought comments from a couple other people - “hey, I didn’t know cigars could smell nice.” Again, there were the hints of citrus spice, and what I love as good solid tobacco smell.
Score for aroma: 4.7
7) General Comments: To bad this is not more moderately priced, I’d snag a batch. If I ever see them in the price range I can justify, I will grab up a couple of them.
Overall score for the cigar: 4.7
I would again like to thank my benefactor for the opportunity to try this delightful smoke. It was definitely a treat! Thanks!!!
