Cohiba Medio Siglo

Description

The basement reeked of moist concrete and frantic ambition. It was that kind of night of poker where the stakes were not just the money on the table but also some unspoken pecking order within this club. I was tucked in a backroom of a dry cleaner’s in Queens — don’t ask how I got the invite — and it felt dense, secretive, seems from Bovada and put down around like cheap espresso. I’d played tight all night, folding pocket pairs that hurt my teeth to fold, waiting simply for “Shaky” Miller to overplay his pocket jacks. When that moment arrived, and the river came with my straight, the sound of silence in their room was more deafening than when I pushed the chips into the pot. I didn’t gloat. I just picked up the chips, felt the weight of victory, and slipped my hand into an inner coat pocket. I wanted something to commemorate that, but I didn’t have two hours to kill watching for sunrise. I wanted something short and punchy and unquestionably top-shelf.

Product Specifications

I produced a yellow-and-black tubos. My friends glanced over, eyes following the holographic band. They knew. You don’t show up with one of these to a game unless you’re ready to take everyone else’s lunch money away on the field. I popped the cap, palpated a 52 ring gauge between my fingers and lit it up. That smoke? The Cohiba Medio Siglo. It’s the stogie that communicates you’ve arrived, even if you’re sitting in a basement surrounded by cans of laundry starch.

The Breakdown: Cohiba Medio Siglo

Construction:‘The  Selection of the Selection’

I have held a lot of cigars in the hand, and there is a particular mano that thrums in holding onto a Cohiba. And that, the philosophy goes, is essentially what embodies the Medio Siglo: A bit of a hybrid — a “Franken-smoke” in the best way possible. It has the Siglo VI’s girth (that beefy 52 ring gauge) and cuts it down to the length of a Siglo I. It feels weighty in my hand. It’s short, yeah, but it has presence. It’s not a “snack” smoke; it’s a compact powerhouse.

On mine, the wrapper was a stunning Colorado shade — tawny and oily, as smooth as the top of a desk. I encountered no aggressive veins and no soft spots. When I gave it a light squeeze, it collapsed in exactly the right amount. It’s produced in the El Laguito factory, which is essentially the holy grail of making cigars. They employ the “selection of the selection” from the San Juan y Martínez and San Luis regions. But the big draw for me is triple fermentation. They take all the seco, ligero and the rare medio tiempo leaves and hang them for an additional turn in barrels. You can smell that process on the pre-light draw, in fact. It’s not just tobacco: It’s fermented, processed, a little sweet.

Cold draw was a combination of hay, cedar and a strange but pleasantly enjoyable touch of dried orange peel. The draw was the perfect draw — not too firm, not like sucking air through a straw. A ho-hum, intentional burn jam that seemed as if it would produce lots of smoke.

The First Third: The Handshake

It felt like a ritual, lighting this thing up in that poker room. The first few puffs were signature Cohiba. Have you ever had that taste of “Cuban twang”? It’s a swirl of saltiness, earth, and creaminess that balloons out onto the roof of your mouth. The Medio Siglo begins with a medium-bodied introduction. I were immediately hit with a huge amount of cedar and leather, but it wasn’t rough. It was so smooth, I imagine that’s courtesy of the extra barrel aging they do at El Laguito.

After about ten minutes, a delicate not of fresh fruit began to shimmy on the sidelines. It was not “fruity” in the dessert sense, but more like a lingering whisper behind apricot or white grape. It cut the rich and earthy underpinning.’ Smoke Production The great amount of smoke produced for such a tiny stick startled me. Fat, white clouds that cocktail-hangered the steamy air made our poker game feel even more cinematic and cloaked in mystery. I have to admit, that burn was razor-sharp. Not once did I have to reapply it, even when I was busy handling my winnings.

The Second Third: The Work Begins

As I transitioned into the midpoint of the cigar, the flavors rounded and darkened a bit.

The fruitiness was gone, replaced by a run of rich coffee bean roast. And there was a clear nuttiness — think toasted almonds. And here is where 52 ring gauge starts to really come into its own. The denser cross-section means there’s more tobacco in the smoke, which stays relatively cool and allows the delicate notes of cocoa and sweet spice to emerge without being burned.

I detected a touch of black pepper on the retrohale. It wasn’t a “pepper bomb” by any stretch, but it lent the experience a nice little kick in the pants. It kept me focused. The force remained very much in the middle of it, which I liked. These shorter, fatter vitolas can often get sassy in the middle, but not the Medio Siglo. It is an elegant blend, obviously crafted in celebration of the brand’s 50th anniversary in 2016. This is as if they took all the lessons of half a century and squished them down into this 4-inch frame.

The Final Third: The Closing Arguments

By an inch and a half, the poker game had finished. The losers were downing drinks, and I was nursing the nub of this Cohiba. The flavor profile kicked up here big time. The cedar turned into “toasted wood” and the spice shifted from the back of throat to the tip of tongue. There was a thick creamy, buttery aftertaste that remained on the palate long after each draw.

Typically, with a Petit Robusto the head goes hot and bitter. Not here. I smoked it to its sting-the-fingertips-down nub, and it remained flavorful all the way through. The “medio tiempo” leaves — rare leaves from the top of the plant — really rear their head in the final act. They add a depth of flavor that seems “old world.” It’s a rich, savory conclusion that immediately felt like the exclamation point on my evening. I set it down in the ashtray and let it burn itself out, fully satisfied.

Pairing: What to Drink?

Down in that basement, drinking a lukewarm espresso from a paper cup, and let me tell you? It worked. The coffee’s bitterness went right through the creamy cigar. But if I were at home, I’d pour myself a glass of Havana Club 7-Year-Old rum. You want something with a little bit of sweetness, and oak to match the cigar’s profile. If you’re not a spirits person, a heavy-bodied ginger ale or a stout beer would also stand up to the Medio Siglo’s complexity. Not anything peaty or smoky — like an Islay Scotch — which will shamelessly shoved those delicate fruit and almond notes to the corner.

The Verdict

So is Cohiba Medio Siglo worth hunting for? This is my view: It’s a specialized tool for a particular job. If you have two hours and a cozy leather chair, you may want something like a Siglo VI or a Churchill. But if you’re there to be there, or you’ve just have an hour before the world starts screaming at you again, this is it. It’s compact luxury. It’s all the prestige and taste of the flagship Cohiba line condensed into a size that can be smoked in a busy life.

It isn’t a “budget” smoke and does not attempt to be. It’s a statement piece. It’s consistent, it’s well-made, and it gives you a flavor experience most full-sized cigars can’t rival. To me, it will always be the “Poker Night” cigar—that one that I smoke when all is lost and I’m the only man left standing. Solid. Truly solid.

Final Thoughts: Buy it if you see a box. If you find one, hold on to it. Just be sure you have a good reason to light it, because such a good smoke deserves an accompanying story.