Cohiba Robustos Supremos

Description

I’ve had this thing about birthdays, for as long as I can remember. Some guys prefer a party, some prefer a new watch, but I’ve always been about the ‘Big Smoke. It’s a tradition I’ve had since my thirties. Each and every year, wherever I am in the world that week, I carve out a quiet space and pull out a bottle of something old, along with my biggest damn cigar. Last year, I was sitting on a terrace at a Caribbean resort that feels like the air has the weight of such humidity and salt from the ocean becomes airborne. The sun was just beginning to set, the water a sheet of pounded gold, and the staff were laying out for some sort of beachside gala. Me? I was ignoring the noise. I had a box I’d been sitting on for awhile and wanted to see if the hype was real.

I remember seeing the band, that iconic yellow and black checkerboard with the hologram gleaming in twilight. Ever have one of those surreal moments when suddenly, you just know like you hold a piece of history in your hand? Well, maybe not the kind you find in textbooks but the kind you can really taste. I had been saving my specific stick for a milestone and as the waves slammed against the fishing pier, I knew there wasn’t ever going to be a better time. I didn’t want a skinny panetela or a polite corona.’ I was in the mood for something with a statelike feel. I wanted something that was heavy in my hand, something that was going to have demands upon me for the next hour and a half.

That smoke? The Cohiba Robustos Supremos. It’s a beast of a cigar, and it doesn’t deny it. When it was first released as the 2014 Edición Limitada, everyone would freak out over the size. A 58 ring gauge? In a Cohiba? It was unheard of back then. But I couldn’t regret it now, sitting there in the Caribbean heat with a glass of local rum sweating on the table next to me, it seemed like the only sane choice. I snipped off the cap, felt its heft and braced myself for what was sure to be a long slow burn through a tasting full of the finest Cuban tobacco.

The Specs

Design: A Heavyweight in the Palml

What will you notice first about the Robustos Supremos is not the band; it’s the girth. The 58 ring gauge cigar feels different in the hand. It’s not the kind of elegance one thinks about in the traditional sense; it’s muscular. The wrapper of this 2014 Edición Limitada is veiny, dark and oily with some rough texture. It ain’t that silky-smooth leaf you see on some of the regular production sticks. It’s got some bumps, some visible veins and a toothiness that lets you know it has been through the aging process. This tobacco is aged as an Edición Limitada for a minimum of two years before it’s even laid out on the rolling table, and you can tell by the mature, chocolatey color of the leaf.

I gave it a little squeeze and the thing was solid — no stingy soft spots, no gaps.

Magníficos factory construction is typically top-notch and this one was no different. The pre-light draw was a bit surprising to me. With the thickness of the liquid, I really thought it was going to be wide open and splash myself in the face, but there was a very pleasant honey-like resistance. The dry drag imparted flavors of aged cedar along with an unusual sweetness — somewhere between dried fruit and raisin. It had the aroma of a well-kept humidor — it was rich, fermented and a little spicy. I probably spent a good five minutes just smelling the foot of the cigar before I ever went for my torch. With a ring gauge this large, you need patience. You cannot simply flame-throw it; you must slowly toast it until that massive surface area is glowing uniformly and you can safely get the first puff.

Flavor Profile: The Three Acts

The First Third: The Awakening

Once I got it started, the first few puffs were like a huge white puff of creamy smoke. The 58 ring gauge does serve to create a volume of smoke that is just … substantial. Bam, big wave of cedar and earth for the first flavor there, but believe it or not, it was actually surprisingly bright. I picked up notes of cocoa and dark chocolate, but then something strange happened — I had a sudden hit of apple cider along with the faint acidic tang. It wasn’t painful, it was just a dryness that sliced through the fat of the tobacco. I picked up a hint of white pepper on the retrohale, just enough to fire up my sinuses but not enough to make my eyes water. It was medium-bodied to begin with, a very friendly noodle but one clearly masking some strength in the wings. The nuttiness began seeping in around the end of the first inch — roasted hickory and walnuts, that is.

The Second Third: The Core

By this point, I was really earning the “Supremos” name. The woody aspects receded, and the earthiness took center stage. It was the deeper, damp earth flavor of soil — that good old Pinar del Río terroir. The sweetness in the second third transformed from apple cider to a farm fresh vanilla extract pour. This is where things started getting serious. The body was now deep into “full” territory. I found the burn line was a bit wavy (as with most thicker gauges), but it was nothing requiring a touchup. The ash held a mottled grey pattern and hung on as if it were glued there, testimony to long-filler quality. Each puff seemed thick, like I was gnawing on the smoke. There was a floral note that would appear from time to time, a ghost of flavor that reminded me this was indeed a Cohiba I was smoking.

The Final Third: The Powerhouse

I was in my rum and the sun had gone down, by now I’d moved over on to my third. The cigar had morphed into a powerstroker. The cedar came back, but smoked and charred this time. The leather was the biggest flavor, wrapping around the palate and lingering long after the smoke had gone. It got intense—powerful, even. If you are not accustomed to Cuban tobacco, this portion might have left your head spinning a little bit. The finish was long and umami, with a lingering spice that felt like black pepper and cinnamon. Even when it got short, the heat was manageable. I smoked the nub, and didn’t want to put it down – for fear of losing hold of it’s rich, creamy decadence. And it never grew bitter, a rare achievement for a cigar this thick and strong at the butt end.

Pairing: Finding the Right Partner

You can’t put a cigar like this to drink with something light. A light pilsner, or a gin and tonic would just get absolutely steamrolled by the Robustos Supremos. I went with a powerful, and aged Caribbean rum-something with enough sugar and oak to match the ebullience of the 2014 EL’s earthy profile. If you’re not a spirits kind of person, a double espresso or a very thick Turkish coffee would be good. You want there to be a “chewiness” in the mouthfeel as well, in order to stand up to the weight of the smoke. I’ve known guys who enjoy a peaty Scotch with these, but for me the salt and peat might battle that mild floral character Cohiba’s are famous for. So keep it with something dark, sweet and wood aged.

The Verdict

So, is the Cohiba Robustos Supremos worth tracking down? Here’s the thing: it’s a kind of experience. If you’re into thin, masculine cigar that you can smoke in 40 minutes, stay the hell away from this. This is a commitment. It’s a jaw-stretcher. But if you are in the mood for a cigar that’s an event, this is it. It is a time capsule of when Habanos S.A. decided to take what a “Robusto” could be and push its definition till the very limit.

That 58 ring gauge not only has something to do with the cigar looking like a whopper, but it enables a blend that is complex and perpetually moving. It’s got the strength of a Partagás but the elegance of a Cohiba. Maybe, some would say it’s too large, but sitting on that resort balcony and watching the stars come out over the Caribbean, it felt perfectly sized. It’s earthy, it’s fat and it’s a rich smoke that rewards patience. It’s not an everyday smoke — not that anyone could afford to burn these up daily, anyway — but for a birthday tradition? It’s exactly what I wanted. Solidly built, big flavors and a finish that lingers until the next morning. If you see one in a cobwebby corner of a humidor, grab it. Just be sure you have a comfortable chair and nothing else to do for a bit.