Cohiba Siglo 6 Gran Reserva 2003

Description

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I’m out here on the wrap-around porch of the ranch my grandfather left me, watching the sun edge down behind the scrub brush and Texas hills. It’s quiet. This is the kind of silence you get only when the closest paved roadis five miles away and all you have to do is breathe. Gramps didn’t have much to say, but hewas a man of stuff — good stuff.

Product Specifications

He believed that if you were going to possess something, it ought to have a soul. It’s why he left me this place, and it’s why, at the back of his heavy oak study behind a stack of old land deeds, I found a black lacquered box that had every appearance of something you’d see in a museum. I felt a lump in my throat when I realised what it was. I am glad, yes; not only for the land but also that the man had them foresight to save something this cool until I was at an age where Id be old enough to appreciate it.

Do you ever get one of those quotes that makes you feel like you’re finally fitting into your own skin? That was me, in this creaky wooden chair, gripping history itself. I didn’t save it to be lit at a special time;the fact of me living and standing in his soil was occasion enough. That smoke?

The
2, 2014 CohibaSiglo VI Gran Reserve 2003 Just give one smell of this cigar and you will make your head spin.
. I have had enoughButtons in the past, but this one is different. It’s not just an cigar; it’s a time capsule from 2003, vintage-batched when the world seemed very slightly bigger,andmuch slower. The Specs
Wrapper/Binder/Filler
Cuban (Aged 5 Years)
Building: The Feelof Five Years
I’ll admit, just picking this thing up is a spectacle.

There’s that heft to it — heavy, but not dense. It even feels like it was rolled at El Laguito, the great old mansion-turned-factory inHavana. The wrapper is very dark, honey brown with a glossy sheen that looks like a well-oiled saddle. It has a slick of melted butter to it that lets you know the oils have been baked there, ripening, on which no one had finally lit a match yet.

It’s a bit toothy but, for the most part smooth; there are some tiny veins that you will hardly be able to find. I had been drawing for so long, I hadn’t even unclipped the cap. The quality is in thepre-light. I received a huge wallop of deep chocolate and toasted nuts with a long-sustaned sweetness that reminded me of the honey my grandmotherpreserved in those little glass jars.

It’s got a good draw, it’s smooth, with just enough resistance. It doesn’t feel like a stick thrown together for mass production, it feels like someone really put some thought into it. We’ve got double banding here–the classic yellow and black of the standard Cohiba, that sexy Gran Reserva gold and manicured black—I like them, but they are slight when compared with the leaf itself. The First Third: The Awakening
I used a soft flame and relished roasting the foot while listening to the crickets start their early evening song.

The first few puffs? A real wake-up call. There’s a nice, bright spiceto the lips and front of the tongue. It’s not aggressive, mind you, but it will be there to let you know this isn’t amild morning smoke.

But here’s the funny thing: that spice never overstays its welcome. And five minutes later it draws back Like a curtain rising on a stage. This is creamy, nutty base is what you have left over. I mean, walnuts (andtoasted cedar).

The smoke is thick, you can almost chew it. It’s weighty and fulsome on the tongue, with no heavy-handedness about it. On the porch there in cooling Texas I sat, smokerings breezing out from my mouth and no longer thinking about my phone or emails. And I was reflecting on how beautifully aged this tobacco was.

The five years worth of aging before it was erected in 2009 have certainly taken away all the sharpness normally found in a younger Siglo VI. The Second Third:Getting Your Rhythm
Towards the middle of the stick, there was a significantly more complexer flavor profile

.

The cedar was still there, but there was something new in it: the roast coffee — not burnt, just an espresso made with freshly-ground beans. Then came this citrus kick. You barely notice it, like an echo of orange zest deep inside a dense cake. That little nip slices through the creaminess and saves your palate from becoming a one note lullaby.

Solid. Truly solid. The burn was nearly flawless. I didn’t have to redo it once, even though there was a slight breeze coming off the pasture as we “adult-ended.

The ash was a light, stony grey and held fairly solid for over an inch and a half before I tapped it off. Every smoke, do you ever stop and think, “wow, man – it’s constructed so well I don’t even have to really think about the thing”? That’s this cigar. But it does bring the power to just be inthe moment.

I thought of Gramps again, how he’d likely be sitting rightthere beside me — maybe puffing on a far less expensive cigar, but making nomore, no less of the view. The LastThird: The Flowery Kick
But where the SigloVI Gran Reserva excels, is in that latter final grading. The nub, for most of us, by the time we get there a cigar is getting too hot and/or bitter. Not this one.

It was only when I was back in the home stretch that the flavors did a 180. The coffee and cedar were pushed back and got the florals! It’s honeysuckle and sweethay. There’s a leathery note that creeps in to the mix, reminding me of those old boots left on the floor by the door.

The strength picked up some at the end, starting off mild-medium it grew into a medium-full but was still smooth assilk. No bite, no harshness. I’d smoked it right down so that my fingers were very near brushing against the core. I didn’t want it to end.

It’s a long ssssmoke — I timed it at just over two hours — but it didn’t feel like work. It was like conversing with the kind of old friend who nevertells you about anything awful. Pairing: Keeping it Country
Now, you could getall fancy about this.

There’s no reason a deluxe Cognac couldn’t fill that slot, or an aged Port. But out here on the ranch? I went with a small-batch bourbon,though nothing too fancy—maybe a little vanilla-tinged. The corn sweetness in thebourbon worked perfectly with the honey/cedar flavors of that Cohiba.

If you’re not a drinker,I’d have a strong black coffee — no sugar for me. You need something that’s going be strong enough to sustain thebody of the smokey without overwhelming those fragile florals duringthe final third.

The Verdict
Look, I’m not here to tell you thatyou need to rush out and get one of these today because a.) who can?

At 5,000 built in 2009, there a rarer than a rain stormin August. But if you ever come across the chance to smoke one — maybe your grandfather had better taste than you knew, or you stumble upon one in some posh humidor on the road — take it. The Cohiba Siglo VI Gran Reserva Cosecha 2003 is a lesson in patience. It’s a lesson of the sageto take a breath when you need it.

The tobacco was harvested in 2003, aged for five years, rolled out in 2009 — and left to restanother decade in a box. All in service of this time, to get me two hours of peace on a porch out in the middle of nowhere. \” Was it worth the wait?

Absolutely. It’s a nuanced, complicated and deeply enjoyable process that feels less like “smoking” than it does like “thinking.”
I’m sitting here now, the nub gone cold in the ashtray, stars starting to popout over the ranch. I feel grateful. For the cigar, yes, but more for the prompt to slow down and savor what’s left smoldering.

If this is what 2003 tasteslike, I may hang around out here a little longer. Final Thoughts:
A heavy hitter of flavor and history.

It is a creamy, evolving ride that smokes long enough to let the sitter chilly out and watch a movie or unwind. If you’re not into that, look around. If you need a photo,here is one.