The Living Legend ofthe Vuelta Abajo
Not many brand names are also so central to a story of the earth from whose ground they grew; in this case, soil itself shows that no taleology here. It's been said that to understandthis brand, you just have to close your eyes and imagine a luxurious landscape of rolling green fields somewhere in Pinar del Río-where the morning mist clings tenaciously to great oily leaves that ascendto comprise the finest tobacco on Earth.
And there's a legend. That of a man with an old straw hat who still walks the central San Luis streets. “This ain’t no slick boardroom commercial, though — it’s a salute to the ‘Godfather of Cuban Tobacco,’ whose hands labored with the mud through each and any slog for almost 100 years so that every move anybody ever made with that wrapper leaf would be worth something big.
There’s a quiet respect and agrarian purity to this label. Other **Habanos** houses have steered toward the glamour of modern luxury; **Vegas Robaina**, by contrast, is tethered to what ’s quaintly old-fashioned in life: The ancient Alexandriaword for “plantation” — Vega. It’s kind of like the smell of a cedar aging room or eventhe moist, earthy stench withina curing barn. But then, there is one for fans like me — of terroir, but more especially for those who know what it takes to grow a leaf so perfect it needs no disguise.
To smoke one is to join a line of descent that predates the modern industry, corkscrewing and ramshackled as it grows taut from cigar smoker back through time all the way to mythic origins of Cuban viticulture.
Heritage & History
It’s a dramatic sounding namethat doesn’t really fit when you know the backstory ofthe brand, dating back long before it was in commercial production. The family started their cultivation in the tobacco estate in San Luis, since 1845. In early twenty century, it was ranked as producers of best cigar wrapper leaves on the earth. The was the secret to, and remain after years in themaking ofsome ofthe finest cigars in te world.
It was in the early ’50s, when Alejandro Robaina — inheriting his family’s plantation — propelled the name to legendary international stature. Even after the revolution, in 1959, Alejandro’s expertise was so dear that he kept a measure of independence: He famously turned workers into worshipers and supporters by saying that families would grow superior tobacco with love and passion than state-controlled collective farms could.
The brand **Vegas Robaina**was introduced at Madrid’s Ritz Hotel in 1997 by Habanos S. A.) The marca was unique at the time as it bore the name of a living, current producer offine Tobacco. This had been considered a watershed eventwithin Habanos,Wintermans noted. Launched in same decade as the rest of classics which came out that year (Trinidad etc) It was a brand made as an ode to the “veguero” (ye campo dweller who grows tobbaco).
Thanks to their commitment and dedication to the highest quality,one can take a look since when the seco was processed till ithas been rolledonthe Francisco Donatien factory to do it after that on the historic H. Upmann facility in Havana. Today, the legacy lives on in Alejandro’s grandson Hirochi Robaina who steadfastly upholds the family tradition of impossibly high standards, ensuring that a name associated with greatness is backed by more than 160 years: A tradition or nothing atall.
The Tobacco of San Luis
What makes each brand different is the source of its rawmaterial. Most Habanos are blends of the tobaccos grown on all of the many farms in this part of Vuelta Abajo – but not this one; it is a brandthat’s defined by these ultra-specific microclimatological conditions exclusive to the Robaina’sbit of land. The farm is best known for producing a crop of export-quality wrapper leaves — the most laboriousand expensivepart of a cigar to produce that one Mr.
Arroyo’s yields about three times its regional average. They are so creamy, stretchy and deep rich colored that they end up serving as prized wrappers.
The wrapper of the blend is's Piloto leaf that forms a very thin but strong leavewith colors ranging from ginger colored to jet black Maduro. The binder and filler are also selected with approximately equaltendencetoextendthe underlying sweetnessofthewrapper. The embrace of the “puro” philosophy — planting its tobacco with nothing on its mind but enabling the character of the soil to express itself through it — is reflected in a smoke that’s incredibly well-balanced.
The leaves arecures until they end upbrown as the tobaccoall breaks down so as a little broken brown sugarto give extra punch and yetmaintain all of that essential oiltone allows for a slow burn.
Signature Lines & Vitolas
It’s a curated – and thoughtful – collection, contempory timelessshapes that let the tobacco do the talking. While collectors drive each other out of their way to pursuittheir go to **Siglo VI** or beefy Serie D No.4 for awareness and prestige, from other houses that is – B Rs lineup has its own brand of esteem. The most popular vitola is undoubtedly the Don Alejandro, a double corona (Prominente) which takes its name after his blender.
Measuring 194mm long and with a girth of 49 ring gauge it’s a marathon session that rewards the patient humanwho smokes one: The profile shifts noticeably over time.
Other notable releases are the Unicos, a traditional Pirámides that shows just how good at tapering and lines this brand is; and Famosos, a Hermoso No. 4 for those looking to go evendeeper intothe earthiness ofthis brand. The classic Lonsdale size of the Clásicos has made ita best selleramong purists who set store by its slender dimensions and unadorneddraw. It did also carry a few of the very rarest limited editions, most significantly their Spanish market Maestros Gorditos which are looked at as the Holy Grail by serious collectors worldwide.
The Tasting Experience
**Vegas Robaina** Smoking a Vegas Robaina is an act of subtlety rather thanpure punch. Butdam, then the people on over that way say this is a med to full bodiedcigar-except it’s just super creamy! The firstthirds are rich and creamy with the cedar wood flavors toasted, sweet floral notes. The profile develops and becomes more ground, with darker roasted espresso beans, leather and a particularly moist earthiness that San Luis tobacco is famous for.
Nice long smooth finish, never bitter, always an edge of slap. A hitof spice. Guzel, complex and full of intensity (perfect alongside the most well geared up of old spirits with comparable textural heft) these beauties are not to pass over. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Format Petit Robusto Strengthother Wrapper Honduras Binder Nicaragua Filler Honduras, Nicaragua Flavour Warm / Toasty Length41/3"Ring Gauge52 Origin Honduras Shape Short Robusto Weight0.
This size; circulates through the system with ease and rapidity, each fond puff being an escape from the commonplaces of existence.108g/packet (20 cigars)A petit robusto whose perfection permits a great resistance draw but greater preach party aromas. This is a good pairing with quality aged Caribbean rum or you could go all out with a well aged Highland scotch and let the creamyness of this cigar take over.
A strong Cuban espressofor a midday courtship that will bring out the coffee beanforeshadowing in the filler. These are golden cave-built cigars-smoke them in a place where obeyesmoker-in which an eye smoker can be attee subtleties.
A Connoisseur's Choice
This is the type of rarefied brand that collectors and purists tend to click with — not because of its volume production, but because it has a soul. It's a binding between the old world of Cuban farmer and grower, and a new one of luxury cigar exploitation for the global market. To smoke one of these cigars is to sample over170 years of agricultural knowledge combined with pride. For you that also prefer a smoke embracing the leaf and traditon of the soil then delving a little bit further into this distinguished line providesa very telling glimpse as to why a Habano is really like none other.
