Big Papi The Slugger Robusto Cigar Review

I am not often starstruck, but even though I am a Yankees fan I was in awe when I met David “Big Papi” Ortiz for the launch of his cigar at Two Guys Smoke Shop on March 3rd, 2017.  The cigars made at El Artista brought to the event a friend in Jose Manuel Victoria who I knew from my days at La Aurora. He took the time to introduce us and even arranged for Chuck Morrison and myself to interview him, despite the handlers of Mr. Ortiz only telling us we could have 5 minutes we had a fairly lengthy interview with him. You can check out that original interview via the 2GuysCigars.com website, and you can also check out a secondary interview we did with the whole team of The Cigar Authority.

In 2019, El Artista and David Ortiz would once again partner up for the release of The Slugger which was only available as a 7 x 60 which isn’t exactly a size a gravitate too. This year at the 2021 PCA Trade Show the company released a more manageable Robusto.

Cigar Review: Big Papi The Slugger
Wrapper: San Andres
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua & U.S.A
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 50
Size: Robusto

The Look: Packaged in white and blue boxes featuring a red silhouette of Big Papi himself, David Ortiz. The Slugger sees some subtle changes to the packaging with blue accents versus the red of the original line.  Inside, the cigars feature a band with the aforementioned silhouette, and blue pinstripes. On the back of the band there is the flag of the Dominican Republic inside a Baseball wrapped by the name of the factory. The San Andres wrapper from Mexico has minimal veins and an abundance of oils visible. In the hand the cigar has a nice weight to it.

The Notes: The cold draw of the cigar is rich with notes of dark chocolate and a subtle molasses while the aroma off the foot sees notes of mocha, marshmallow fluff and a subtle earthy component as well. Once the cigar is toasted and lit there is an easily identifiable nuttiness to the cigar.

As we move into the first third, the nuttiness gives way to notes of strong espresso and leather. From experience if you smoke this too fast the leather will become overly dominant. As we continue a subtle cedar sweetness develops as the leather pulls back slowly although the cigar does have a long leathery finish. The retrohale sees a warm chocolate component added with touch of brown sugar and pepper.

As we move into the second third notes of chocolate make their way the retrohale to the palate with continued notes of espresso. The leather component tones down around the half way point, even on the finish which now has a nice peppery component to it. The retrohale sees the introduction of licorice and cinnamon giving this cigar a unique flavor profile with some toasted wood notes on the finish.

As we finish the Big Papi Slugger Robust the notes take on a more woody profile with some cinnamon and coffee in the background. The cinnamon is more noticeable on the retrohale with a touch of black licorice a black pepper while the cigar sees the return of leather notes on the finish.

The Finish: Now that the cigar is available in the more manageable robusto size, I can see smoking this cigar more often. It’s a full bodied cigar, and while I can’t see enjoying this on a hot and humid summer day it would be the perfect cigar for the fall, specifically during the MLB playoffs. It might be August at the time of review, but the last third reminded me a bit of Christmas. The one is a home run.

Score: 93
Price: $10.69 / $188.99