Cigar Review | Hirochi Robaina
With the release this week of a Four Pack Sampler, I decided to go through each size of the Hirochi Robaina cigar which is officially called HR Habano Maduro.
For those not in the know, Hirochi Robaina is the grandson of renowned Cuban tobacco grower Alejandro Robaina who also have a Cuban brand called Robaina. In 2011, Omar Gonzalez Aleman the master blender for Cubanacan who once worked in Cuba’s cigar industry reached out to the grandson with the idea of making a cigar to honor Alejandro. The cigars are now available and is easily a contender for cigar of the year, but how does the Hermoso compare to the Toro.
Cigar: HR Habano Maduro
Size: 5 1/8 x 48 (Hermoso/Robusto)
Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
Binder: Nicaragua (Jalapa)
Filler: Nicaragua
Strength: Full
Source: Two Guys Smoke Shop
The Look: The Hirochi Robaina is really an amazing looking cigar with a flawless wrapper that looks like chocolate. The gold and brown hand is reminiscent of the Cuban Robaina brand, though it imparts that this is Hirochi’s cigar with the large H. The cigar has a seamless roll, a perfectly placed cap and a closed foot which I would love to see more companies do. Under the tigers the wrapper feels like velvet and there are no soft spots and an average weight.
The Notes: The cold draw of the cigar was reminiscent of cocoa and some cedar. The aroma of the wrapper was like fine chocolate under the nose and the foot of the cigar which was closed served up chocolate nuttiness. Due to the closed foot the cigar lit up quickly and instantly served up some spice, coffee and sweetness.
The first third of the Hermosa seems sweeter than the Toro. There is some cocoa/chocolate notes with a bit of nuttiness. The pepper experience on the first pull has faded revealing a wonderfully complex cigar. Smoking further into the first third one gets lost in the notes of pistachios, cedar, chocolate and subtle spices.
The second third of the Hirochi Robaina sees the nuts begin to take on more of a hazelnut flair and the notes of coffee begin to become dominant around the halfway point of the cigar. There is some subtle chocolate notes though they get lost in the slightly spicy finish.
The last third of the cigar the aroma becomes noticeable more so then the last two third with elements of cinnamon. The notes remain coffee, nuts, and a hint of earth with some spices on a prolonged but enjoyable finish.
The Burn: The draw of the Hirochi Robaina is flawless with the right amount of resistance for a cigar that clocked in at 105 minutes for me. The burn line was razor thing and while it started out slightly uneven, the burn was razor sharp before the start of the second third. The light color ash was strong and lasted for the first half of cigar.
The Finish: Last year I was wowed by Atabey and Byron and this cigar is easily the first cigar of 2015 that has totally wowed me. With its rich robust complexity of delicious mouth watering notes, this is a cigar that is a must try. While I am awarding it the same score as the Toro, this cigar has more complexity, and if fraction came into play this would edge out the toro at 94.5.
Score: 94
Price: $19.99
4 Pack Sampler is available online via 2GuysCigars.com
Hirochi Robaina
Hirochi Robaina Foot
Hirochi Robaina Burn
I just ordered some from 2Guys can’t wait to get ahold of these, they look amazing, love the closed foot. Barry, with Hirochi Robania being who he is, and with the embargo looking like it will be lifted, could Cubanacan have an upper hand on Possibly getting Cuban leaf? If that makes sense?
DavidHolmes1 Totally makes sense, but I don’t know how much cuban leaf will be available for export to other manufacturers as they will struggle to meet the demand of the USA consumer. I just saw Ed, and he told me about you ordering, thanks brother. Lets hope we have similar taste preferences. Looking forward to your thoughts.
Barry2Guys DavidHolmes1 Your exactly right Barry, going to be to high of a demand to export raw tobacco. They couldnt even supply European companies with leaf and there is no embargo over there. The Marapheel’s (Cameroon tobacco growers) are the only ones I know that makes a cigar with half Nicaraguan and half Cuban tobacco, only available in Europe. I picked up a 5 pack of the Hermoso, pretty good stick.
It makes sense, now that you both mention it, especially since, Habanos is talking about walking into 25-30 percent of the U.S. market. Charlie, does that cigar use their Camaroon wrapper?
DavidHolmes1 Its called the La Estancia, made in Honduras, Nicaraguan wrapper/binder, 50/50 blend of Cuban and Nicaraguan fillers. That family has been grandfathered in Cuba, some of their Cuban leaf is Vintage 1980s. LOL the Cuban’s are talking 90 million units to the US when the embargo is lifted!
90 million poop sticks. This is going to badly. Who would have thought that lifting the embargo would lead to the demise of Habanos. I’m going to track some of those La Estancia. I’m not so sure Cuba doesn’t use out of country tobacco anyways, I had a master open robusto a month ago, not the pinnacle of CC’s, but I’m certain it had Nica in the filler.
DavidHolmes1 All Cuban tobacco has that very distinct smell at the foot, like no other cigar tobacco out there. Habanos claims the quality of the Cuban cigar will not diminish at all, only time will tell on that one 😉
Barry, Barry, Barry, these really are great smokes. I got some different notes, but this thing has complexity in spades, and one of the longest most enjoyable finishes I’ve had on a cigar in a while, a long while. Also rarely do I feel super premiums live up to their price point, these i feel may justify it. I’m really curious as to how these will age. would love to pick a box up tomorrow, but I need to go through this selected tobacco offerings first. Happy birthday also.
DavidHolmes1 Ya see Barry, even David likes a long finish 😉
I too enjoyed this cigar but the price is the only bad part (and I’m a regular Atabey and Padron Family Reserve buyer)..The transition from 1/3 to 1/3 was great!
Price can be a jagged pill now a days. I look at it like this. I smoke 3-4 cigar a day, most days, one of these is about equal to 2 average cigars I smoke, so some days I just smoke a couple high ends. Given the nature of the cigar, who is involved, the materials, and how many people have to be getting in on the action, I kinda get the price point.
Charlie, it seems like you get around with cigars also, so I sure you get new being new. It’s hard finding something new, unique, and high quality.
DavidHolmes1 I can tell you one thing for sure David, I have no problem spending a stupid amount of money for cigars, I just bought 10 Padron 50th Anniversary cigars (5 Natural and 5 Maduro) and they are $40+ each, I also collect vintage Cuban’s and they can run $100+ for singles. All I’m saying and dont get me wrong I really really liked the Hirochi, it just didn’t taste like a ultra premium cigar, a premium yes, a very good $10-12 cigar sure, but $18-22 seems a touch too steep, thats all, nothing more. I would have bought another 5 pack if they were in that $10 range but I can buy some Padron Family Reserves (just did btw) for the same price….I too smoke 3-4 killer sticks a day so I know all about that jagged pill lol
I’ve seen your posts for a while, I know you don’t mind spending on cigars. I’m trying to step my game up. $100 CC’s though, no wonder these don’t seem worth the coin. I’m a poor college student who just bought a house.
DavidHolmes1 Its not often that I buy expensive vintage cigars but I like to find special cigars at auction every once in a while, I like to have a few Cuban Davidoff’s or Dunhill’s for super special times. I bought a 5 pack of the HR and enjoyed every single one I smoked and I also think these will age very well. IMO I think the price tag has to do mainly with the name associated with the brand. I have quite a few Vegas Robaina’s and some Robaina Farm rolls so I’m not really into the hype of the name lol
When I asked LOD (brand ambassador of Cubanacan cigars) what makes the Hirochi so special, Padrons use 10-15 year old tobacco and charge $20 why should we pay that much for the HR, he said that its a $20 cigar because of the experience you get from it….so idk, I do kinda agree with that, if it tastes like a $18-20 cigar then its worth it, I guess? Anyways, I love cigars! 🙂 ttyl David…
@Charlie86 @DavidHolmes1 Personally after various sizes, sample packs, one box purchase, and trades with friends I’m done with this brand. Very inconstant in terms of blending and construction, some were worth every penny and even more, others $10 to $14, whilst others $5 to $8. When the price is akin to Davidoff, Padrón, or La Palina, there’s not much room on that top-shelf for erraticism.
Taylor Franklin Yea…the 4 pack samplers were selling at Atlantic for $40 the last 2 months…the other day I smoked one from the very first run and it was good, but nothing special. I too am done after I smoke what I have left. Also, HR left Cubanacan so I’m sure we’ll see some better, more reasonably priced blends from Hirochi in the future…I do think these are very inconsistent. I did an experiment a few months back…I smoked a core line Cubanacan Habano($4.99, which I know uses the same tobacco as the HR just different quality) and I smoked a HR 4 hrs later…the experience was VERY similar.
@Charlie86 We seem to have similar tastes and ideas. I conducted the same empirical test as you did and my conclusion was the same; marginal differences at best, totally blind it would be difficult for me to nail down.
Taylor Franklin LOL for sure! Hopefully Hirochi and La Palina do something special in the future…maybe at El Titan de Bronze?