Cohiba Majestuosos 1966 Cigar Review

50 years ago, the most famous name in cigars was born, Cohiba. At Festival del Habano XVIII during the gala dinner, guests were given a box of 2 cigars. Encased in a felt sleeve, the lacquered boxes denote Cohiba 50 and were designed by Nelson Alfonso who also makes Atabey, Byron and Bandolero. Inside the cedar box are two cigars, one of which David Garofalo gifted to me.

This limited edition cigar is not to be confused with the Cohiba 50 Aniversario which marks the first time the Cuban company has made a 60 ring gauge cigar. It will also be extremely rare, limited to just 50 humidors worldwide. The first humidor was raffled at the event and sold for $360,000 putting each cigar at $7200.

The cost of that limited edition has led to speculation that today’s cigar would retail for more than the Behike and could come in at close to $100 per cigar. It is limited to 1,966 humidors of 20 cigars each and today I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you.

Cigar Review: Cohiba Majestuosos 1966
Factory: N/A
Wrapper: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Length: 150mm (5.9 Inches)
Ring Gauge: 56
Vitola: Majestuosos (Toro Gordo)
Strength: Medium

The Look: Looking at a larger ring gauge Cuban cigar just doesn’t seem right. As a purist I expect my Cuban smokes to be traditional small ring gauge cigars. Basically sizes that no longer sell in America. The Cohiba Majestuosos 1966 has a dual band, the first has the most recent style of the Cohiba logo complete with the hologram. The secondary band showcases the Cohiba 50 logo with the years 1966 – 2016 on the sides. The wrapper is veiny and the cigar is perfectly rolled and feels like velvet under the fingers. The foot of the cigar appears to be well packed and there are no soft spots but it feels exceptionally light in the hand.

The Burn: Once I clip the cap with my Jaws Cutter its time to take in the cold draw of the cigar which serves up a sweetness that is almost bubble gum like in flavor. In fact it reminds of me of Bazooka from when I was younger with the powder sweetness that prevented it from sticking to the wrapper. Meanwhile the aroma off the foot has notes of cedar with subtle chocolate.

With my Glock lighter I patiently toast the foot and anticipate what is to come on this cigar that was gifted to me by one of the greatest people I have ever had the pleasure of working for. The initial notes are salty and reminiscent of salted cashews. As the cigar progresses there are notes of grass and lemon rind and a subtle graham cracker finish. Through the nose the cigar is mostly cedar though there is a slightly citrus component.

In the second third of the Cohiba an espresso develops that becomes the dominant flavor profile, and it’s not a subtle note either. Well defined the cigar has me craving for some Espresso in the North End of Boston. The finish of the cigar serves hearty cedar and more cashews while the retrohale tries to bring it all together on a leather canvas.

As the cigar concludes it loses a little of its definition but the coffee notes remain with some subtle spices on the back-end. Through the nose the cigar continues to serve up some notes of nutmeg with a slightly floral finish. While the big notes don’t exist toward the end, the cigar still delivers an excellent experience.

The Burn: One of my knocks on Cuban cigars is that they don’t tend to burn as crisp as the cigars available on the American market. With that said, the Cohiba has a slightly wavy burn with a rather thick combustion line. The cigar never gave an indication that it would need to be touched up and the marble colored ash was firm. Smoking time was just south of 90 minutes and the draw was a little loose for my liking though totally acceptable.

The Finish: While this cigar doesn’t yet have a price attached to it, I feel that I should factor that into the score. For me, this cigar smokes like a $15 – $18 cigar although I do expect it to sell for much more than that given the limited edition status of the Cohiba Majestuosos 1966. While I found the cigar to be enjoyable my favorite Cohiba remains the Behike, but I was left wondering if I would have enjoyed today’s cigar more if it was a smaller ring gauge.

Score: 90
Price: TBD