CroMagnon Aquitaine Cranium Cigar Review

There are a few cigar brands out there that grab the attention of cigar enthusiasts, such as myself, and RoMa Craft Tobac is one of them. Skip Martin and Michael Rosales have been offering up some great blends over the last few years that have solidified themselves into the niche market we call the cigar industry. One of their core lines, the CroMagnon Aquitaine, is the cigar I’ll be looking into today.

Here is a quick summary of this blend that comes from their website:

“The Aquitaine contains the same long-filler, full-bodied blend found in the US Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapped CroMagnon, including its unique Cameroon binder. However, the Aquitaine features a beautiful Ecuador Habano Ligero wrapper selected from the best tobacco we could find. This eighth and ninth priming ligero leaf is thick, oily and has amazing texture.”

Let’s get into the review.

What am I smoking?

• Cigar Review: CroMagnon Aquitaine Cranium
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Fabrica de Tabacos Nica Sueño
• Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
• Binder: Cameroon
• Filler: Nicaragua (Pueblo Nuevo, Esteli, Condega)
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Vitola: Toro
• Strength: Full

Packaging & Design

As I’ve said in a previous review, I love the hefty feel of these boxes. They’re plain, simple, and to the point. It is adorned with a skull burned into the wood along with the name and size designations on the front side. To really appreciate the feel of this packaging, you need to pick one up to see for yourself. It feels like a brick in the hands.

There are also two bands on the cigar, one highlighting white band under a slightly smaller brown one. Each band has embossed designs and is printed on heavy-stock paper. Like a thick business card, they feel high quality.

First Impressions

This thing is LOADED with oil. It has a shiny, medium chocolate wrapper that glistens in the light. It’s very heavy in the hands, and is slightly spongy to the touch. The CroMagnon Aquitaine Cranium smells like leather and coffee on the foot, which are two aromas I like to see in a full bodied smoke.

There are some veins on this thick wrapper leaf, nothing too crazy, but I feel it fits with the bare bones style of this line. Other than that, construction seems to be top-notch in that department. I decapitated this stick with a Lotus Jaws, which wound up cutting very clean. The pre-light draw offered up flavors of leather, coffee and chocolate with a background of pepper that wasn’t overpowering.

The Smoke

After toasting with the foot with a Black Label Bombay, I took a few pulls, which gave me huge flavors of earth and cocoa. Immediately following that, the finish led up to peppery sweetness on the back end. The draw was a tiny bit snug, but put out a lot of thick and chewy smoke.

During the second third of the CroMagnon Aquitaine, the body picked up along with the strength. Although it started off in the full range, it’s gotten slightly fuller and a touch stronger. The flavor profile has stayed relatively consistent up to this point, and that is certainly not a bad thing. Cigars that start good and STAY good are always a plus for me.

Now into the final third of this cigar, the flavor has changed into a much more robust profile. Rich and heavy notes of dark chocolate, caramelized sugar, pecans and earth coat my palate and leave a slick feel on my lips. I feel the CroMagnon Aquitaine had a lot of positive aspects to it. Solid construction, great burn, firm draw, and rich flavor.

Total smoking time was right around one hour and forty-five minutes.

Final Thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed this cigar. Skip Martin and Michael Rosales are putting out some great smokes, and I see them easily becoming the next Tatuaje when it comes to limited releases and complex blends. They are constantly working on new blends and ideas that seem to get more intricate as time goes on. I’m excited to see what comes from them next, as I have been regularly smoking their products for a while now.

The CroMagnon Aquitaine is a regular release, and is always available to purchase. There are a few variations of this particular blend out in the market, and this is one of my favorite sizes. Not to mention, the price of this stick is very affordable if you’re looking for a high quality smoke with great flavor that won’t make your spouse call the local hit man on you.

Score Breakdown

-Appearance: 17
-Flavor: 19
-Balance: 18
-Burn: 19
-Quality: 19

Rating: 92
Price: $8.49 / $182.99 (Box of 24)