Johnny Tobacconaut Cigar Review

When the cigar was first reported ,the name Johnny Tobacconaut intrigued me as it reminded for some odd reason of Saturday Morning cartoons from when I was a kid. When shows like Speed Buggy, Scooby Doo, The Jetsons, Josie and the Pussycats, Hong Kong Phooey and many others had my interest on Saturday mornings. I’m not sure why, but it just did.

I’ve been waiting for a day to smoke this, and after the headache of today’s earlier news and trying to confirm it, it was time to light up this cigar which has been in my humidor for close to two months as I was given a couple of samples from the local rep.

The cigar shipped to retailers earlier this month, and Room 101 describes the cigar as, “One small puff for man, one giant cascade of flavor for mankind is what our dear friend and comrade in arms Johnny Tobacconaut seeks to deliver unto you. We escape the day-to-day ether we know so well in search of intergalactic adventure with our latest offering hailing from the Room101 family. Unsheathe this smoke wagon of funkadelic flavor and afford yourself a micro escape from your day. The mini vacation you are about to embark upon, should you choose to accept it, will bring you one step closer to becoming that gentleman or gentle-lady of leisure we all know is within you.”

Cigar Review: Johnny Tobacconaut
Size: 6.5 x 30 x 50 x 19 (Ranflactic)
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Strength: Medium
Source: Davidoff

The Look: As you may know my favorite cigar sizes is a perfecto, and one can argue that the Salomon is an extension of the perfecto size, just longer. In fact, you really can’t argue against it. The chestnut color brown wrapper has some thin veins and oils visible to the naked eye. The cigar which features a bronze and black band is adequately rolled and feels light in the hand.

The Notes: The cold draw of the Johnny Tobacconaut from Room 101 is fruity with elements of canned apricots and a touch of earth. The aroma off the wrapper and narrow foot has some subtle sweetness to it.

Once the cigar is lit the flavors are pretty straight forward with notes of pepper and a slight floral component as well. There is also a buttery smoothness and a touch of coffee on the finish and retrohale that keeps the cigar interesting in the first third.

Progressing into the second third the dominant profile becomes floral with some espresso notes. The pepper remains though its much more subtle. On the finish some cinnamon begins to develop while remaining buttery smooth.

The last third of the cigar sees the coffee notes remain constant with some black pepper as well. The cigar remains A  on the last third as well.

The Burn: The salamon with a perfect draw from the first light all the way through in my experience has been hard to find, and the Johnny Tobacconaut is that rarity. The perfect drawn and thin combustion line reveals a light-colored ash with some flake holds on for close to a quarter of the stick at a time. The cigar has a nice amount of smoke output as well. It remained lit from first light to last puff.

The Finish: The Johnny Tobacconaut has a nice flavor profile, but for those who like to see some significant change over the duration of the cigar might be a little disappointed. Enjoyable without a doubt, the cigar lacks some complexity. The price point of the cigar at $11.00 makes it  difficult purchase, but if you’re a collector of limited edition cigars this is still worthy of a 5 pack.

Score: 88
Price: $11.00

 

Bullet Points

• Johnny Tobacconaut is limited to 3,500 boxes of 20. Although Matt Booth has left the door open to turn this into a regular production line.
• Despite literature from the brand, the Ranflactic measures at 6.5″ in length; not the 5.5″ as originally reported.
• This might have had one of the best draws and burns of any salomon I have smoked to date.
• There is a logo of an astronaut associated with the brand, and I wish it somehow made it on the band.
• Smoking time was 1 hour 45 mins.
• I paired the cigar with water.