Expert: James Yee - 9/21/2011

Question
I would appreciate your recommendations for Cuban cigars that might match my tastes.

Negatively, I really dislike ash / burning grass / campfire smoke. This is often found in fresh cigars, and I'll wait up to a year or two for it to subside, but if it takes longer than that, or never goes away, I'd rather buy a different cigar. I also prefer cigars with little or no "pepper."

Positively, I like sweetness and balance. Almost all my favorite cigars have the flavor of caramel, often combined with chocolate or other flavors. I prefer smaller vitolas - robusto or smaller.

Any advice you can give would be a great help. If possible, please recommend blends and specific vitolas.

Answer
Hi Steve,

Based on your flavour preference, I would recommend the following:

Vegas Robaina Famosos
Romeo y Julieta Exhibicion No. 4
Romeo y Julieta Mille Fleur
El Rey du Mundo Choix Supreme
Sancho Panza Non Plus
Trinidad Robusto T

The Famosos and Exhibicion No. 4 have a sweet, creamy flavour.  The Choix Supreme, Trinidad and Sancho Panza cigars has the traditional Cuban aroma and flavour but is much milder and does not have the peppery flavour.

Maduro-coloured wrapper leaves also have a smoother flavour so when buying cigars, try to look for cigars with dark, oily wrapper leaves as they are rich and smooth in flavour and have the best potential for aging.  Maduro leaves spend the longest time growing in the tobacco fields so a lot of the impurities are already drawn out.  When the leaves are fermented/cured, even more impurities are removed from the tobacco and this creates a milder and sweeter flavour.  The ideal maduro wrapper leaf colour should be dark brown (like the colour of milk chocolate) or dark reddish brown.

I hope this helps.  If you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I will be happy to help.

Regards,
James