Robaina Famosos

[iammatt]

After luch today I lit up a VR Famoso at my desk (I know you are not supposed to, but...).

It comes from a box that is about four years old and was very disappointing when I first bought it. I continued to be disappointed as the smoke that emerged was thin and a bit tasteless. After about one centimeter the entire cigar changed and it became strong, with a distinct caramel taste. I am now enjoying what may be the best cigar I have smoked all year.

Any other opinions on this particular vitola?

[uppercase]

Robustos are my preferred sized as well though I haven't had a Robaina in quite a while.

It didn't leave a strong impression and I didn't seek it out any more

But if it is similar to the Allones, which is a lighter, vegetal smoke to me, I prefer a stronger cigar.

I've been smoking too much this week for some reason and I have a good local cigar shop which sells singles so it's easy to try a few different ones.

So this week, I've had the robustos from Bolivar, Partagas, Romeo, and Montecristo and I'm all smoked out.

But I enjoyed theBolivar most. And ofcourse the Partagas Serie D is always a go-to cigar for me and probably what I choose most often.

I hope that you were wearing your R coat while you enljoyed your smoke.

[iammatt]

Actually, I have to say that I was wearing a polo shirt and jeans. Such is the life of the Californian sometimes .

The Robaina line is hit or miss for me. I still have about a half a box of Unicos from when they were first released and they are wonderful. The Don Alejandros from the same release are also excellent, although I almost never have the time for a prominente. In fact, the whole line was really great for the first year or so. They are strong but not overpowering with a lot of chocolate and coffee taste.

Partagas and Punch are my to favorites right now. If I could only smoke one cigar for the rest of my life it would be the Partagas 8-9-8 Varnished. That may be because the construction of this particular cigar is still excellent while most cigars coming out of Cuba today are very hit or miss on the draw. This is also a reason that I have been smoking more robustos. They are harder to roll so tight that there is no draw. When construction is good, I really like the Laguito #2 shape which you see in the Cohiba Corona Especial, Monte Especial #2 and a version of in the Partagas Serie de Connaisseur (possibly discontinued) and one of the Le Hoyo series. They are all sublime when somkeable, but nowadays, less than 25% are rolled correctly. I simply cannot afford to throw away that kind of money. It also just drives me nuts.

[uppercase]

I've also experienced this issue of poorly rolled Cubans; often the cigar is stuffed, and the draw is so tight that trying to smoke the damn thing is just not worth the effort.

Fortunately, my tobacconist let's me cherry pick my cigars if I ever buy a box, choosing the promising cigars from a number of boxes, so they are all pretty much assured to smoke good.

But mostly I buy singles, so I avoid the whole stuffed cigar issue usually.

Yes, I'm sticking to the robustos and the larger guage cigars. too.

Nothing worse than buying a cigar and then finding it's unsmokable.

Can you smoke in bas/restaurants and offices in SF? Or has that all gone out the window too?!

[alden]

Robaina Famoso is a great cigar. Most of Robaina's cigars are excellent. The dominant notes of Cacao and coffee are very pleasing.

[upmann]

Vegas Robaina
This brand was launched in Spain in july 1997 and from 1998 all over the world. It's the only cuban brand that has the name of a living person: Don Alejandro Robaina.
These cigars are made with first class tobacco but they need at least five years to become terrific. Vegas Robaina is easy to find. My best smoke is Vegas Robaina Clasicos (a longsdale) but all the line has the same "ligada".

[Aristide]

I've also experienced this issue of poorly rolled Cubans; often the cigar is stuffed, and the draw is so tight that trying to smoke the damn thing is just not worth the effort.

Fortunately, my tobacconist let's me cherry pick my cigars if I ever buy a box, choosing the promising cigars from a number of boxes, so they are all pretty much assured to smoke good.

But mostly I buy singles, so I avoid the whole stuffed cigar issue usually.

Yes, I'm sticking to the robustos and the larger guage cigars. too.

Nothing worse than buying a cigar and then finding it's unsmokable.

Can you smoke in bas/restaurants and offices in SF? Or has that all gone out the window too?!

Smoking in bars and restaurants in San Francisco is prohibited, as it is in all of California. Also, please note that it is similarly illegal to possess Cuban products (i.e., cigars) in the U.S. In the event that you enter the country with a reserve of cigars for your smoking pleasure, they are subject to confiscation. Sad, but true.

[Aristide]

My apologies, uppercase, as I mis-spoke. After a bit or research, I am pleased to report as follows:

The Occidental is the only bar where you can smoke indoors in public in SF:
http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/prof ... _club.html

The Cigar Bar and Grill is a much nicer place but you can only smoke in the patio:
http://www.cigarbarandgrill.com/

There's also a new place, Monte Cristo, with an outdoor smoking area:
http://www.opentable.com/rest_profile.aspx?rid=4375

A good cigar shop is Grant's, on Market Street:
http://www.grantspipeshop.com/

And if you want to drive a bit, there's Telford's Pipe & Tobacco in Mill Valley:
http://telfordspipeshop.com/

Hope this helps and that your visit is an enjoyable one.

[filangieri]

Since the Robaina line was launched in the late nineties, I’ve always had mixed feelings about the brand.
While some vitolas (Famosos and Unicos) were pretty good smokes as far as taste and aroma and provided reliable draw and construction features, other formats, including the flagship Don Alejandro prominentes, were so inconsistent and unreliable that I haven’t been buying a box in years.
But since the Italian habanos market is quite oblivious of the Robaina brand, sometimes it’s well worth digging the walk-ins of our tobacconists to find some overlooked gems that were left over by the local aficionados, therefore aging to perfection, completely unnoticed, for a few years (last spring I found a glorious 1999 box of Unicos).
To discover such hidden treasures I use to check the manufacture date stamped on the back of the box, then I buy a single cigar, I smoke it the same day, and if I happen to like it a lot I simply go back to the tobacconist to purchase the remaining puros of the same box.