Room 101 LTD OSOK

When Matt Booth and Camacho Cigars launched the Room 101 Cigars line in 2009, it was one of the most highly anticipated new lines by the cigar industry.  While there were some good cigars done by Room 101,  it was with the 2011 launch of the Room 101 Namakubi and the Room 101 Connecticut, where I felt the promise of those initial high expectations were met.  We had those two releases ranked #7 and #10 respectively in our 2011 Cigar of the Year countdown.   Entering 2012, Booth and Room 101 have launched the fifth cigar of their brand – the Room LTD OSOK.  Once again, Booth and Room 101 are continuing to ride the momentum that the brand found in 2011 as this proves to be an outstanding cigar.

OSOK is an acronym for “One Shot One Kill”.  OSOK gets its name from photographer Edgar Hoill, who Booth has worked with in the past.  Hoill’s nickname is “One Shot One Kill” for his precision accuracy around taking photographs.  Hoill is a cigar enthusiast and in regards to Room 101, Booth says “he is an original member of the 101 family and we would not be where we are today without him.”

The OSOK began surfacing at events late last year as an “event only cigar”.  The official launch of the OSOK as a production release in February 2012 marked the first time I had a chance to sample this cigar.  The OSOK line is currently positioned to be a limited release. The plan is for 10,000 cigars (1,000 boxes) being made per vitola.

Let’s take a look at this cigar and see what it brings to the table.

Blend Profile

One trend I have mentioned was that 2011 was a renaissance with Honduran Tobacco.  While this has an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Honduran tobacco plays a key role in this blend.  Overall, this cigar showcases that Honduran tobacco is still alive and kicking.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Honduran Corojo Seco
Filler: Corojo and Piloto Ligero (Honduran and Dominican)

Vitolas Available

The Room 101 LTD OSOK is currently available in three diadema vitolas.

Filero: 52 x 42 x 4 1/2
Trucha: 30 x 50 x 19 x 6 1/2
Chingon: 60 x 44 x 8

Appearance

For this cigar experience, I selected the Trucha vitola. The Ecuadorian Habano wrapper of the Room 101 LTD OSOK has a real unique look to it as it has almost a dark oak appearance.   There are some black spots on the wrapper.  The wrapper is also slightly oily in appearance, but has a rough – almost sandy feel to it.   The foot to the Room LTD OSOK Trucha is open.

The packaging to this cigar is very innovative.  Each cigar is individual wrapped with tissue paper and tied at each end.  Over the tissue paper is a black and white “paper bandana”.  Each paper bandana features a skull that is in the center.  There design also features paisley and smaller skulls.

“Paper Bandana” of the Room 101 LTD OSOK

The cigar itself features a black and silver band.   On the front, the band is the acronym “OSOK” going horizontal on the band in silver font.  Under the acronym is “Room 101 LTD” in small silver font.  The back of the band has in extremely small silver font is “Exclusivo Para La Familia 101”.  Under that is “101” in slightly larger silver font.  A unique feature is the back of the band features a QR Code that takes you to the Room 101 Facebook page.

QR Code on back of Room 101 LTD OSOK band

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

Lately with diadema vitolas, I have been opted to clip the foot to get a better burn. Since the foot was open with Room 101 LTD OSOK Trucha, I made the decision to not do this and see how the cigar would burn as-is.  I defaulted to a place a straight cut on the tip, and then commenced with the pre-light draw.  The dry draw notes treated me to notes of wood and coffee.  There was a sweetness in the background that I could not put my finger on.  The pre-light draw experience was extremely positive on my Room 101 LTD OSOK, therefore it was now time to fire up the cigar and prepared to see what it would deliver.

Flavor Profile

While the Room 101 LTD OSOK is not going to be a cigar that undergoes significant flavor transitions, it is the kind of cigar that is going to deliver its complexity in terms of the flavor nuances.  The start of the cigar provided a sample of what was to come with the flavor profile – namely of notes of coffee, chicory, and pepper. Around five percent, the pepper moved to the after-draw, but could still be significantly detected through the nostrils.  It is also around this point where I detected some bittersweet chocolate notes in the background.

As the cigar moved through the first third, some oak notes surfaced and joined the chicory notes in the forefront.  The coffee and chocolate notes were secondary flavors.   The pepper from time to time would be present on the full draw, but primarily remained on the after-draw through the first two thirds.

By the final third of the Room 101 LTD OSOK, the pepper notes moved into the forefront.  I wouldn’t categorize this as a pepper bomb toward the end, but it definitely delivered some spice.  The finish to the nub was a little warm in temperature and soft to the touch.

Burn and Draw

One reason why I am not a fan of perfectos or diademas is because I do tend to see a lot of burn issues with these vitolas (This is why I normally will cut the foot – to mitigate these issues).  In the case of the Room 101 LTD OSOK, this provided one of the best burns I’ve had on a diadema.   The cigar burned straight throughout the whole smoking experience with minimal touch-ups.  While the cigar burned a little warm at very end, it burned at an ideal temperature for the duration of the smoking experience.  The burn rate was also ideal.  As for the draw, it was outstanding – making for a very good smoking experience.

Strength and Body

From a strength standpoint, the Room 101 LTD OSOK is advertised as “medium to full”.   From my standpoint, the Room 101 LTD OSOK has just enough strength to qualify as full strength.  I wouldn’t classify this cigar as a nicotine bomb, but it probably has the most strength of any cigar in the Room 101 line.   As for the depth of the flavor notes,  the Room 101 LTD OSOK starts as medium in body, but progresses to medium to full for the duration of the smoke.  The strength does get the better of the flavors for most of this cigar, but it doesn’t smother the flavors.

Final Thoughts

There are only a handful of diadema cigars that deliver for me.  The Room 101 LTD OSOK is now one of those cigars.   While I consider this a cigar of excellent construction,  I do wonder how this would be in a more classic parejo-shape.  Given that the strength has an advantage over the body, this might not be a smoke for a novice enthusiast.  Experienced cigar enthusiasts who are looking for a stronger cigar with flavor nuances will appreciate this cigar.   I very much enjoyed this cigar and no doubt – the OSOK solidifies that Room 101 brand even more.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Full
Body: Medium to Full (Medium to Start)
Finish: Good
Assessment: Memorable
Score: 91

Source: The cigar for this assessment was purchased from Outland Cigars in Charlotte NC