Cubanacan Habano Rothschild

The Cubanacan Habano is one of three blends under the eponymous line made by Cubanacan Cigars. Over the past couple of years, Cubanacan Cigars has been building a name for themselves . Last year, the company streamlined its portfolio to focus on four brands – Cubanacan, Mederos, Soneros, and HR. The Cubanacan line itself consists of Connecticut, Maduro, and a Habano wrapper offerings. Today we take a closer look at the Cubanacan Habano in a Rothschild (Robusto) format. Overall, there is a reason why Cubanacan Cigars have been gaining some momentum – namely because the company is producing some very good blends. The Cubanacan Habano is another excellent offering by this up and coming company.

Cubanacan Cigars is owned by the Mederos family. The Mederos family has Cuban roots and actually has been involved with rolling cigars since the early 19th century. This is a vertically integrated company. Not only does the company own its own factory in Esteli, Nicaragua, but they are also involved with the growing of tobacco. The company owns its own factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. In regards to the company name, Cubanacan’s web-site says:

“The name Cubanacan was chosen for it’s vibrant history and the story behind it’s meaning. Cubanacan means ‘where fertile land is abundant’ and is derived from tobacco traditions that predate Cuba itself. The story of Cubanacan is not just one of our past, but one that is still being written.”

Consistent with all of the lines by Cubanacan cigars, the Cubanacan Habano was blended by the company’s master blender Omar Gonzalez Aleman.

Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the Cubanacan Habano Rothschild and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profie

The Cubanacan Habano features a mix of Ecuadorian and Nicraraguan tobacco:

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Ecuadorian Habano
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua (Tabacalera Cubanacan)

Vitolas Available

At press time, the Cubanacan Habano comes in five sizes:

Chatos: 4 1/2 x 42
Rothschild: 5 x 50
Gordo: 6 x 60
Piramide: 6 1/8 x 52
Churchill: 7 x 50

Appearance

The Cubanacan Habano Rothschild has a medium brown colored wrapper with some colorado red mixed into it. Upon closer examination, there is some darker marbling that can be seen. There is also some oil on the surface. There are some visible wrapper seams and visible veins on the surface of the wrapper.

The band to the Cubanacan Habano has gone through a slight re-design. The band is white in color with mostly metallic red font. It features the three-ringed black, red, and gold colored Cubanacan logo on it. That logo has the name “CUBANACAN” in large red font on an ivory background that flanks three red-colored rings. On the left ring is the contains the text “MEDEROS” around it. The ring on the right side contains the text “EXPORTACION DE LA REPÚBLICA DE NICARAGUA” across the top and “HECHO A MANO – ESTELI, NICARAGUA” on the bottom. Above the middle ring is the text “FABRICA DE TABACOS” in metallic red font and below the middle ring is the text “HABANO” – also in metallic red. There are gold and red adornments around the middle ring. The band has some metallic red striping across top and bottom.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

Prior to lighting the Cubanacan Habano Rothschild, I went with a straight cut to remove the cap of the cigar. Once the cap was clipped I moved on to the pre-light draw. I found the cold draw of the Cubanacan Habano to be quite simple – delivering mostly subtle notes of sweet natural tobacco. Overall, while it wasn’t the most complex pre-light draw, I found it to be satisfying. At this point I was ready to light up this cigar and see what the smoking stage would have in store.

Flavor Profile

The sweet natural tobacco notes continued once the Cubanacan Habano Rothschild was lit. I also detected some notes of black and white pepper. The natural tobacco notes moved into the forefront very quickly. The pepper receded into the background and was joined by some generic wood notes. Meanwhile the retro-hale delivered a combination of cedar and pepper notes.

Later in the first third, the natural tobacco notes took on a slight syrupy cherry sweetness to it. At the same time some cocoa notes emerged in the background. The wood and pepper notes remained in the background.

During the second third, the cocoa notes moved into forefront and alternated with the natural tobacco notes in intensity. Later in the second third, the syrupy qualities of the natural tobacco notes diminished and returned to the state of the early stages.

By the last third, the natural tobacco and cocoa notes still were alternating in the forefront. There was a slight in the forefront. The pepper notes slightly increased, but never got overwhelming. This is the way the flavor profile came to a close. The resulting nub was cool in temperature and firm to the touch.

Burn and Draw

Overall the burn performed well. There was a slight jaggedness to the burn line, but overall the Cubanacan Habano Rothschild had no problem maintaining a straight burn path. The resulting ash was a charcoal gray color. The resulting ash leaned toward being firm and came off the cigar in nice clean chunks. The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.

Burn of the Cubanacan Habano Rothschild

The draw performed quite well. It had a slight amount of resistance – which is something I like. Overall, the Cubanacan Habano Rotschild was a low maintenance draw to derive the flavors of this cigar.

Strength and Body

From a strength and body perspective, I found the Cubanacan Habano Rothschild to fall into the medium range for both attributes. There was a slight increase in intensity for both the burn and draw, but both attributes did not cross into medium to full territory. Overall I found both the strength and body to balance each other nicely – with neither attribute overshadowing the other.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I found the Cubanacan Habano Rothschild to be a very good cigar. It delivers a lot of classic Nicaraguan notes from start to finish.  I liked the way the cocoa notes moved in and out. It’s also a cigar that delivers just “enough spice” – namely not too much, yet not too little. The cigar’s medium strength, medium-bodied profile seemed to be tailor made for this cigar’s flavor profile. This is a cigar that can easily be enjoyed at any time of the day. I’d recommend this cigar to either a novice or experienced cigar enthusiast. As for myself, this cigar is one that I would smoke again – and it’s certainly worthy of a fiver.

Summary

Burn: Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Excellent
Assessment: 3.0 – The Fiver
Score: 89

References

News: n/a
Price: $6.35
Source: Cigars Provided by Manufactuer
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