Agile Cigar Reviews replace what we termed “Assessment Updates”. The concept is the same, but the name is different. Agile Cigar Reviews use a lightweight, shorter format. These will never take the place of our comprehensive reviews. They are only used on blends we have previously assessed. This might be a blend we are re-scoring or providing a score for a first time. It might be a blend we are looking at in a different size. Today we look at the Eiroa Robusto by CLE Cigars. This is a cigar we assessed back in August 2013.
Eiroa Robusto by CLE Cigars |
Wrapper: Honduran
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Honduran
Country of Origin: Honduras (El Aladino)
Robusto: 5 x 50
In 2013, CLE Cigars founder Christian Eiroa launched the Eiroa brand. This would be his first cigar line to carry the family name. The Eiroa family traces its roots in the tobacco industry back to 1916. This is when Generoso Eiroa landed a job as a boat captain for the Cuban Land and Leaf Tobacco company. Since then, the family has been in the tobacco business for four generations and nearly 100 years.
The Eiroa is positioned a more premium, fuller offering in the CLE portfolio. As one would expect, it goes back to Eiroa’s roots and is an all-Honduran blend. It features Authentic Corojo grown on th Eiroa family farms. The Eiroa was a standout cigar and finished as the Cigar Coop #11 Cigar for 2013. Today, we take another look at this cigar in the Robusto size.
The Eiroa starts out with notes of sweet natural tobacco, cedar, earth, and pepper. As the flavorer profile takes home, the sweetness increases in complexity as it becomes a combination of sugar cane, fruit, and natural tobacco. The spice also becomes multi-dimensional as it exhibits notes of pepper and cedar. I found early on the sweetness had the edge over the spice and earth notes early on. During the second third, the sweetness and spice are more balanced. During the last third, the Eiroa Robusto takes on more of a spicy, earthy profile. Back in 2013, I had picked up more of a creamy note as a part of the flavor profile. This time, the cream notes were a lot less prominent.
I found the Eiroa Robusto to be a medium to full strength and full-bodied smoke – staying in the same wheelhouse as 2012.
Overall, I still find this to be an excellent cigar – and one that is one of the better Honduran puros to come out in recent years. While this scored slightly lower than 2013, some of this can be attributed to changes in scoring. It’s still a cigar that is box worthy in my book.
Summary
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: High
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Full
Finish: Excellent
Assessment: 4.0 – Box Worthy
Score: 92 ( * Original Score – 94)
* Using 2013 scoring algorithm
References
Original Assessment: EIROA by CLE Cigars
News: EIROA by Fabricas Unidas
Price: $10.15
Source: Cigars Provided by Manufacturer
Stogie Geeks Podcast: Episode 78, Episode 108
Stogie Feed: Eiroa Prensado Redux, Eiroa Robusto