The RoMa Craft Tobac CroMagnon Firecracker was the 2016 installment of Two Guys Smoke Shop’s Firecracker Series. The Firecracker Series is series of small robusto cigars made by various manufacturers exclusively for Two Guys Smoke Shop. Each of the cigars are a 3 to 3 1/2 inch 50 ring gauge robusto featuring a long pig-tail – thus giving the appearance of a Firecracker. The CroMagnon Firecracker comes in as  3 1/2 x 50 vitola making it the shortest vitola in the CroMagnon line. Recently I’ve had an opportunity to smoke the CroMagnon Firecracker. Overall, I’ve found the CroMagnon line to be quite diverse where each size offers a unique profile. The CroMagnon Firecracker is no exception.

There have been several installments in the Two Guys Smoke Shop Firecracker Series:

• RoMa Craft Tobac CroMagnon Firecracker
• Don Pepin Garcia Original (Blue Label) Firecracker
• The Firecracker (made by Jose Dominguez)
• La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Firecracker 
• Fratello Firecracker (Planned for 2017)

In addition, while not branded “Firecracker”, Tatuaje has also made a cigar in a similar format known as the Tatuaje M80.

With the exception of the Jose Dominguez Firecracker, each of the Firecracker installments have been limited production lines. Two hundred twenty count boxes were allocated for Two Guys Smoke Shop of the CroMagnon Firecracker. When the CroMagnon Firecracker went on sale this past July, Two Guys Smoke Shop reported the cigars sold out in a matter of hours.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the RoMa Craft Tobac CroMagnon Firecracker and see what this cigar brings to the table:

Blend Profile

The blend to the CroMagnon Firecracker features the same components found across most of the line:

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Cameroon
Filler: Nicaraguan: Esteli, Condega, and a ligero leaf from Pueblo Nuevo (a small farm north of Esteli on the Honduran border)

Country of Origin: Nicaragua (Nica Sueno)

Vitolas Available

The following vitolas use what the blend components above. Over the years, CroMagnon has incorporated a wide range of vitolas. Some offerings have been more limited than others.

Firecracker: 3 1/2 x 50
Knuckle Dragger: 4 x 52 (Short Robusto)
Mandible: 4 1/2 x 60 (Short Gordo)
EMH: 5 x 56 (Robusto Grande)
Anthropology: 5 3/4 x 46 (Corona Gorda)
Cranium: 6 x 54 (Toro Grande)
Mode 5: 5 x 50 (Perfecto)
Atlatl: 7 x 38 (Lancero)
Blockhead: 6 x 54 (Box Pressed Toro)
Venus: 6 1/2 x 56 (Petite Salomon)
Breuil: 5 1/2 x 37 (Panetela)
Pestera Muierillor: 4 x 46 (Petite Corona)
Timeline: 6 1/4 x 50 (Toro)
Mandible XL: 6 x 60 (Gordo)
Femur: 10 x 133 1/3

In addition there are two other blends under the CroMagnon line, the CroMagnon Slobberknocker and CroMagnon Epoch (which replace the Cameroon binder with Ecuadorian Habano Ligero) the CroMagnon Fomorian (featuring a candela wrapped version of the CroMagnon EMH).

Appearance

The Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper of the CroMagnon Firecracker has a classic coffee bean color to it. Upon closer examination, there was some darker marbling on the surface of the wrapper. The wrapper itself had a coating of oil on it. There were some visible wrapper seams and some thin visible veins. The footer to the cigar is covered. The cigar had a nice firm pack to it as there was a lot of tobacco in this little cigar. Finally, one unique feature of the CroMagnon Firecracker is that the extended fuse off the cap  is tucked under the cigar band.

The CroMagnon Firecracker features the same banding found on many of the other vitolas of the CroMagnon line.  There is a thin charcoal-collared band with the text “CROMAGNON” embossed on it. The back of the band contains the RoMa Craft Tobac logo. The charcoal band sits on top of a thicker white band. The white band containing etching of what could be consider “early modern man”.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

As opposed to pulling the pig-tail off the CroMagnon Firecracker I opted to place a straight cut into the cap. This essentially put a cut into the pig-tail that was draped down from the cap under the band. Once the cap removed, I slid the remaining pig-tail that was still resting against the cigar under the band off.

The pre-light draw of the CroMagnon Firecracker delivered a combination of chocolate and cedar along with a slight floral note. Overall I considered this to be an excellent pre-light draw. At this point I was ready to light up the CroMagnon Firecracker and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Flavor Profile

The RoMa Craft Tobac CroMagnon Firecracker started out with a quick blast of black pepper. The pepper subsided into the background and gave way to a combination of earth and chocolate notes. Joining the pepper in the background was a slight nut flavor. Meanwhile the black pepper remained quite prominent on the retro-hale.

The earth and chocolate were the primary notes during the first third. By the second third, the earth notes took control. The chocolate, nut, and pepper notes were secondary. I also detected a slight amount of cedar in the background.

During the second half, the earth notes remained primary. The big difference from a flavor perspective was that there was an increase in the pepper spices. From time to time, the chocolate notes still surfaced from time to time. Toward the end, the spices were bolder, but never overpowered the blend. The end of the cigar exhibited no signs of harshness. Each time, the CroMagnon Firecracker cigar finished with a nub that was cool in temperature – and quite firm.

Burn and Draw

The CroMagnon Firecracker is a well-constructed cigar, but this really isn’t a surprise because RoMa Craft Tobac and its factory, Nica Sueno has done a great job in this area. The CroMagnon Firecracker took a straight burn path from start to finish. There was a slight curvature and a slight amount of jaggedness, but this didn’t much more in additional touch-ups. The silver colored ash was tight and firm, coming off the cigar in clean chunks. The burn temperature was ideal. Overall, I found this to be a slower burning cigar as each smoke still took me about 45 to 50 minutes. Ultimately, there were no adverse effects of the slower burn and it did a great job at extending the smoking experience.

The tighter pack of the CroMagnon Firecracker resulted in a slight amount of resistance on the draw. Ultimately, this worked completely in favor of this cigar. I like when a cigar demonstrates this characteristic and in the case of the CroMagnon Firecracker it contributed to the slower pace on the smoke.

Strength and Body

In terms of strength and body, I found this to be a bolder cigar, but not an overpowering cigar. The CroMagnon Firecracker started out with medium to full strength. This level holds for the first two thirds. The last third saw the strength level cross the threshold into full territory. Comparing this to other RoMa Craft Tobac  smokes, this cigar didn’t come near the strength level of RoMa Craft Tobac’s Neanderthal HN.  In fact, I found the Don Pepin Garcia Blue Firecracker also had more in the way of strength.

Body-wise, I found the CroMagnon Firecracker to be a medium-bodied smoke. The flavors aren’t going to weigh very heavy on the palate. When looking at strength versus body, I gave an edge to the strength.

Final Thoughts

CroMagnon is the brand under RoMa Craft Tobac that started it all for the company. Before there was a RoMa Craft Tobac, there was a CroMagnon (made by RoMa Craft’s predecessor, Adrian’s Cigars). Over the years, RoMa Craft Tobac has grown the CroMagnon to have a variety of vitolas and there seems to be one for everyone. The fact that the CroMagnon blend can work in everything from a 3 1/2 x 50 vitola to a massive 10 x 133 1/3 is nothing short of incredible. With 15 offerings, some vitolas are going to be better than others. Is it the best size in the line? No. For me the Blockhead, Mode 5, and Knuckle Dragger are superior offerings. That being said, the CroMagnon Firecracker was still an enjoyable cigar. It’s just that some of the other CroMagnon cigars have more in the way of richness and complexity. Ultimately, this size is a bolder cigar, so I’d recommend it to a more-experienced cigar enthusiast. As for myself, it’s still a fun cigar to have in your collection. I’m not sure its worth the manhunt one would have to make to track down this size, however if you can it’s still certainly worthy of picking up a fiver of them.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium-
Strength: Medium to Full (1st 2/3), Full (Last Third)
Body: Medium
Finish: Excellent
Assessment: 3.0-The Fiver
Score: 89

References

News: CroMagnon Firecracker by RoMa Craft Tobac Coming to Two Guys Smoke Shop
Price: $119.00 per 20 count box (Sold Out)
Source: Purchased through third party who in term samples gifted to Cigar Coop
Stogie Geeks Podcast: Episode 204
Stogie Feed: RoMa Craft Tobac CroMagnon Firecracker
Brand Reference: RoMa Craft Tobac

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop