San Pedro de Macorís Brazil Robusto by Royal Agio Cigars

In 2018, Royal Agio Cigars introduced a new value-priced brand known as San Pedro de Macorís. At the time this brand was introduced Royal Agio was expanding its premium handmade cigar footprint in the U.S. market. A year earlier, after a three year run of distribution in the U.S. by Drew Estate, Royal Agio Cigars would open its own U.S. headquarters. At the time this occurred, Royal Agio had one premium handmade line, the Balmoral Añejo XO. It was very clear that Royal Agio would need more lines to expand its footprint. While Royal Agio was investing in its Balmoral line, this still was a more premium line and Royal Agio was also in need of a more value-priced line. That is where the San Pedro de Macorís brand comes in as it offers several value price blends. Today we take a closer look at one of those blends, the San Pedro de Macorís Brazil in the Robusto size.

San Pedro de Macorís is a city in the Dominican Republic where Royal Agio Cigars owns a factory. That factory makes both machine-made and handmade cigars. The San Pedro de Macorís pays homage to that factory. In 2018, San Pedro de Macorís was introduced in two offerings – San Pedro de Macorís Brazil and San Pedro de Macorís Ecuador. This past year two additional offerings, San Pedro de Macorís Nicaragua and San Pedro de Macorís Sun Grown, were added.

One footnote before going forward with this review. Royal Agio Cigars has announced it is selling its company to Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) pending regulatory approval.

Without further ado, let’s break down the San Pedro de Macorís Brazil Robusto and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

In addition to the Brazilian Arapiraca Wrapper, there is Dominican tobacco used in the binder and filler for the San Pedro de Macorís Brazil. In addition, there is also Brazilian Mata Fina in the filler. The use of Brazilian tobacco has been a staple of Royal Agio Cigars as it is found in many of its other lines.

Wrapper: Brazilian Arapiraca
Binder: Dominican Olor
Filler: Dominican Olor, Dominican Piloto Ligero, and Brazilian Mata Fina
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Royal Agio

Vitolas Offered

The San Pedro de Macorís Brazil is offered in three sizes. Each is packaged in 20-count boxes. All four blends in the San Pedro de Macorís blend have the same sizes and box counts:

Perla: 4 1/2 x 40
Corona: 5 7/8 x 42
Robusto: 5 1/8 x 52

San Pedro de Macorís Brazil Packaging

Appearance

The Brazilian Arapiraca Wrapper of the San Pedro de Macorís Brazil Robusto had a roasted coffee bean color. Upon closer examination there was some subtle mottling present on the surface. There was a light coating of oil on the wrapper. This was a smooth wrapper. There were some thin visible wrapper seams while the visible veins were on the thin side.

The band to the San Pedro de Macorís Brazil was black in color. There were some green and yellow accents and trim on the band. At the top was the San Pedro de Macorís logo of a rooster inside a shield. – both in ygreen font. Surrounding the shield was the text “DOMINICAN” and “REPUBLIC” on the left and right side respectively in light cursive font. On the center of the band was the text “SAN PEDRO” in large silver font with the text “DE MACORIS” in a smaller silver font just below it. The text “BRAZIL” is in dark font with a green nameplate background. The band also has the name of the vitola – in this case, its the text “ROBUSTO” in light font.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to remove the cap of the San Pedro de Macorís Brazil Robusto. Once the cap was detached from the cigar, it was time to commence with the pre-light draw. The cold draw delivered a mix of coffee, earth, and a slight amount of pepper. There also was a slight underlying sweetness present. I considered this an excellent pre-light draw. At this point it was time to light up the San Pedro de Macorís Brazil Robusto and see what the smoking experience would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The San Pedro de Macorís Brazil Robusto started out with notes of coffee, earth, mineral, classic wood, and a slight amount of red pepper. Early on the coffee and mineral notes moved into the forefront with the earth, wood, and red pepper settling in the background. The red pepper was also present on the retro-hale. Early on the coffee notes had an underlying sweetness.

The second third of the San Pedro de Macorís Brazil Robusto saw the classic wood notes join the mineral notes in the forefront. The coffee notes receded into the background joining the earth and red pepper. Some of the sweetness present early on diminished greatly.

By the final third, the mineral notes receded into the background, joining the coffee and earth. There was also an increase in the pepper notes, but they never overtook the flavor profile. This is the way the cigar experience of the San Pedro de Macorís Brazil Robusto came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The San Pedro de Macorís Brazil Robusto maintained a straight burn path from start to finish. The burn line had some jaggedness along the way requiring some touch-ups. The resulting ash had a silver gray color. This wasn’t an overly firm ash, but it wasn’t a loose nor flaky ash either. The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

Burn of the San Pedro de Macorís Brazil

Draw

The draw of the San Pedro de Macorís Brazil Robusto performed excellently. There was a touch of resistance – something that I like. This was a cigar that was low maintenance to derive flavor from, and it was one that produced an ample amount of smoke.

Strength and Body

The strength and body of the San Pedro de Macorís Brazil Robusto started out in the medium range. For the most part, the strength remained constant. There was a slight increase in the body at the midway point and this resulted in the cigar moving into medium to full territory.

In terms of strength versus body, the body maintained a slight edge that grew as it built up in intensity.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

The San Pedro de Macorís Brazil Robusto started out promising – as it wowed me on the pre-light draw and I was expecting it to continue during the smoking experience. During the initial puffs of the cigar, it seemed like that was exactly what was going to happen. As the cigar progressed, I found it didn’t progress, but regressed somewhat. The cigar never developed a wow factor and in the end, I found it didn’t quite hit the mark. Still there are some unique flavors from this cigar. At $5.50 per cigar, it’s certainly got some value, and it’s one I would advise a cigar enthusiast (experienced or a novice looking for a medium/medium plus) to see if they get a sample and give it a try.

Summary

Key Flavors: Coffee, Mineral, Classic Wood, Earth, Red Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Ful (2nd Half)
Finish: Good