Over the past nine years, Davidoff has revamped many of its non “Davidoff” brands. We’ve seen major makeovers of the Camacho, Avo, Cusano, and Winston Churchill brands. 2021 would see the Zino brand undergo a major change. For many years Zino has been positioned as an ultra-premium brand. Most of the releases over the past decade have been limited ones. The change would be seen in a new line known as Zino Nicaragua. In this case it would be the first regular production release since 2011’s Zino Platinum Z-Class Series. Zino Nicaragua would be different. It would be positioned as more of a value-priced cigar, and a the same time it would not be targeted for just premium tobacconists, but also for convenience stores. Today we take a closer look at the Zino Nicaragua in the Robusto format.

As many known, the Zino brand is named  Zino has always been one of the more interesting brands on the marketplace. It’s a brand not just known for its innovative packaging, but one that attempts to push the boundaries of what Davidoff does in terms of blends and even sizes. As we will see, the packaging is simpler, but its so different, one can make the case that the change is innovative in itself.

Without further ado, let’s break down the Zino Nicaragua Robusto and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

For the most part, the cigars for the Zino brand have come out of the Dominican Republic. One other thing that was different with Zino Nicaragua is that it is produced in Honduras at Davidoff’s Diadema Cigars de Honduras S.A., the factory that is best known for making the majority of Davidoff’s Camacho factory. The “Nicaragua” stems from the fact that Nicaraguan tobacco is incorporated into the binder and filler. The fillers also feature Honduran and Dominican tobacco. The cigar is finished with a light colored Ecuadorian wrapper.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan, Dominican
Country of Origin: Honduras
Factory: Diadema Cigars de Honduras S.A.

Vitolas Offered

The Zino Nicaragua is offered in three sizes:

Short Torpedo: 4 x 52
Robusto: 5 x 54
Toro: 6 x 50

Each of the three sizes are available in 25-count cabinet boxes as well four count fresh packs (targeted fo the Convenience stores). Both the boxes and fresh packs feature a vibrant gold color along with a new Zino logo.

Appearance

The Ecuadorian wrapper of the Zino Nicaragua Robusto had a light brown color to it. The wrapper itself had a light sheen of oil on it. This was a relatively smooth wrapper with some visible veins. There wasn’t much in the way of any noticeable seams on this wrapper.

The band of the Zino Nicaragua has the vibrant gold color that matches the packaging of the boxes and fresh packs. On the band is a large “Z” in a white-colored contemporary font with slight black accents. The lower part of the band has the text “NICARAGUA” on it. On the right side of the band is the text “ZINO” in landscape mode with the same font as the “Z” not he front of the band.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to commence the cigar experience of the Zino Nicaragua Robusto. Once the cap was removed, it was on to the pre-light draw experience. The cold draw delivered a straight-forward profile of wood and cream. Overall it was a simple, but satisfying pre-light draw experience. At this point it was time to light up the Zino Nicaragua Robusto and await what the smoking phase would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The Zino Nicaragua Robusto kicked off with notes of cream, toasted cedar, earth, and a light berry note. The cream notes moved into the forefront early on, then the cedar moved into the forefront. The earth notes settled into the background and were the most prominent of the secondary notes. The berry notes were more distant and were joined by a chestnut note. The retro-hale produced a mix of cedar and black pepper.

During the second third of the Zino Nicaragua Robusto, the cedar notes took over as the primary note. The cream settled into the background with the earth, berry and chestnut notes. The earth remained the most prominent of the secondary notes.

There wasn’t much change in the final third. The cedar notes remained primary, the earth notes remained the most prominent secondary note. The berry, chestnut and cream notes rounded things off. This is the way the Zino Nicaragua Robusto came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

On each of the samples, the Zino Nicaragua Robusto came out of the gate requiring almost no touch-ups to maintain a straight burn path and straight burn line. As the cigar experience progressed, more in the way of touch-ups were required to keep the burn path and burn line straight. The second half saw the amount of touch-ups more frequent than I prefer. The resulting ash was firm with a salt and pepper color. The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

Draw

The burn of the Zino Nicaragua Robusto performed flawlessly. This was a draw that had a touch of resistance  – which is something I prefer. At the same time this was still a low maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

The Zino Nicaragua Robusto came out of the gate with mild to medium strength and body. There was an increase in the intensity of strength. By the second half, the Zino Nicaragua Robusto moved into medium territory where it remained for the duration of the smoking experience. Both the strength and body balanced each other nicely with neither attribute overshadowing the other.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

One comment about something that didn’t affect the overall assessment. Zino has always been a special brand. While I do like that Davidoff has released a very good value-priced cigar, the problem is I still consider Zino an ultra-premium brand. I would have felt better with this as a Camacho, but that’s just me.

As for the cigar, this delivers a very good experience at an affordable price. The flavors produced were very good, and what was even more impressive was how well the flavors played together. In the end, this is still a cigar I would recommend to any cigar enthusiast – any time of the day.  As for myself, this is a cigar I would buy multiples of and smoke again. One of the four-count fresh packs are certainly an option.

Summary

Key Flavors: Cream ,Cedar, Berry, Earth, Chestnut, Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Mild to Medium (1st Half), Medium (2nd Half)
Body: Mild to Medium (1st Half), Medium (2nd Half)
Finish: Very Good

Rating

Value: Buy Multiples
Score: 89

References

News: Davidoff Announces Zino Brand Relaunch
Price: $6.50
Source: Purchased
Brand Reference: Zino

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop, except where noted