Raumzeit Robusto by German Engineered Cigars — Raumziet Robusto by German Engineered Cigars

At the 2022 Tobacco Plus Expo, German Engineered Cigars would introduce its second regular production line in its portfolio known as Raumzeit. German Engineered Cigars was founded by Oliver Nickels, Jan-Klaas Mahler, and Joachim “Joe” Sadowski. It’s a brand that incorporates a theme of German Engineered technology into its products. The name “Raumzeit” is German for “Space Time.” According to German Engineered Cigars, the name was picked because the theme of the blend is “a fantastic immersion in aromatic complexity and engineered perfection (that) makes space and time become irrelevant.” To produce the Raumzeit blend, German Engineered Cigars turned to industry veteran Claudio Sgroi of CST Consulting. Sgroi had recently left Mombacho Cigars to form his own consultancy. Back in September 2021, Sgroi and German Engineered Cigars entered into a partnership where Sgroi would develop two blends for German Engineered Cigars. Today we take a closer look at one of those blends – the Ramzeit in the Robusto size.

For German Engineered Cigars, this was the first regular production line to be released in almost six years – following their debut line Rauchvergnügen. Raumzeit is meant to be a milder offering. One thing that is a little different about this blend is the incorporation of a Nicaraguan-grown Connecticut Shade wrapper. It’s not the first cigar to use a Connecticut Shade wrapper grown in Nicaragua, but this is still not a common thing in the cigar business.

Without further ado, let’s turn our attention to the Raumzeit Robusto and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

In the past, Sgroi has been known for his Nicaraguan-centric and Nicaraguan puro blends. With the Raumzeit, Sgroi delivers a three-country multi-national blend. In addition to the Nicaraguan-grown Connecticut shade wrapper, the Raumzeit features an Indonesian binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. Sgroi would work with Tabacalera Tambor to handle the actual production of the Raumzeit.

Wrapper: Nicaragua – Connecticut
Binder: Indonesia – Sumatra
Filler: Nicaragua – Jalapa & Dominican Republic – Piloto
Country of origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacalera Tambor

Vitolas Offered

The Raumzeit is offered in three regular production sizes. The Robusto is available in 20-count bundles or boxes.

Half Corona: 44 x 3 1/2
Robusto: 54 x 5
Gran Toro 58 x 6

There are also two additional limited production sizes. These were released as a part of German Engineered Cigars Autonom brand. Autonom is a brand the company set up for its experimental or limited-release cigars. These are available in ten-count bundles.

Lancero: 7 x 40
Petit Edmundo: 4 x 50

Appearance

The Nicaraguan-grown Connecticut Shade wrapper is one that was light brown in color. This was quite an aesthetically pleasing wrapper and it exhibited a nice elegance to it. There wasn’t much in the way of oil on the surface of this wrapper. Any visible veins were on the pale side, but the lighter color of the wrapper made the seams more visible.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to remove the cap of the Raumzeit Robusto. Once the cap was removed, it was time to commence with the pre-light draw. The cold draw brought notes I would expect from a Connecticut Shade cigar – namely notes of wood, cedar, and a slight amount of cream. Overall this was a satisfactory pre-light draw. At this point, it was time to toast up the footer of the Raumzeit Robusto and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The Raumzeit Robusto started out with notes of citrus, cream, classic wood, cedar, and pepper notes. Early on there was no dominant note, but as the cigar moved through the first third the citrus and cream notes surfaced as the primary notes. Eventually, the citrus notes moved into the background giving the cream notes a short time as the primary note. By the end of the first third, the wood displaced the cream as the primary note. Meanwhile, there was a light amount of cedar and pepper on the retro-hale.

During the second third of the Raumzeit Robusto, the wood notes remained primary. Occasionally the cedar notes popped into the forefront. The cream, citrus, and pepper notes were secondary. During this stage of the smoking experience a natural tobacco note that was slightly bitter surfaced in the background. This natural tobacco note slowly increased as the cigar moved through the second half.

By the final third, the natural tobacco joined the wood notes. The bitterness associated with the natural tobacco had also increased in intensity. In the background, the pepper, citrus, and cream notes remained, but the pepper had slightly increased becoming the most prominent of the background notes. This is the way the Raumzeit Robusto came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

While the Raumzeit Robusto maintained a straight burn path, the cigar did require multiple touch-ups to keep it on track. While the touch-ups did the trick, there were more needed than I preferred. The burn line had a slight amount of jaggedness to it. The resulting ash had a silver-gray color. This was an ash that was skewed on the firmer side. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both maintained ideal levels.

Draw

The draw to the Raumzeit Robusto was on the open side. Normally I like a little resistance on the draw, but the openness of the draw didn’t have any adverse effects on the smoking experience.

Strength and Body

Overall the Raumzeit Robusto was designed to be a milder offering by German Engineered Cigars and that is exactly what was delivered. This was a cigar that was mild to medium in strength and mild to medium in body. During the smoking experience, there was a slight increase in the intensity of the strength and body, but in the end, the cigar maintained its mild to medium profile for both attributes. Both the strength and body balanced each other nicely with neither attribute overpowering the other.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES

When it comes to German Engineering Cigars, if you are looking for classic and traditional bands, that is not what you will get. In the case of the Raumzeit, the band has a very modern and hi-tech look to it. Overall I like this band design. The black and copper band looks very nice against the Connecticut Shade wrapper.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

The Raumzeit was a tale of two cigars in my book. I really like the first third of this cigar, but as the cigar experience moved into the final two-thirds, I found the experience to become less enjoyable. Normally I don’t mind a little bitterness, but in this case, the bitterness offset some of the balance of this cigar. This is often a complaint many have about Connecticut Shade cigars and I think it’s applicable in this case. In the end, this is a cigar I would recommend trying a sample first. At the same time, I do wonder if some of the issues I mention would be mitigated in one of the other sizes, so I look forward to trying them.

Summary

Key Flavors: Wood, Natural Tobacco, Cream, Citrus, Cedar, Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Mild to Medium
Body: Mild to Medium
Finish: Very Good