Artista Falu Review — Artista Falu Robusto

Today, we review the Artista Falu Robusto. The Falu is the third regular production line under Artista Cigars’ flagship eponymous brand. Falu gets its name from the red barns of Northern Europe and the United States. In 2022, the company, previously known as El Artista, underwent a significant revamp and rebranding of its portfolio. The company was rebranded as Artista Cigars, establishing a brand with this new name. Last year saw the release of Harvest and Midnight. This year, Falu was added. More recently, Puro Ambar and Cimmaron were rebranded under the Artista line as the fourth and fifth installments.

The goal of the Falu was to create something radically different. When Falu was announced just before the 2024 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show, Kevin Newman of Artista Cigars commented, “For the Artista lines, we challenged ourselves to make something different. We spoke with our Factory Team and worked with our Agronomist. We asked them to seek new materials, source often over-looked tobaccos, and asked our best artisans to help us develop something wholly different.”

Let’s break down the Falu Robusto without further ado and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Artista Falu Robusto – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

A Broadleaf wrapper highlights Falu. The remainder of the blend incorporates an Indonesian binder over an undisclosed filler blend.

Wrapper: Broadleaf
Binder: Indonesian
Filler: Undisclosed
Country: Dominican Republic
Factory: Tabacalera El Artista

Vitolas Offered

Falu comes in two box-pressed sizes: Robusto and Toro. Both sizes are packaged in 20-count boxes.

Robusto: 5 x 54
Toro: 6 x 50

Appearance (*)

Artista Cigars highlighted the toothiness of the Falu’s Broadleaf wrapper, which was an old-school toothy wrapper. The wrapper of the Falu Robusto was medium to dark roasted coffee bean color. The surface of the wrapper was mottled. In addition, there were some thin visible veins but prominently visible wrapper seams. The cigar itself had a sharp box-press to it.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

Before lighting up the Falu Robusto, the cap was removed using a straight cut. Once the cap was removed, it was on to the pre-light draw ritual. The cold draw delivered notes of roasted coffee, wood, and a slight amount of fruit sweetness. Overall, this was a satisfactory pre-light draw experience. At this point, it was time to toast up the Falu Robusto and head into the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The Falu Robusto opened with notes of mocha, earth, minerals, and fruit. Mocha is typically a term I will assess as a fusion of coffee and chocolate flavors. The mocha notes reached the forefront, with the earth, mineral, and fruit notes setting the background. Midway through the first third, some cedar notes joined the other background notes. Meanwhile, there was a layer of black pepper on the retro-hale.

While the first third had a good balance of sweetness, the second third of the Falu Robusto saw that sweetness diminish. By the midway point, the mocha notes transitioned to more of a traditional black coffee note. The fruit sweetness diminished, and the mineral and cedar became more prominent. Meanwhile, and also at the midway point, some black pepper notes surfaced on the tongue.

The final third saw the pepper notes emerge as the most prominent secondary note behind the black coffee, which was still grounded in the forefront. Meanwhile, the mineral, cedar, and earth notes rounded out the flavor profile. This third of the Falu Robusto had a slight amount of harshness. As the cigar experience ended, it finished with a soft and cool nub.

Burn

The Falu Robusto’s burn tended to meander, necessitating frequent touch-ups to maintain a straight burn path. The burn line itself also had some jaggedness to it. The resulting ash was silver-gray. This wasn’t an overly firm ash, and there was some minor flaking along the way. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both maintained ideal levels.

Draw

The draw to the Falu Robusto performed quite well. It had a touch of resistance, making it ideal in my book. This was also a low-maintenance cigar from which to derive flavor. Concurrently, the Falu Robusto produced ample amounts of smoke.

Strength and Body

The Falu Robusto opened with medium-bodied flavors and medium strength. As the cigar progressed to the second third, both strength and body increased to medium to full. The strength and body gradually increased for the remainder of the cigar experience. While neither attribute crossed the threshold to “full,” the boldness as advertised with this cigar was validated.

Regarding strength versus body with the Falu Robusto, both attributes balanced each other nicely, with neither attribute overpowering the other.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

I have been a big fan of what Artista has done with its packaging overhaul, and especially what they have done with the eponymous Artista line. The colors of the Falu are spot on, and both the bands and the boxes contrast nicely with the cigar.

One observation is that the Falu is more of an old-school Broadleaf cigar, yet the packaging is quite contemporary. Usually, I wouldn’t like this contrast, but it does seem to work because of the colors.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

In the Banding and Packaging Notes, I noted that the Falu Robusto reminded me of a classic Broadleaf cigar but with much more boldness. At the beginning of the smoking experience, the traditional qualities of the Falu Robusto stood out. However, as I continued, the burn became more challenging to manage, and in the later stages, the cigar displayed some harshness. In the end, this is a cigar I recommend trying a sample first and seeing what you think. While I don’t see myself revisiting the Robusto, I’m quite open to trying the Toro.

Summary

Key Flavors: Mocha (Cocoa, Coffee), Mineral, Cedar, Fruit, Earth, Pepper
Burn: Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good