Blind Review: Zino Nicaragua Robusto
The Zino Nicaragua Robusto is produced in Honduras at Davidoff’s Diadema Cigars de Honduras S.A., the same factory that is best known for making Camacho cigars. The Zino brand is under the Davidoff cigar umbrella with the Zino Nicaragua Robusto being a “brand-revamping” of sorts. Over the last decade, Davidoff has issued makeovers for their Camacho, Avo, Cusano, and Winston Churchill brands, etc… The Zino brand has always been associated with a premium cigar reputation and price-point. The Zino Nicaragua Robusto would be marketed more as a value smoke sold not only through tobacconists, but convenience stores as well.
Blend Specifics
- Cigar Reviewed: Zino Nicaragua Robusto
- Wrapper: Ecuador (Connecticut)
- Binder: Nicaragua (Semilla 56 Seco)
- Filler: Dominican Republic (San Vicente and San Vicente Mejorado Secos), Honduras (Olancho and Jamastran Visus) & Nicaragua (Ometepe Visus)
- Size: 5×54
Blind Review Notes: Zino Nicaragua
Appearance & Construction
The cigar is a spongy Connecticut wrapped Robusto with a triple cap. It has a very lightweight feel in hand. The wrapper leaf is very striated but there is still this high quality silkiness and sheen to it.
Flavor & Smoke Characteristics
The cigar wrapper smells like hay bales and the foot is heavy on the cedar. The cold draw has some resistance with more heavy cedar on the breath. Some dankness there as well.
The cigar toasts and lights effortlessly.
First puff is all cedar and leather. White pepper and some sweetness growing on the finish as the smoke progresses. Even burn line. Great smoke production. Good heat maintenance. Chocolate and leather aroma. The retro hale is the same, just with some added pepper. Ash build up is flaky and delicate. A lot of tangy sweet notes dominating a good bodied smoke.
Takes awhile to reach the second third. The cigar is a slow burner. Flavors remain singular. The smoke has some great body to it and is the perfect after breakfast smoke so far. Lots of leather and sweetness. Fantastic construction. It’s a sweet and spicy retrohale and aroma throughout. I’m really enjoying it.
Last third has a spicy toast that coats the palate. Still lots of leather. My favorite. Some hazelnut and coffee notes as expected. Heat trouble going into the nub as expected from lighter tobacco leaves. I still keep returning though as the cigar proves to be a great start to my morning.
Conclusion
In conclusion the Zino Nicaragua Robusto was a great smoke to start my day with. I’m not a mild cigar smoker, but the Zino Nicaragua Robusto made up for that by providing a thick body which carried great flavors. The construction was also decent and I would have no problem recommending this cigar to any smoker at any level. Enjoy!