Stogie Reviews: Cusano 18 Double Connecticut Robusto
22 Nov 2006
Disappointment comes in many forms. On Friday, for me, it came in the form of a Cusano 18 Double Connecticut Robusto.
I had high expectations for this five inches by fifty ring gauge cigar. First of all, the filler is 18-year-old Dominican Oro. That tobacco found its way into the Cusano 18 line after attempts to produce a Dominican wrapper leaf longer than four inches failed.
Secondly, this stick boasts an impressive appearance. While the wrapper had a few noticeable veins, it was also very attractive with an oily, creamy brown shine.
And finally, Cigar Insider gave this stogie a whopping 91.
But my expectations were shattered when – after snipping the cap with my v-cutter, taking note of the easy draw, and noticing a pre-light aroma of vanilla – I began smoking. You see, along with a sweet and creamy caramel taste, this cigar produced heavy chemical and nicotine flavors.
I don’t know whether it was the aged filler, the Connecticut Shade wrapper and binder, or the combination of the three, but it was bad. The stick tasted more like it was engineered in a beaker than grown from soil.
While the flavor was pretty balanced and the sweet caramel notes were enjoyable, the menacing chemical aftertaste – which unhappily persisted for the duration of the smoke – could not be ignored.
To its credit, this cigar has excellent construction: even burn, easy draw, no wrapper tears, and no incidents with the band.
But even at around $3 apiece retail, I would recommend staying away from this one. For a searing aftertaste that reminded me of freshly fertilized grass, I give the Cusano 18 Double Connecticut Robusto a disappointing two out of five stogies.
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Patrick Ashby
Co-Founder & Editor in Chief
Patrick Semmens
Co-Founder & Publisher
George Edmonson
Tampa Bureau Chief
Ouch. I had a similar experience with this stick. My high expectations were also dashed by that chemical aftertaste.
Good call! I wonder how much advertising Cusano had to buy on CA to get a 91 rating.
I have had both the natural & maduro Cusano 18. The maduro is SO much better than the natural. I highly recommend you try out the maduro version of this smoke before you completely write it off.
So its not just me! I had the same thought on this one too. In the Cusano range, I've had good experience with the Cusano Corojo.
Wish I had read this prior to last night. I got nauseous smoking one of these only half way.
Im quite new to cigar smoking, the Cusano 18 Robusto was about my 5th smoke i have tried. My local tobacconist recommended it to me telling me it would be a mild smoke due to the connecticut binder and wrapper. Well it did seem mild at first and then i got a terrible nicotine rush and got very nauesous i thought it was maybe just me but as i can see i guess im not the only person to have this experience.
Regretably, I had a very similar experience with this one last night. Though I have enjoyed some of the other lines from Cusano, I'd trade the 18 for a couple Camel Lights and save myself the half hour.
I also had a similar experience with this cigar. I purchased the "Ultimate Combo B" from Thompson Cigar and even though this stick was rate highly it was the by far the inferior to the rest of the cigars included in the sampler.
That stinks that you guys have had some bad C18's. I've had nothing but great experiences with the Cusano 18's. To those who've had some bad ones, I suggest trying another.
The unfortunate thing here is that this review is written by someone who has said, more than once, that he does not like Connecticut-style cigars. The 'chemical' taste is a white pepper nuance. Buy some white pepper and give it a sniff and a taste. These are the flavors of cigars with Connecticut wrappers! As someone who likes Conn. wrapper cigars, I must tell you the 18's are some of the best I've had.
I have yet to get a bad C18… Never any chemical taste… Either they put out a large batch that was bad, or there’s a huge difference in palate…
I have read a few reviews of this stick, mostly similar to this one, while looking for other smokers' impressions of the Cusano 18 paired maduro. Interestingly, I haven't been able to find too many reviews on the maduro. A friend sent me one of those and I like it so much I bought 50 of 'em. I'd be interested to hear your impression of one of those.
I just had this cigar and I agree with you that this cigar is a dud. The construction of the cigar was excellent. However, flavor was missing. It was one dimensional throughout the smoke. I also noticed a very strong salt taste. The flavor was just smoke and nicotine – didn't notice any caramel notes. I will never purchase this cigar again! Absolutely terrible.
Just reviewed this stick, and was curious what you guys got. Guess we have a similar taste in cigars. I thought the construction was amazing, but the taste was awful. Instead of chemical though I called it "funk" kinda the smell and feeling of off-gassing mold. Anyways glad to hear we have similar taste because this is my main site for reviews. Not to self promote or anything, but if anyone wants to see my review it's over here:
http://cigar-journal.blogspot.com/2011/02/cusano-…
Would have gladly exchange construction for taste.