Stogie Reviews: La Prueba Natural Robusto
21 Feb 2008
If my six years of Español serve me correctly, la prueba translates into English as “the quiz.†Well, boys and girls, this is one quiz you don’t want to take.
La Prueba is produced in the lush San Andreas Valley of Mexico by the Turrnet family, makers of Te-Amo and suppliers to such well-known outfits as Macanudo. Like so many cigars, it is said that the 178-year-old brand was once the favorite of Winston Churchill. The current incarnation of La Prueba must be much different than the sticks he enjoyed.
Today’s Robusto measures five and ¼ inches with a 50 ring gauge and is sold exclusively through Thompson for $49.00 for a box of 20 ($2.45 apiece). Its building blocks include a Mexican binder, second priming filler tobaccos, and a three-year-old Connecticut Shade wrapper with a few large veins. The whole thing is a little too soft and doughy to the touch.
Establishing an even burn is vexing, particularly since some parts of the foot want to burn quickly and others slowly. But once you even things out with your matches or torch it takes care of itself.
The flavor starts surprisingly rough with a salty bitterness that’s akin to burnt popcorn. Not terribly appetizing. After an inch or so, it settles down to a super mild level and stays that way for the remainder of the disappointing smoke. Barely discernable, what little flavor I can pick up resembles paper with a biting spice aftertaste.
Contributing to the mild taste is a very loose draw that produces tons of airy smoke with each tiny puff. The ash will hold firm at times and drop off unexpectedly and prematurely at others.
Unless you’re merely looking for something to chew on while you mow the grass or clean out the garage, I would stay away from this cigar. I understand it’s a value stick at a low cost, but there are many far superior smokes in this price range. That’s why I’m giving the La Prueba Natural Robusto only two out of five stogies.
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Patrick Ashby
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Patrick Semmens
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George Edmonson
Tampa Bureau Chief
Never heard of this dog rocket, but thanks for the well-written warning.
I've had a few of these before. Exactly as you described. Not worth the small price.
I think I've heard of this one before. You are being too kind at a 2 Stogie rating if I remember correctly.
I stopped reading when I got to "exclusively through Thompson." That's all I needed to know.
I'm with John on this one. Those were the only words I needed to read.
I stopped reading when I got to "Connecticut Shade wrapper." That's all I needed to know.
My brief experience so far has been, you get what you pay for. If it's not the flavor that's lacking, then it's problems with cigar construction. I haven't been smoking long enough to discover the cheaper gems.
Thank you for all the wonderful comments. Let me respond to Cigar Jack by saying that I gave this cigar two stogies because it was slightly better than some of the horrendous sticks that only earned one and 1/2. Escudo Cubano comes to mind. But let's not get too technical here. The bottom line is La Prueba is a poor investment of time and money.
While you almost always get what you pay for, there certainly are cigars out there that are undervalued gems. In my experience, most of these are boutiques. Take, for example, the Ybor City Handmades or anything by Cuban Crafters (such as J.L. Salazar and the Don Kiki Brown Label).