Stogie Review: Acid Kuba Deluxe Tubo

18 Jun 2008

I received this cigar as a gift from someone who didn’t realize it wasn’t a “regular” cigar. Over the years, I I’ve had one or two adulterated cigars, and I smoked quite a few flavored pipe tobaccos long ago. So an “infused” cigar isn’t exactly my smoke of choice. But I thought I should give it a try. After all, lots of people smoke and enjoy flavored cigars from Drew, Heavenly, CAO, and others.

The second thing I noticed when I removed the cigar from the colorful aluminum tube was its appearance. Construction, the cap, the Sumatra wrapper—all appeared first-rate. It clipped easily and the burn was true, though the ash was loose.

But that couldn’t overcome the first, and most dominating, impression: an overwhelming floral perfume scent. Then, when I put the cigar to my lips, there was a syrupy sweetness that completely overpowered any tobacco taste. I felt as if I were bringing an old bottle of Log Cabin to my lips every time I puffed on the Kuba.

And when I puffed I thought I might have been smoking a potpourri sachet from your grandmother’s cedar chest. The combination of the flowers, herbs, and oils infused into the 6 inch by 50 ring gauge cigar nearly made me ill. Any flavors from the Nicaraguan binder and filler were totally lost. I put the Kuba down about half way through.

I was impressed that Drew put its website address and telephone number on the inside of the band, though I wondered why they didn’t include some information on the stick itself.

If you like this kind of cigar, I would recommend the Kuba Deluxe, though it does seem to be a little expensive (the price looks to be over $7 a stick). As you can tell, it isn’t for me. For that reason, I’m a little reluctant to give it a rating, but keeping that in mind, I feel I’ve got to give it one out of five stogies.