Stogie Reviews: San Cristobal Supremo
23 Jun 2008
This cigar is a near perfect example of a conundrum I’ve brought up before: How many individual sticks should I smoke before writing about a particular cigar?
In this case, I’ve smoked one. I’ll probably try another one sometime. But they’re expensive, and when I have to make the decision about what to pick up I‘ll definitely weigh trying it once more or getting something I’ve enjoyed in the past. Or giving a new cigar a try.
I was eager to try the San Cristobal and picked up a 6 inch by 50 ring gauge Supremo. Cosmetically, it was excellent. The wrapper was virtually flawless. The draw was good and the burn went straight from the foot on down. As you are no doubt aware, the San Cristobal is another Don Pepin Nicaraguan puro, made this time for Holt’s. It has gotten a lot of attention and many good reviews.
I certainly can’t say anything bad about the San Cristobal. But to me it was underwhelming.
I expected a flavorful, complex, rich cigar. What I got, though, was a relatively mundane cigar that, while powerful, was flat and unexciting. Sure, maybe it was just that stick, or my mood that day or what I’d recently eaten or…who knows? Rolling the dice on a nearly $9 cigar is OK once, but do I want to do it again on the chance that I’ll come up with a winner this time?
Let us know what you think about this and what you think about the San Cristobal. In the meantime, I can give this cigar only three 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
George,
I tried the torpedo for the first time last weekend and loved it. In fact, I went on and on about it being the best Pepin I've smoked, and I've smoked them all. I went down to the local shop and picked up a few robustos and plan on trying one tonight. I'll let you know how it goes….
I have also found these to be hit or miss, but don't really consider them to be pricey compared to other premiums out there at 15 plus per stick. Flavor is great but sometimes have found they do not burn consistently and need frequent touch ups. That being said, there are many other Pepin lines that are better at the same price- Tatuaje red labels and Don Pepin JJ or Cuban Classic for example. Also there will be a new lower priced line made by Pepin for Ashton called Benchmade. Maybe those would be a better value.
The Maestro (perfecto) has been my new favorite since it came out. I've had hit or miss experiences with other sizes, but the Maestro has always been top notch. I expect it to remain in my top five (along with the Ashton VSG Torpedo, Cohiba Siglo VI, Padrón 1964 Maduro Torpedo, and Fuente Añejo) for a long time.
Thanks for the comments. The more I have thought about this stick, the more inclined I am to try it again in a different size. As fond as I am of so many of Pepin's sticks, I think I have to smoke at least one more San Cristobal. When I do, I'll let you know how it goes.
When I read this I was wondering if we were smoking the same cigar. I've smoked a few of the fantasticos and loved them.
The review sounds exactly like my experience, they are just too hit or miss and at the price tag I'll pick something else.
This is funny, because I LOVE the San Cristobal line (in general). However, there are some BAD cookies out there. I particularly love the torpedo, and the one with the pigtail. But just a couple weeks ago I had the big fat perfecto one… I barely enjoyed it at ALL. HUGE difference. Maybe you just got a bad one?
I've had the supremo as well and I wasn't very impressed. You described it as mundane and flat – that's exactly what I found. I was disappointed to say the least. Might try a different size….but probably not.