Stogie Reviews: Alec Bradley Prensado Robusto

20 Jul 2010

Another trade show from the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association is almost upon us. If you’re like me, though, you still haven’t tried a number of the new releases from the 2009 convention.

Alec Bradley Prensado Robusto Such is the case with Prensado, an offering from Alec Bradley that was introduced last August. In my estimation, and given the accolades it has received, this blend may be the most prominent 2009 debut I have thus far overlooked. I decided to rectify that oversight by sampling three Robustos for this review.

The highlight of Prensado is its wrapper, a corojo leaf grown in 2006 in Trojes, Honduras. Alan Rubin, Alec Bradley’s founder and president, first tried it in 2008. It took Rubin and his team another six months to decide to pair the wrapper with the right blend of Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos. The result is a five-vitola blend that’s made at the Fabrica de Tabacos Raices Cubanas factory in Honduras, the same site that furnishes cigars for Illusione, Casa Fernandez, Padilla, and others.

The five inch by 50 ring gauge Robusto is a dark, slightly veiny cigar with a triple cap and glistening oils. It sports a slight box press (prensado is Spanish for “pressed”) and pungent pre-light notes of powdery cocoa off the foot—the sort of aroma that’s simultaneously mouth-watering and sneeze-inducing. A great fragrance.

From the outset it’s easy to see why Rubin calls Prensado his strongest blend to date. It starts with a hearty, chalky flavor of spicy pepper and black coffee. Sheer power with little depth or balance. The profile settles quickly, however, to include a creamy caramel sweetness.

The taste remains consistent from the second third through the finale as the gray, sandy ash builds off the foot. Each easy puff yields loads of thick, mouth-coating smoke, and the imperfect burn requires few touch-ups to remain even.

I enjoy this blend, but it leaves me underwhelmed in terms of complexity. Sure, while the interplay between bold peppery notes and creamy sweetness is interesting, I’m looking for more intricacy from a cigar that retails for just under $10 apiece. That’s ultimately why this Alec Bradley offering earns three stogies out of five.