Cigar Review: Quesada Heisenberg Robusto

This dark, attractive cigar is something of a gimmick, with Quesada concealing nearly all details about the line and promoting it with a fundamental principle of quantum mechanics. I was eager to try the Heisenberg, not because of any of that, but because I’ve enjoyed several earlier Quesada smokes.

But after going through a five-pack of Robustos—each five inches long with a ring gauge of 48—I’m not uncertain about my reactions. The Heisenberg is not for me. (My colleague had a similar reaction.)

First, let me deal with Quesada’s intention to, as it says, “dispel the stereotypes that limit our ability to enjoy a cigar and remind aficionados that sometimes it’s best to sit back, relax, and just enjoy a smoke without overanalyzing it.”

To that end, they turned to Werner Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, a scientific principle that, like déjà vu, has been greatly altered in popular use. For Quesada, it’s more or less reduced to “embrace uncertainty.”

I think, perhaps, Quesada should name its next cigar after Robert K. Merton, who popularized the concept of unintended consequences. I’m sure many Heisenberg smokers spend a lot of time trying to guess what the tobaccos are, rather than get lost in smoke-filled wonder.

These days, with so many tobacco strains being cultivated all over, I think it’s impossible for most of us to pinpoint the origin or leaf. The only guess I’d hazard is that I’d be surprised if there’s much, if any, typical Nicaraguan in the Heisenberg.

I say that because there’s very little pepper or spice and a fairly prominent grassy taste often found in Dominican tobacco. The other prominent tastes I noted were floral notes and heavy wood.

Overall, the draw was good, as was the burn and smoke production. The ash was flaky. I paid $6.75 each, and they come in boxes of 10.

As I said upfront, the medium-strength Quesada Heisenberg Robusto isn’t my kind of smoke. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a well-made, quality stick and worth a try. I give it three stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys