Cigar Review: 7-20-4 Hustler Robusto Barber Pole

I’ve hesitated to call myself a fan of the 7-20-4 brand. Not because I don’t like them—I actually enjoy the Dog Walker and Robusto—but those are the only two cigars I’ve tried. Since K.A Kendall has numerous lines, I wanted to smoke a few more before I called myself a real fan. Well, with the Hustler, I’m ready to jump on the bandwagon.

I smoked the Hustler Robusto Barber Pole (5.5 x 54) for this review, which has a Brazilian Mata Fina base with a strip of Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapped tightly around to form a barber pole. The construction is great, and the barber pole has a nice tight wrapping around it that looks really beautiful.

Let me insult this cigar in just one aspect quickly: I hate the band. The red and blue color scheme represents the Hustler magazine theme, I suppose, but to me it just looks garish and cheap. Anyway, the rest of the pre-light experience is immaculate. Pre-draw is a little tight, but not in a bad way, and there are some faint chocolate notes.

The flavor on this smoke is very balanced, and it is a really nice effect. As a general rule, I don’t care for barber poles, as I feel like they don’t really reach their goal too often. The goal would be to have both wrappers complement each other and blend together smoothly. In my experience, though, I’ve had two types of barber pole cigars: (1) one wrapper, normally a maduro, completely overwhelms the other wrapper, or (2) both of the wrappers have a really light flavor and they’re just underwhelming.

Like I said, though, the Hustler is in a different class. All of the flavors are blended together perfectly. The Mata Fina gives some nice chocolate notes with a bit of earth, and the Ecuadorian Connecticut lends a creamy texture and the eventual pepper. There is not much differentiation for me between thirds, but each puff has its own unique flavor. Some highlight the chocolate smoothness of the cigar, while others have some leather notes with pepper.

The only other complaint I’d have is the price point, which is around $9. The inclusion of Mata Fina and the barber pole craftsmanship mean this cigar is going to be pricier, but frankly it’s got some hot competition in the $9 to $10 range. If this were a few bucks cheaper I’d rate it even higher but, still, due to its smooth balance, this cigar is able to achieve four stogies out of five.

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–Joey J

photo credit: Smoke Inn