Cigar Review: Camacho Connecticut Robusto

In the summer of 2013, Camacho revamped its cigar portfolio. Known for producing full-bodied cigars and owned by Davidoff since 2008, Camacho unveiled a new scorpion logo and distributed marketing materials that trumpeted “bold is back with a vengeance.” The likes of Mike Ditka, Matt Booth of Room 101 Cigars (Room 101 is made by Camacho), and screenwriter Rob Weiss were added to Camacho’s new “Board of the Bold.”

Aside from these marketing efforts, Camacho narrowed its offerings from 11 lines down to 6—Corojo, Corojo Maduro, Connecticut, Criollo, Triple Maduro, and Diploma. All but the Triple Maduro and Connecticut were entirely re-blended.

At the time, I remember being pleased that the Camacho Connecticut would remain unchanged. The Toro and Monarca, in particular, were solid smokes, as well as regulars in my rotation. In fact, I had enough of each in my humidors that it was only until recently that I started smoking the re-branded Connecticut. (Full disclosure: Famous sent me a sampler pack of Connecticut Robustos to make this review possible. As always, the samples Famous provided in no way impact my assessment of the cigar.)

For starters, I have to say I prefer the old Connecticut band—which was white, classic, and understated—to the new, bright, modern-looking packaging. That said, once you remove the large, yellow-orange band, you’ll find the Robusto (5 x 50, formerly known as Monarca) looks just like the old Connecticut. The wrapper is clean and golden, the feel is moderately spongy, the cold draw is easy, and the pre-light notes remind me of sawdust and peanut.

After setting an even light, the flavor is familiar, too. The Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper combines with the Corojo binder and Honduran and Dominican long-filler tobaccos to produce a creamy, nutty taste that’s on the mild side—but definitely is no slouch in the flavor department. It’s almost like taking your typical Connecticut-wrapped cigar and adding some black pepper and cedar spice. Very nice balance and complexity.

True to Davidoff form, the Camacho Connecticut Robusto displays excellent combustion properties on a consistent basis. Expect a smooth draw, solid ash that holds well off the foot, average smoke production, and a straight burn line that requires zero touch-ups.

Maybe the best decision Davidoff made when re-launching the Camacho portfolio was to not tweak the blend of the Connecticut. My taste buds can’t tell the difference between the old and the new version, and that’s a good thing in my book. This $7 cigar is worthy of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys