Cigar Review: Búho Primero Connecticut Shade Robusto

Few small cigar brands begin with a mild smoke. Sure, the potential audience is larger than that for the powerhouse blends often favored by boutique firms. But it also involves going up against industry behemoths such as Macanudo, Romeo y Julieta, and Montecristo.

Búho Cigars, run by the father and son team of Eddie and Ryan Dovner in Florida, kicked off at the low-end of the spectrum with a Dominican-rolled line featuring an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, an Indonesian binder, and “a proprietary Dominican blend” for filler.

Ryan told me the inspiration was his father’s love of Cuban cigars and how impressed he became with Dominican tobacco. He thought he could create a Cuban-esque blend and worked with the Abam factory in Santo Domingo to come up with the six-vitola Primero line. (There’s a Maduro with a San Andrés Mexican wrapper as well.)

Búho (“owl” in Spanish) is experimenting with different packaging options. In addition to conventional boxes of 20, sampler packs are available in durable humidified travel cases. The company is also promoting point-of-purchase displays with individual cigars in sealed humidity packs.

Cigars for this review were supplied by Búho, which also sent some we’re giving away in a StogieGuys.com contest. (Details toward the end.) Suggested retail prices for Búho cigars are $8 to $9.

I have smoked three in the Robusto format (5 x 50), and, other than a bit of a tight draw on one, construction was good. They burned straight and slow, producing a great deal of creamy smoke.

The opening is typical of many Connecticut cigars: a little grass, a little hay, a touch of earth, a bit of a bite. Within half an inch or so, though, a rich tobacco sweetness begins to emerge and overlays other flavors, including some light spice along the way. The cigar shines best in the second half.

Now, here’s the contest. For a chance to win a sampler of Búho cigars, simply go to Búho’s Facebook page, like it, and visit Búho’s website and register. Then leave a comment on this post that you’ve done so. We’ll pick two winners at random in a week or so.

And I think the winners will enjoy these smokes, especially if they’re partial to Connecticuts. Búho is well worth trying. I rate the Robusto three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys / Búho Cigars