Cohiba Red Dot Toro Tube Review

Cohiba, the most famous cigar brand in the world, is currently made by two different companies in two different “worlds.” The Cuban Cohiba is manufactured by Habanos S.A., the Cuban government’s cigar company. The other Cohiba, registered and owned by General Cigar Co. since 1978, is manufactured by Tabacalera de Garcia, one of the largest factories in the Dominican Republic. Cigar aficionados easily distinguish the two brands thanks to one having the common motif of an Arawak Indian head and the other have a red dot in its “o.”  Despite the confusion, both cigars retain their own identity and prestige in the cigar smoking world for their quality and craftsmanship. Indeed, the Dominican Cohiba is one of the best Cameroon-wrapper handmade cigars available on the market.

               The Cohiba Red Dot Toro Tube cigar is a Dominican handmade, long-filler cigar manufactured by General Cigar Co. in their famous Tabacalera de Garcia. The cigar is a smooth to medium-bodied cigar with Dominican long filler tobaccos, Indonesian binder, and Cameroonian wrapper. The resultant blend is a phenomenal cigar with a reasonable price point. These cigars are immaculately molded into a 6×50 toro parejo shape and then safely protected by aluminum tubes before boxing. LM Cigars currently offers these cigars in a box of 10 for significantly less than their MSRP. This means LM Cigars’ consumers acquire one of General’s most desirable brands for a fraction of the cost.

               The aluminum tube, while a nice touch, is not smokable. Upon discarding the tube, the cigar enjoyer greets a lovely wrapper which can simply be described as Cameroon. Cameroon tobacco is grown in the tropical valleys of Sub-Saharan Africa. As such, the tobacco gains a mottled wrapper with hues of cocoa, mahogany, and hazelnut. Despite looking matte and dry, the wrapper puts off a tremendous aroma from the oils and sugars it contains—cedar, almonds, and coffee. As an aside, Cameroon is also selected for its delicate nature seen in the leaf’s thin veins. The cold draw matches the cigar’s smell in pleasantness, joining the Cameroon with the mossy-earthiness of Dominican long-filler and the floral-mustiness of Indonesian binder. This cigar leaves the enjoyer salivating which only serves to wet the tobacco and bring out more tasting notes.

               The review team at LM Cigars elected a straight cut for this classic 6×50 toro parejo, but the true aficionado knows cigar cutting is a subjective matter. The cap being cleanly separated, the smoking can begin soon thereafter. The initial light yields an incense-like, nutty smoke reminiscent of marzipan or kransekake (a Scandinavian almond cake). The smoke is very sweet and sweeter still when pulled through the cigar in the opening puffs. There is a distinct vegetal, mossy taste from the Dominican long filler which marries the nuttiness to root vegetable and earth. The first tasting notes linger for much of the smoking experience, making this a very consistent cigar. The cigar required slight relighting towards the final third, but this results in a complex dance of pepper, clay, and minerals which persist to the finish.

               This cigar is a pleasant smoke and a great exposition of what a good blender makes out of exotic tobaccos from Africa and Asia. Being smooth to medium-bodied, this cigar is approachable for the neophyte or the adept. The price point is not unreasonable to boot. This is the kind of cigar someone would smoke on a summer evening with some Spanish brandy or cognac. Ideally smoked after dinner, the strength is not so potent that it would send the unprepared reeling. This cigar, being sold as a box of 10, similar to an Oliva Serie V Melanio or a Cuesta-Rey Centro Fino, is a fine addition to any hobbyist’s humidor. If the consumer does not adore the Red Dot, the burden comes in 10 instead of 20 or 25. With Father’s Day around the corner, too, the non-smoker might purchase this for the smoking man in his or her life.

Some cigar aficionados write off the “big name” cigar companies, such as General Cigar Co. or Altadis USA, due to the breadth of their portfolio and the massive scale of their production facilities. Snobbish cigar enjoyers incorrectly assume the cigars will lack the same dedication and quality as brands with a more luxury, family-owned persona, such as Arturo Fuente Cigar Co. or Padron. With the Cohiba Red Dot Toro Tube, however, General Cigar Co. demonstrates it can hold its own against any boutique, premium, or luxury cigar brand made by less corporate manufacturers.