Capadura Series (808, 848, 858 and 898) robusto

[Don Fernando]

I don’t know a lot about this brand, I don’t know how I got the cigars, when I got them, where I got them and why I got them, but I have a 808 series, a 848 series, a 858 series and a898 extra ligero series in my humidor, all in the 5×50 robusto size and decided to do another series review instead of 4 separate reviews, just like I did with the 00 series. A google search taught me that the cigars are made on the Dominican Republic and that the brand is owned by the Luba Corporation which is owned by Ruth Elizabeth Baptista. Google also told me it is a very old brand, dating back to the 1800’s and was once part of the General Cigars portfolio.

Capadura 808 Series Robusto


The Capadura 808 Series are supposed to be the mildest from the series and the Connecticut Shade wrapper from Ecuador is a tell tale sign that it is a milder cigar. The binder is from the Dominican Republic just as the four types of Olor and Piloto filler. I’m not the biggest fan of Connecticut Shade wrappers although I have started to appreciate the wrapper in the last few months so who knows, I might enjoy it.

When I release the cigar from it’s cellophane I see a shiny, greasy and pale wrapper with a bunch of small veins, as is often the case with a Connecticut Shade wrapper. The rings are beautiful, a brown foot ring with golden outlines, white letters saying 808 series and a beautiful detailed ring with several shades of brown, gold and white with medals. The brown coloring doesn’t look to good on the pale wrapper though, but the ring itself if pretty and the print quality is high. The cigar feels evenly packed, the head is nice and round but the cigar feels a bit oval on the touch. The aroma is quite strong and reminds me of chocolate, hay and pepper.

I punched the cigar. The cold draw is good and I taste a musty and mild harsh raisin. After lighting the cigar I taste a musty hay and coffee. After a few puffs I also taste some sweetness and a little chocolate. After an inch I taste a mild musty nutty flavor with a hint of chocolate. The chocolate is getting stronger but the mustiness too. Slowly I start to taste pepper in the aftertaste. Halfway I taste a medium strong nuts flavor but the mustiness is gone. The nuts and pepper get to full flavored and I like it. The flavors mellow down a bit to medium to medium full, but are still very tasty.

The draw is on the tough side. The burn is straight as an arrow. The light colored ash is beautiful, firm and dense. The smoke is a little thin and low in volume. There is a slow but good evolution. The cigar is mild to medium bodied and medium to full flavored. The smoke time is an hour and twenty five minutes.

Would I buy this cigar again? I would not mind smoking it again, the flavors are good, the looks, draw and smoke need work though.

Score: 88


Capadura 848 Series Robusto

There is not much to tell about the Capadura 848 series and that’s because I don’t know a lot about it and can’t find a lot of information too. I can tell that the filler is made from four different tobaccos and that the wrapper is a Havana 2000 from Nicaragua. According to the description I found its a medium bodied cigars but I’ll be my own judge about that.

The top ring is identical to the Capadura 808 Series ring but the foot ring is a shade lighter, just a tiny shade and you have to hold the cigars together to spot is and has different numbers on it of course. The wrapper has a nice light to medium brown color, its not very shiny or oily and only has one thin vein. The construction has a clear soft spot right below the ring but the shape feels better than the oval 808 Series. The mild aroma is a bit soapy.

I cut the cigar with my Xikar cutter. The cold draw is great with a spicy raisin flavor. After lighting I taste a sweet yet earthy flavor with a clove but a little rough, flavors aren’t well rounded. After half an inch I taste an unpleasant dirt flavor with rotten wood. Slowly the cigar is turning harsh, just dirt and wood but harsh. After two thirds the cigar is still harsh but a little less and the dirt and wood change to metallic nuts and pepper.

The draw is perfect. The ash is frayed, the color is light gray. The smoke is gray, thin and medium in volume. The burn is oke, not completely straight but still reasonable. The medium full bodied and flavored cigar doesn’t have much balance and complexity. The smoke time is an hour and I tossed it with an inch to go.

Would I buy this cigar again? Brrrrr no.

Score: 80


Capadura 858 Series Robusto

As for the google search, all I find is information on the 808, 848, 898 and the 898 extra ligero blends but nothing on the 858 blends except for a forum post in Dutch and some information on an Austrian webshop. It could be that this is a Europe only blend, but I can’t recall seeing the cigars in a humidor in the European shops I have visited. And the Austrian site mentions that this is a evolution of Capadoro cigars, another brand with little much googable information. But at least I know the blend now: Dominican and Brazilian tobacco as filler, a Dominican binder and Arapiraca from Brazil as a wrapper.

The wrapper is typical Brazilian, it’s dark but a little rough on the eye and it has a mild oily shine. The construction feels good but the cigar doesn’t feel completely round but a little egg shaped and the cap is a single cap, not a Cuban style triple cap. The rings make up for it, the foot ring is bring with golden outlines an white letters saying 858 series while the regular ring is brown with black and gold and a white C and white Capadura. Very detailed, well printed, cigar ring. The aroma is strong and is a mix between dark chocolates some pepper and a barnyard, but the dark chocolate is the main aroma.

I punched the cigar. The cold draw is fine and I taste some mild raisin, lemon and chocolate. After lighting I taste a strong espresso with pepper flavor and some sweetness. After half an inch the cigar is more earthy with some lemon and pepper, the flavors lost some strength. After a third the cigar turns salty with some green herbs and lime with still a peppery aftertaste. Halfway I taste earthy notes and a little nutmeg. The final third starts nutty with a little cilantro. Its getting hard to keep the cigar lit.

The draw is fantastic and the smoke is thick and white. The light colored ash is firm. The burn needs a few touch ups though. The cigar is medium bodied and flavored. After and hour and a half i tossed the cigar with an inch and a half to go because I couldn’t keep the cigar lit.

Would I buy this cigar again? It’s a decent cigar but no, not exciting enough.

Score: 87


Capadura 898 Extra Ligero Series Robusto


The 898 series comes in two versions, a regular Capadura 898 Series and a stronger Capadura 898 Extra Ligero series. Now the blend is exactly the same with a filler consisting from Dominican Pilato Cubano and Nicaraguan Corojo and a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper but for the extra ligero series they used the highest primings of the tobacco to create a little extra kick.

The first thing that I notice when I release the cigar from the cellophane is the extra ring, not just the regular ring and a foot ring (which is a shade lighter than the 848 and the 858) but in between a beige to brown fading ring with the same golden outlines as the foot ring and white letters saying Extra Ligero. The wrapper is dark and it looks a bit dry and typical Brazilian rustic. The construction feels good, evenly packed, nice shape and a beautiful round head. The aroma is medium strong and dark, like after heavy rainfall in the woods in the fall mixed with manure.

I cut the cigar with my guillotine cutter and the cold draw is perfect. I taste a faint raisin. After lighting I taste dirt, coffee and some dark chocolate. The flavors are unrefined, no subtlety at all. After half an inch I taste a musty leather with some pepper and green leaves. Halfway I taste wood, harsh and metallic, with pepper. The harshness is getting stronger.

The draw is a little on the loose side but the smoke is great, full and thick. The ash is light colored with a dark smear. It is dense and firm. The burn is quite straight. This is a full bodied medium flavored cigar with not a lot of evolution. After an hour with an inch and a half to go I had to toss the cigar, I just couldn’t handle it anymore.

Would I buy this cigar again? Just look at the score.

Score: 72

Review with plenty of pictures: https://cigarguideorg.wordpress.com/...s-858-robusto/