Alonso Menendez robusto

[Don Fernando]

A few years ago I reviewed this Brazilian Alonso Menendez robusto and I didn't like it at all. As the guys on my Dutch website keep raving about it and because I didn't have pictures on my old review, I decided to buy another one for € 3,50, which is the fixed price in The Netherlands, to see if I may have had a dud and may like the cigar right now.



The cigar has a dark wrapper, but it is messy with big veins. The cigar has a mini pigtail. The construction feels soft with a hard piece in the middle and I smell a sweet barnyard aroma. The tasteless predraw is fine.



I can taste an earthy flavor with a sweetness that you can expect from Brazilian tobacco. After half an inch the cigar gets a bit sour too. Half an inch later the sour flavor disappears and I taste a combination of earth and wood with a slowly growing sweetness.



Halfway the wood flavor loses some strength but the earth and the sweetness stay on the same level. After two thirds I taste a dry nut flavor, still with the sweetness. Near the end I taste the dry nut and sweetness but now with the returned wood flavor and some pepper on the lips.



This cigar lasted me for an hour and five minutes. The draw was good, just like the burn but the smoke is thin and there's not much of it. This cigar is medium bodied and medium flavored. The ash is pepper and salt colored and quite firm.



Would I buy this cigar again? No, never. Tried it twice, didn't like it twice like I never liked Brazilian tobacco anyway.

Appearance: 6 / 10
Construction: 6 / 10
Draw: 7 / 10
Burn: 7 / 10
Smoke & ash: 6 / 10
Aroma first part: 6 / 10
Aroma second part: 6 / 10
Aroma third part: 6 / 10