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Blind Review: Zino Nicaragua Robusto

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The Zino Nicaragua Robusto is produced in Honduras at Davidoff’s Diadema Cigars de Honduras S.A., the same factory that is best known for making Camacho cigars. The Zino brand is under the Davidoff cigar umbrella with the Zino Nicaragua Robusto being a “brand-revamping” of sorts. Over the last decade, Davidoff has issued makeovers for their Camacho, Avo, Cusano, and Winston Churchill brands, etc… The Zino brand has always been associated with a premium cigar reputation and price-point. The Zino Nicaragua Robusto would be marketed more as a value smoke sold not only through tobacconists, but convenience stores as well.

Blend Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Zino Nicaragua Robusto
  • Wrapper: Ecuador (Connecticut)
  • Binder: Nicaragua (Semilla 56 Seco)
  • Filler: Dominican Republic (San Vicente and San Vicente Mejorado Secos), Honduras (Olancho and Jamastran Visus) & Nicaragua (Ometepe Visus)
  • Size: 5×54

Blind Review Notes: Zino Nicaragua

Appearance & Construction

The cigar is a spongy Connecticut wrapped Robusto with a triple cap.  It has a very lightweight feel in hand. The wrapper leaf is very striated but there is still this high quality silkiness and sheen to it.

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

The cigar wrapper smells like hay bales and the foot is heavy on the cedar. The cold draw has some resistance with more heavy cedar on the breath. Some dankness there as well.

The cigar toasts and lights effortlessly.

First puff is all cedar and leather. White pepper and some sweetness growing on the finish as the smoke progresses.  Even burn line.  Great smoke production.  Good heat maintenance. Chocolate and leather aroma. The retro hale is the same, just with some added pepper. Ash build up is flaky and delicate.  A lot of tangy sweet notes dominating a good bodied smoke.

Takes awhile to reach the second third.  The cigar is a slow burner.  Flavors remain singular.  The smoke has some great body to it and is the perfect after breakfast smoke so far.  Lots of leather and sweetness.  Fantastic construction. It’s a sweet and spicy retrohale and aroma throughout. I’m really enjoying it.

Last third has a spicy toast that coats the palate.  Still lots of leather. My favorite.  Some hazelnut and coffee notes as expected. Heat trouble going into the nub as expected from lighter tobacco leaves.  I still keep returning though as the cigar proves to be a great start to my morning.

Conclusion

In conclusion the Zino Nicaragua Robusto was a great smoke to start my day with.  I’m not a mild cigar smoker, but the Zino Nicaragua Robusto made up for that by providing a thick body which carried great flavors.  The construction was also decent and I would have no problem recommending this cigar to any smoker at any level. Enjoy!

Final Score: 85

Zino Platinum Master Edition Throwback 2008 Review

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Zino Platinum Master Edition Throwback 2008 Review

Up for review today is the Zino Platinum Specter Series Master Edition Throwback 2008. I can’t say that I’ve smoked much Zino Platinum product in my twelve years of smoking, but the cigars I have had haven’t normally justified the high price point. So I was excited to receive this cigar in one of my monthly shipments from Luxury Cigar Club, a really excellent service that any aficionado looking for new cigars should take a look at.

Blend Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Zino Platinum Specter Series Master Edition Throwback 2008
  • Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
  • Binder: Dominican Olor
  • Filler: DR, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru
  • Size: 5 5/8 x 46 Corona Gorda

Zino Platinum Master Edition Throwback 2008 Review

Appearance & Construction

Visually, the Zino Platinum Specter Master Edition Throwback 2008 is attractive, with the standard silver and black Zino Platinum primary band and a secondary “2008” band below. The cigar’s Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper is a light peanut-butter brown color, with a silky texture and few veins. The cigar seems to be packed consistently its entire length.

After cutting the cigar and testing the draw, it’s about an 8/10 in terms of amount of restrictiveness, so maybe just a touch tight. We’ll see what that means for smoke production. The cold draw is gentle and difficult to discern, with just some oak and mixed fruit notes.

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

Once the Zino Platinum Specter Series Master Edition Throwback 2008 gets started, the smoke seems to sit right at about mild body and mild-medium strength. The flavor palette is a mix of fairly standard Zino stuff: fresh cut grass, light cedar, light floral and a bit of lemongrass. Every now and again there are some nice flourishes of vanilla bean in the aroma. The retrohale is strong by comparison, with that fresh grass note and some white pepper that tickles the nasal passages.

Not much changes for the rest of the first third, and it isn’t until nearly halfway in to the smoke that real changes begin. First, the strength increases up to about medium, with bitter grass taking up quite a bit of space, followed by a mix of cooking spices, lemongrass and white pepper. Construction up to this point has been flawless, with a great burn, sturdy ash and excellent smoke production. The only problem is the cigar itself just hasn’t been captivating, so I’m hoping to see some real flavor movement in the final third.

While there is some movement in the final third, it isn’t enough to take the Master Edition Thrownback 2018 from a good cigar to a great cigar (or even a ‘very good’ cigar). Some black pepper becomes evident, but just as it is coming in to balance with the rest of the flavors, the heat of the smoke picks up substantially, and I end up putting the cigar with an inch and a half of the cigar left.

Conclusion

I joked on Instagram that if this cigar was as good as its name is long, it would be the best cigar I ever smoked. If only that were the case. The Zino Platinum Specter Series Master Edition Throwback 2008 is a good example of a limited edition cigar that doesn’t bring anything new or surprising to the table. And unfortunately, that tends to be the case with most Zino Platinum cigars that I’ve had. It has some decent qualities, but at the price point that these cigars come in at (~$15, which is cheap for Zino Platinum), there are much better cigars for the money out there.

Final Rating: 82

Press Release: Zino Platinum Collaborates with Urban Artists UR New York For Collector’s Edition Commemorating 10 Year Anniversary

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In celebration of the ten-year anniversary of Zino Platinum, the brand has produced a premium collector’s edition set of four custom boxes in collaboration with urban artists UR New York. Dubbed “The Make”, this collector’s edition celebrates the self-made man and his success, as well as ten years of redefining cigars and a new generation of cigar smokers.

Zino Platinum teamed up with UR New York—an urban artist collective who have redefined themselves and the landscape that surrounds them—to help capture the same maverick spirit of Zino Platinum. Brooklyn based, Mike Baca aka 2ESAE and Fernando Romero aka SKI originally joined forces with the goal of transforming the perception of street art and have become internationally successful artists. The dynamic New York duo went to work on the collector’s edition Zino Platinum boxes with the same passion and artistry that brought them success. The Zino Platinum Ten Collector’s Edition Toro X, a 5 ½” x 60 Toro Especial, features four custom graffiti-inspired pieces on the box. Limited to 500 pieces each design, “the collection is inspired by the innovators, the risk takers, the mavericks—those who capture the spirit of Zino Platinum,” said Richard Krutick, Davidoff’s head of marketing.

UR New York will be appearing at select locations in support of the product on the Zino Platinum Tenth Anniversary tour and at the industry tradeshow, IPCPR, on August 3rd and 4th.