Brand of Cigar: Morro Castle
Name of Cigar: Robusto
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua and Honduras
Body: Mild-Medium
Time of Smoke: 0:50
Purchase Price: $2.00
Place of Purchase: Cigarbid.com
Intro:
I had been wanting to try this stick for some time now. Every time I get on Cigarbid I see these sticks, but always end up passing on them for some more well-known cigars. Finally, I bought a 5-pack of them the other day along with a host of other cigars. I ran into a bit of a bind because it was 6:00 PM and I had to get ready for the Monday night football games at 7:00 PM, so I decided to try one of these little guys so I could finish in time for kickoff. I took the Robusto out on the porch with a glass of Glen Ellen Pinot Grigio to get a celebratory smoke in before the first Monday game of the year.
Appearance/Construction: (21/25)
The first thing I noticed about this stick was the Connecticut leaf. I have been smoking a lot of maduros lately, so this one looked especially light to me. These Morro's have a nice big gold band on them that go well with the Connecticut wrapper, but it was almost too big for a 4.7 inch Robusto. I'm sure it would be fine on the other vitolas. This particular stick had a couple of major veins running up the body, but overall it looked pretty smooth. The cigar had a nice bounce to it which was nice, but after cutting the cap off it, I did notice a couple of stems in the filler which had me a little worried. Stems and veins couldn't scare me away though, It was time to light this one up.
After taking my matches to the stick I immediately noticed the earthy and woody tones. After about an inch I started to get into some nutty flavors and noticed a nice tight white ash hanging on the end of my stick. I was very impressed with how even this one burned, for a $2.00 stick I was expecting to have to touch this one up, but to my surprise I never had to. The cigar also produced a decent milky smoke. The flavor profile wasn't great here, It was a pretty mild stick with mostly woody tones, but I can't complain for the price. The cigar did get a little hot with about an inch left, but I was delighted that I never experienced any harshness.
Value: (23/25)
For $2.00 a stick I'm more than satisfied. It definitely isn't a top-shelf cigar but you can surely do worse, especially in the $2.00 range. The Morro Castle burnt evenly, required no touch ups, produced a nice smoke, and didn't get harsh so I'm going to have to say I would smoke it again. I was disappointed with the flavors, but this is a perfect cigar for the occasional party or fishing trip.
Overall Rating: (22/25)
If you're looking for a great flavor profile, than this is definitely not the stick for you. However, if you are looking for a nice mild everyday smoke or are a novice smoker, you can';t do much better than this for the price. It's always nice to get a cheap stick that you don't have to touch up and it is a nice vitola for the beginner or novice smoker. Like I said earlier, this one isn't a Cristo or Padron, but you can do a lot worse. Hell, Swisher Sweets cost almost $2.00 nowadays and this surely is no Swisher.
Rating: 88
