Undercrown 10 Robusto
To illustrate just how good I believe this cigar is, I’m going to tell a quick story…
So I’m in Las Vegas with Carl at the Tobacco Plus Expo, an enormous gathering of basically every cigar manufacturer in the industry. Three days of sampling the latest and greatest smokes that each company has to offer. We tried them all. From major blockbuster releases like the H Upmann AJ Fernandez Heritage to little known boutiques like the ADVentura Queens Pearls. It was awesome.
At the end of this three-day cigar bender, we sat down for one final smoke before heading for the airport. Drew Estate had the largest, most extravagant booth in the entire convention center, complete with a cigar lounge, the perfect spot to rest our legs before the journey home. Out came the new Undercrown 10 in Robusto, and wouldn’t you know it, it turned out to be the best cigar I’d smoked all week. With the entire industry there showing off their stuff, old favorites and new unheard-of’s, and the best cigar in the building was this cigar.
So let’s break down the blend.
Like its predecessor the Undercrown Maduro, here we have a blend of Nicaraguan fillers and a thick, dark, Mexican San Andres Maduro wrapper. The difference with the UC10 comes in the form of a Connecticut River Valley Broadleaf binder, and those classic Broadleaf flavor traits are clearly noticeable once lit. But more on that in a minute.
Upon removing the cellophane, I brought the cigar to my nose as was overcome with the clearest chocolate note I’ve even smelled on a pre-lit cigar. Somewhere between Milk and Dark, but unmistakeable. Make sure don’t skip this step with yours. Then it was straight-cut, and the dry pull yielded more chocolate notes, but different as they blended with earth and leather.
Once lit, it was much the same, with a note that feels like thick molasses holding the flavors together. Even at 5×50, this stick feels solid and heavy, and burns very slowly even while producing puff after giant puff of smoke with the density of star-forming nebulae. The Robusto is the right choice for this blend. The Toro has more girth, which means a lower wrapper/binder-to-filler ratio and therefore doesn’t show off those flavors quite as prominently. But typically, longer sizes will smoke cooler, and that tradeoff can be worth it. I’ve found that choosing a Robusto over a Toro or Churchill can often mean a hotter smoke, and the heat can overcook the flavors and detract from the experience, but not in this case. The resistance in the draw and slow burn lead to a relatively cool smoke for its size. For UC10, the Robusto is where it’s at.
At Tallchief, we carry this smoke in both Toro and Robusto, so definitely try them both and let me know if you agree with me on the size. But I’m pretty confident that you will agree with me that this is one of the best cigars to come out in the last few years.
Buy this cigar online here, and use the code UC10 for 10% off at checkout.
Keep Coming Back.
-DP