La Cuesta-Rey Centenario Robusto No. 7

Chocolate is great and who doesn't like chocolate! Now I'm sure many of you agreed with that statement but less of you will agree that chili peppers are also great. "What do chili's have to do with chocolate?", you may ask yourself. Well, there are actually chili infused chocolate's out there. In fact, I gave one such creation to my father a few Easter's ago and he loved it. I thought it was an interesting combo but gave it a try as well and I have to admit it's pretty good. What does chocolate and chili's have anything to do with cigars? I found out that the two are not that dissimilar.

Cuesta-Rey has been around a long time, since 1884, and started in Cuba like so many other cigar brands but then moved to the Dominican which is where they are produced today. You may notice that in the picture the cigar is very dark and almost a little hairy and you're suspicions are correct! The maduro wrapper give's cigar's an almost bittersweet, chocolate taste to them so it's great if you're a fan of chocolate. See my notes after the break for the full rundown.

Tasting Notes:
This cigar has a good feel to it but as I mentioned earlier it's a little hairy due to the maduro wrapper. Much like the chili chocolate I mentioned above this has a little pepper and spice on the lips but a semi-sweet chocolate taste. The middle has a very mellow spice hint and touches of toasted earth and oak to give it some texture. The finish is smooth but the spice can build on you over the length of the cigar so if you don't like much spice this might not be your first choice.

One other thing to note that I don't comment on much unless it is pointed out to me is the smoke. My wife, who admittedly dislikes cigars, found the smoke to be unobtrusive with those hints of chocolate and sweetness in the air so this is not a bad stick to bring to a party of herfing event since it wont bother other people too much. Overall this was a good cigar but not great and the price was on par for the level but I would probably pick up another one next time I'm out to give it some more thought. I would not, however, recommend this to a beginner or someone who likes mild cigar's due to the spice and pepper that can be found within.

Rating: 88
Price: ~$4.50