Cigarro: Serino 20th Anniversary Royale Medio Robusto Gordo
Fábrica: La Corona Factory
Country: Nicaragua
Capa: Ecuadorian Habano
Capote: Nicaraguan
Tripa: Nicaraguan (Esteli & Jalapa)
Dimensions: 5.5 x 60
Vitola: Gordo (Robusto Gordo)
Production: Core Line/Regular Production
MSRP: $12.75 USD
Released: AUG 2016
Prelude
Serino Cigars, which is owned by Carson Serino, made its debut at this year's IPCPR. This is Serino cigars launch year but owner Carson Serino has been in the business for many years now with APS Distributors. There were a total of 4 different lines launched and all are produced at Omar González Alemán’s La Corona Factory, the same factory responsible for the Hirochi Robaina line. The 20th Anniversary Royale Connecticut has an Ecuadorian Connie wrapper, 20th Anniversary Royale Maduro uses a Habano Oscuro from Ecuador, 20th Anniversary Royale Maduro XX utilizes a Ecuadorian Habano 2000, and the 20th Anniversary Royale Medio is wrapped in a Ecuadorian Habano leaf. All 4 lines make use of the same binder and filler and there are 4 sizes per line. I'll be conducting a review of the Serino 20th Anniversary Royale Medio Robusto Gordo, which is a monster sized 5.5 x 60.
"Before The Flame"
The Medio Royale Robusto Gordo sports a uniform, light medium brown Habano wrapper out of Ecuador. The wrapper itself is gorgeous, sans the few nicks in it. The seams are tight and the triple cap is applied with excellence. The cigar is fairly spongy, to the point where I was able to pinch the foot between my fingers and it would give about 50%. This brought about some serious concerns on how the draw would perform. Aromas of leather, pepper, natural tobacco, and wheat were observed from the wrapper and foot. I went with a double punch, or figure 8, to allow for an adequate draw without cutting the cap clean off.
1/3 "The Appetizer"
Beginning with a retrohale there is a good bit of black pepper while there is a general woodiness of the smoke in the mouth. After a few more puffs I begin to taste a semi-sweet earth. The black pepper is still on the retrohale and in the back of my throat. The aroma of the standing smoke is a nice woody note. An herbal flavor is added to the growing flavor profile. After a few more puffs the profile really starts to evolve with the addition of cream. The herb and cream are in the background while earth, wood, and pepper are at the forefront. As the 1st comes to a close the herb begins to take on more of a spice taste, resembling a mild cinnamon flavor.
2/3 "Main Entrée"
As the 2nd is underway the profile becomes noticeably sweeter, but I wouldn't call it sweet if comparing to other cigars. There is somewhat of a citrus tang that joins in with the other flavors and the pepper note decreases in intensity. The flavors have become very balanced with one another at this point in the smoke. Upon reaching the halfway point the citrus note is the lead flavor. The finish is real clean and by the tail end of the 2nd I'm finding it harder to detect the earth or pepper, just a citrus and wood.
3/3 "Dessert"
The last third would see the earth rise up and join the citrus and wood notes to round out the profile. The pepper is so light during this third but hasn't totally left the picture. The Royale Medio continues to show its complexity when a sweet spice joins in, like a cinnamon brown sugar flavor. Cream has been evident throughout the smoke and adds to the complexity. The cigar would end with a lemony, last minute charred wood, spice, and pepper profile.
Intensity
Serino's Royale Medio can just about fit anyone when it comes to strength and body. Medium strength, medium-plus body, and medium-full in flavor. I feel a newer smoker can use this as a means to begin getting into fuller cigars.
Construction
The draw was the best I could hope for from this size, it was good. Combustion was spot on. The ash was concrete in color and stayed on nice and firm and dropped nicely in intervals. The last third did see the ash become flaky. The nub became soft but it didn't burn hot.
Closing Thoughts
The 60 RG sized cigars just are not my cup of tea. The draw is usually way too open for my liking, the flavors tend to be muted and monotonous, doesn't fit right in my hand or against my lips, and I could continue on with more. With that being said, the Royale Medio Robusto Gordo didn't perform like Gordo sized cigar. I thoroughly enjoyed it and if this was the only size available I would be inclined to smoke them again. The Robusto Gordo isn't the only size and I am really looking forward to trying this blend in a smaller ring guage. This is a very well made cigar that has plenty of flavor and a decent amount complexity to it. I'll be getting to the other Serino Royale lines sooner than later.
Smoking Time: 2 hours 32 minutes
Pairing: Zero Water
Scoring: 90/100
