A Brief Cigar Review - Cuban Cohiba Siglo V

Cohiba is the flagship brand of Cuban cigars, and probably the most recognized. On the flip-side, Cohiba is also the most expensive regular production Cuban cigar, and consequently, the most counterfeited. The Siglo V is the largest of the five Siglo sizes (I, II, III, IV, V). This particular stogie was recently gifted to me from a great cigar buddy, who is very active in our facebook cigar group. He sent the Cohiba and a few more sticks for no substantial reason, this is what is known as a cigar bomb. Cigar bombing is common practice in cigar groups, and more or less the reason I started the occasional cigar giveaways here on Steemit. Anyway, I am excited today to review this prestigious cigar, as I have not had a Siglo in this size.

Wrapper: Cuban
Binder: Cuban
Filler: Cuban
Vitola: 6.8 x 43
Price: $18 

Chuckling a bit, I notice my Cohiba is not straight, it is slightly bent into a curve, this must have happened during storage or shipment, no worries, I do not see any cracks therefore it should smoke just fine.

I've been known to break into a nervous sweat while getting ready to cut a $20 cigar from Cuba, with their all to often plugged cigars. The high demand for Cubans causes quality, and quality control to suffer. I punch cut the Cohiba and am greeted with a semi-restricted draw. Thankfully, it isn't plugged, a couple of pokes with a tiny skewer opens it up a little more to my liking.

I take a few cold draws before lighting, I notice notes of sweet hay and raisins. When taking a few whiffs of the wrapper, I am not able to discern much of anything, it is pretty faint.

The cigar itself is beautiful, like all Cohiba, the wrapper is light and silky smooth, you will be hard pressed to find another cigar with such a smooth appearance and feel. The band recently changed to have a hologram to combat counterfeiters. By the way, if while on vacation you bought a Cohiba, or any Cuban cigar for that matter, It is all but guaranteed to be fake. Only those sticks purchased from a genuine Habanos dealer, or a reputable online dealer as a sealed box will confirm to be authentic. See my blog on buying authentic Cuban cigars here.

After toasting and lighting this lovely cigar, massive plumes exude from each puff. The first and most dominant flavor note is a funky anise/black licorice, which happens to be a very common note to me for all Cuban tobaccos, it's wonderful. Alongside the anise is a peppery and nutty nuance quite like a Brazil nut, this is followed by a light citrus note on the finish. The finish is short and clean.

I am really loving this cigar! There is quite a transition that happens about 30 minutes into the Cohiba Siglo 5. Cedar becomes very prominent while replacing the anise, and a wheat bready note appears as the Brazil nut fades away. The spice has mellowed somewhat while the finish gives a dark red meatiness. I say this is quite a complex cigar to transition this quickly with many flavors leaving and arriving.

Not far past the halfway mark, I notice the flavors have darkened. I am an hour into the stogie, but I have been smoking somewhat slower than normal due to a few distractions. The Cohiba's ember died more than once, but understandable since it was well after a few minutes of being away from my chair.

As typical Cuban-grown tobacco, with it's unique soil minerals and nutrients, the ash is quite black with white swirls. My Siglo V remains smooth on the retro-hale, and now with dark cedar and nutty notes on the finish. Mild black pepper, with espresso, now make up the main nuances.

The last part of the Siglo V is as tasty as the previous, flavors remain on a merry-go-round with all the previously described flavor nuances fading in and out, with all of them slightly more concentrated but in no way bitter or harsh. 

Final thoughts:

Overall I must say the Cohiba Siglo V was an outstanding cigar. Unfortunately, you pay for the name, like you would for any brand such as Nike, Adidas, etc.

A benefit of buying Cohiba, is they are ready to smoke right away, unlike most Cuban cigars, which are rushed out of the factory due to high demand. Most cigars from other countries and companies are ready right out of the box, since they take the necessary time and care to ensure the cigar cures and ages properly, regardless of demand. I suppose that is the difference between a normal for-profit company, versus a country's government reliant on cigar sales. 

Even though I didn't buy this Cohiba, I have in the past. My opinion is there are other Cuban's more worthy of your money. That being said, a few Cohibas not only look great in your humidor, but they don't lose their value when trading or selling. 

My emoji rating: Cohiba Siglo V: 😀
(🤢😖☹️😕😐🙂😀😋🤗😍)
Smoke time: 1.5 hours
Cigar paired with: Cola & Bacardi Gold, Tincup Whiskey
Price opinion:  👎🏻
Recommend/buy again? Probably

Thanks for reading Steemians, this review was a lot more long-winded than I inteded. 

I appreciate your views, upvotes, follows, and resteems. Feel free to comment.., I enjoy interacting with fellow cigar smokers, or any who find interest in it.
-Greg