Benchmade Robusto

Wrapper: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: Robusto (5×50)
Strength: Medium-Full

Benchmade cigars- A handcrafted brand created by Ashton and blended by Jose “Pepin” Garcia. The beautiful sticks have a dark wrapper, pig tale end, and offers an amazing medium to full body taste. Consider the Benchmade a gift to cigar smokers because this super-premium cigar has a super price tag of around two dollars. The Nicaraguan cigar is a mix of long and short filler from five different kinds of leaves that you will absolutely love.

Construction: The wrapper is caramel in color and gives you an initial impression of a very friendly medium, or even light bodied, smoke. This Sumatra-seed wrapper was not very oily and was very solid in construction. It had one large vein that ran down the back of the cigar and the other veins were small and subtle- neither of which affected the smoking or burning in a negative way. Upon completing the “pinch test“: Benchmade robusto was soft or “spongy” but not to the point where tobacco was falling out.

Draw: Anytime a cigar feels soft or “spongy” it’s almost a certain indication that the cigar will have an easy draw. For this very reason I opted to twist the tail on the end (no caps on the cigars keeps the cost down) and see if it would work - it did. The Benchmade robusto smoked great through the little opening. Punching the Benchmade provided me with the perfect draw. Cutting was done by other reviewers and the draw was a bit too easy.

Burn: It’s always interesting to see what kind of burn a “cheap” cigar throws your way. This Benchmade robusto started off burning a little jagged but always corrected itself. I never had to manually correct or relight my stick once. The ash had nice peppery color but didn’t appear very firm; however the robusto only required me to ash twice.

Taste: Let’s start off by letting everyone know the Benchmade cigar is a mixed filler smoke. This means you can, and most likely will, get a different profile or specific taste from cigar to cigar. It may not be noticeable if you purchase a box in full but try the cigars rolled/shipped/created in different months are you will see what I am talking about.

Pepper and spice make the Benchmade cigar nice. Every stick I have had will shoot this flavor in your mouth through your entire smoking experience. Pepper is most prominent in the 1/3 of the cigar and doesn’t allow me to taste anything else.

At the 2/3 point the pepper fades and makes room for a more earthy undertone. From here on out I also get a lot of the tobacco taste any cigar love should…love.

When finishing up the Benchmade you tend to get a bitter taste. This is due to the chopped tobacco catching the impurity’s, something that happens less in higher quality cigars. No need to worry though because you can just purge your cigar and never look back.

Again each stick will vary - so pick one up and try it. If this makes you uneasy just remember that this is still a Don “Pepin” Garcia blend - and you will not be disappointed if you are one of his fans.

Final Verdict: We have a winner on our hands. You get a “Pepin” cigar by Ashton for the low-low price of $2.xx, do a quick search online and you can get the sticks in the $1.60 range. You are getting great value for your money. I also want you to know that the Benchmande cigars are even better with just a little bit of resting time in the humidor. I will be aging a box to see what they do - and I think you should do the same. Quick Note: Of all the Benchmade cigars the robusto was by far the best. Enjoy these smokes and the savings on your wallet.

Other Cigars: I had a sense of familiarity while smoking and reflecting on this cigar. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it when I suddenly jumped up and said “Cubao“. The Cubao had the same kind of peppery taste, caramel wrapper, full body smoke, origin, and both were Don “Pepin” Garcia created.

Ashton VSG Belicoso No. 1

Wrapper: Ecuador Sun Grown
Filler: Dominican Republic
Size: Belicoso (5.25×52)
Strength: Full

Ashton VSG Belicoso is one of my all time favorite cigars. I was looking for a good way to introduce the VSG to you, the readers, but could do no better than the Ashton website it self. And after reading about who is involved in creating this amazing stick - you too will realize that the Ashton VSG is something special:

“For those who desire a powerful and intoxicating flavor with a complex rich finish, look no further than the Ashton VSG. The VSG is blended exclusively for Ashton by Carlos Fuente Jr. using 4 to 5 year old aged Dominican tobacco taken from the finest and most fertile plants. The distinct flavor of VSG comes from its wrapper grown on a private estate in Ecuador owned by the Oliva family where this proprietary wrapper leaf is grown for the Fuente Family exclusively for Ashton VSG.”

Construction: Dark, spicy, and perhaps rugged are just three words I would use to describe the look of the Ashton VSG wrapper. The Ecuadoran Sun Grown wrapper has an oily sheen that not only looks amazing, but makes this cigar such a great build. Little veins run through the firm stick but do not effect the cigar in a negative way. Smoking down to the nub will not be an issue with this perfectly rolled stick.

Draw: Belicoso shapes do not leave many options for obtaining your draw: Cut or V Cut. Choose your preferred method of cutting and enjoy because the draw is perfect. In reality this is the kind of draw I wish every cigar had.

Burn: How picky do you want me to be about the burn? Had this cigar been in the 5 dollar range - I would say it was perfect. Except this cigar sits in the $10-$12 range (depending on markup, taxes, etc) so I have to say… the burn is good. While it does get a little off track the stick did a great job of correcting itself.

Taste: Let’s start by giving the Virgin Sun Grown cigar the “nose” test. Doing so will give you an indication of the spice you will soon encounter, the sweetness, and what I would call a light mocha smell.

The 1/3 of the cigar punches you with an amazing amount of spice - it is a medium-full bodied smoke from the start. Once you overcome the spice you get an amazing nutty flavor with a hint of coffee - or perhaps a light chocolate(?). The smoke is full and flavorful giving you a nice creamy finish and a firm white ash.

At the 2/3 point (midway of the cigar) the spice of the Ashton seems to die a bit and take backseat to a sweeter taste. This “sweet” taste only introduces what’s to come: leather, woodsy, and cedar like notes. The body is now in the full spectrum and the smoke is just as creamy. The ash is still white and firm but burned a little uneven.

Grand Finale: The VSG is still in the full range and the leather flavor is what dominates the smoke. The leather taste is supported by the spice (this spice never fades) and something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Perhaps it is a sweeter cedar - but it compliments it very nicely making the Ashton VSG easy to smoke to the nub. Again the smoke is creamy and the ash is firm and white. I would like to note the uneven burn corrected it self.

Verdict Is: This is a cigar you should have in your normal rotation and can easily be found in many retail tobacco establishments. I also found that the VSG is even more amazing when aged. So while this is a bit expensive to some (or anyone who smokes everyday) it is okay to buy some and save the VSG for that perfect day.

Other Cigars:

At this current time the only other cigar I can recomend (as in same spciy taste, full body smoke, and quality) is the Opus X.