San Cristobal Quintessence Robusto (5 1/2 x 50)

Video review HERE.

Ashton Distributors, Inc. debuted the San Cristobal Quintessence at the 2016 IPCPR. This is the fifth cigar in the San Cristobal blends. The cigar is once again made in the My Father Cigars S.A. in its Estelí, Nicaragua. The Quintessence uses an Ecuadorian habano wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler that comes from the García family’s farms in the country.

Blend:

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Nicaragua

Available in these sizes:
Belicoso (6 1/2 x 54, $8.95)
Epicure (6 x 52, $8.75)
Majestic (6 x 60, $9.50)
Robusto (5 1/2 x 50, $8.50) REVIEWED TODAY

All sizes available in 24-count boxes.




The cigar is a medium brown and sports the typical San Cristobal parrot on the band. The cigar has an average feel in the hand.

The test draw after cutting the cap was pretty much effortless. The initial flavors were dry cedar, dry dates, brown sugar, espresso, and black pepper rated at an 8 1/2. 

1 1/2 inch in (18 minutes) you still have the dry cedar but now there are brown sugar notes instead of what I called dry dates. There are now nutmeg notes. There are still massive amounts of an earthy espresso and the black pepper remains very good although it may have toned down a bit. The finish is a caramel flavor with decent lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium bodied. 

About 2 1/2 inches in (38 minutes) the nutmeg notes are trying to be dominant. They are starting to overshadow the dry cedar and brown sugar. There remain good espresso and black pepper notes. The finish is changing. It is now one of nutmeg and dry oak. 

The cigar ended at 1 hour 14 minutes. The nutmeg notes continued very strong. I even got some dry oak flavors on the front end. There were still dry cedar and brown sugar notes but they were over matched by the nutmeg. The dry oak was about equal to the cedar and brown sugar notes. The cigar ended close to medium to full bodied. The finish was unchanged. This cigar was not my favorite edition from San Cristobal. It gets heavy on the nutmeg notes rather quickly and it's a dry nutmeg with no creaminess or sweetness. They hold the cigar back in my opinion. I purchased the Quintessence robusto locally so they are available anywhere that sells Ashton cigars. You can give these cigar a try by going HERE.

Score: 88