Review: Vegueros Seoane

Established as a marca in 1997, Vegueros lived a relatively short life on the market only lasting 15 years before being discontinued in 2012. The origin of the Vegueros cigars however is a little older than the marca itself. In 1961 the Francisco Donatién factory located in Pinar del Río started rolling cigars in addition to the cigarettes it had already been producing. These cigars were only for domestic consumption and were not exported outside the country.

When Habanos S.A. decided to produce these for export, they named the cigar after its nickname, vegueros. Literally translated vegueros means planters, however Cubans referred to the tobacco growers as such, so this cigar was nicknamed after the people who help produce the countries biggest export.

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There were four regular production vitolas in the Veguero marca:

• Especiales No.1 — 7 11/20 x 38
• Especiales No.2 — 6 x 38
• Marevas — 5 1/13 x 42
• Seoane — 5 x 33

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In addition to the regular production, two limited edition releases were done. The first was the 2002 Collector Belicosos Extra which was 5 1/2 x 52. The second was the 2003 135th Aniversario Humidor which commemorated the 135th anniversary of the founding of Pinar del Río, where the Vegueros’ factory was located. The humidor had 135 cigars and included all four regular production vitolas and one special vitola named Cepo, which was 5 11/20 x 49.

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Today however, I will be reviewing the Seoane which came in a cardboard display box of five petacas de five, or five packs of five cigars.

Here are some pictures of the box:

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Now you know the background, so let’s get to the review.

• Cigar Reviewed: Vegueros Seoane (June 1999)
• Country of Origin: Cuba
• Factory: Fabricia de Tabacos Francisco Donatién
• Wrapper: Cuba
• Binder: Cuba
• Filler: Cuba
• Size: 5 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 33
• Vitola: Seaone
• Est. Price: $3.00 (Sleeves of 5 Boxes of 5, $75.00)
• Release Date: 1997
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 3

 

The light cocoa colored wrapper has a couple of prominent veins, but has pleasant overall look with the well applied wrapper and perfect triple cap. It feels a little rough, and while most of the cigar is firm, there are a few minor soft spots. There is a light coating of plume on the cigar, which would be expected of a 13 year-old cigar. The Vegueros band is fairly unique, though I wouldn’t call it fancy since it lacks even the most basic of embossing. The cold draw brings grassy barnyard notes and that’s about it.

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The first third of the Vegueros Soane starts with a slightly bitter overtone, but that quickly fades after a couple of puffs and that classic grassy Cuban twang shines through. As the cigar continues I’m getting some enjoyable cedar and floral notes. The draw of the Seoane is fantastic and despite its diminutive size, it’s producing large clouds of smoke.

Much like the first, the second third continues with grassy notes and a floral background. On the retrohale the Vegueros is smooth and I get more of the same flavors albeit more pronounced. All in all there isn’t much development, although I can’t say that’s a bad thing. The dark gray ash holds on well to an inch, which speaks volumes of the construction of a cigar with such small ring gauge.

Finishing out the Seoane, there isn’t much more to say about the final third. The Vegueros continues to be consistent with the flavors, not really developing or changing much at all. The finish is long and coats my palate with the few, but good flavors. It ends well without getting hot or harsh and is good enough though that I was burning my fingers finishing it up.

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Final Notes:

• Although these were only discontinued last year, from my experience and others I’ve talked to, we’ve only seen box codes through 2001.
• With the discontinuation of half the line (Especials No.1 and No.2) in 2010 and the rest of them (Marevas and Seoane) in 2012, Habanos S.A. has continued as they have in the past decade to remove many of their smaller RG cigars from production.
• The Francisco Donatién factory actually started out as a hospital, but also played the role as a prison and later a school before finally becoming a tobacco factory.
• While the Vegueros brand has been discontinued, the factory still produces Trinidad cigars, which were relocated from the El Laguito factory.
• The factory is one of the smallest in Cuba, according to Cigar Aficionado only employing 58 cigar rollers.
• Like any smaller ring gauge cigar they can be ruined by smoking them too fast, but smoking them slowly allows their true colors to shine.
• Final smoking time was 50 minutes.

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The Bottom Line: These are a Cuban cigar that you will either like or you won’t, and I feel that stems from the fact that these cigars have such a unique taste. They’re very simple cigars that don’t develop much, but I like the flavors that the Vegueros do produce. The marca as a whole are on the milder side of the spectrum and with so few flavors you’ll find them easily overpowered by many drink pairings. I tend to enjoy mine with my morning coffee or a lighter beer, but water or mineral water are always great choices. If you can still find them for close to MSRP they’re a real deal at that price point. Unfortunately, with them being discontinued they are not only difficult to find but usually have inflated secondary market prices as well. With that higher price I’m not sure how willing I would be to buy a Vegueros over another similarly priced Cuban, but I wouldn’t pick them over other sticks in the $5-8 range. I still feel these have a place in my humidor, but they’re an occasional cigar for me and not a go to. In the end they’re just a cigar with a unique profile, but one that could very well leave you wishing for more.

 

Final Score: 84