Cohiba Serie M

In April 2021, General Cigar Co. released a new Cohiba named Serie M that hit a number of firsts for the brand. Not only was it the first time that General has worked with the Miami-based El Titan de Bronze factory but it’s also the first time a Cohiba blend had been made in the U.S. The blend making up the new 6 x 54 toro also included another first for General, as it is the first time the Cohiba brand had incorporated a Nicaraguan corojo wrapper into one of its creations, which covers a Nicaraguan binder as well as the filler which is made up of Dominican piloto cubano tobaccos, as well as tobaccos from Estelí and Jalapa, Nicaragua.

“I am honored that we were chosen to craft the first American-made Cohiba cigars,” said Sandy Cobas, owner of El Titan de Bronze, in a press release. “For this important collaboration, we created a cigar using only the most exquisite tobacco, working together with the Cohiba team at General Cigar. Unlike in other countries where cigar makers work in teams, our cigarmakers at El Titán de Bronze personally create each cigar from start to finish, and we put their name on every single box they make.”

 

The Serie M has an MSRP of $29.99 with only 50,000 cigars rolled and they shipped to retailers on April 12 packaged in 10-count boxes.

Here is what I wrote in m original review back in May 2021:

In the past few years, I have become increasingly impressed with the blends being released by General’s Cohiba brand, including the Cohiba Spectre CS19, Cohiba Silencio and Cohiba Connecticut—and the Serie M is another notch in the company’s belt. Refined, complex and extremely well-balanced, the Serie M features top flavors of creamy almonds and leather along with a persistent caramel sweetness that plays nicely with the white pepper that is also present. Anytime you put the Cohiba name on a cigar the expectations for that blend are going to be a bit inflated—and the $30 price point won’t help matters in that regard—but the Serie M is a great addition to General’s lineup.

• Cigar Reviewed: Cohiba Serie M
• Country of Origin: U.S.A.
• Factory: El Titan de Bronze
• Wrapper: Nicaragua (Corojo)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Dominican Republic (Piloto Cubano) & Nicaragua (Estelí and Jalapa)
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Toro
• MSRP: $29.99 (Box of 10, $299.90)
• Release Date: April 12, 2021
• Number of Cigars Released: 5,000 Boxes of 10 (50,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 1

Unlike some of the other Cohiba Serie Ms in our box that were damaged in transit, the flag tail cap on this sample is fully intact, and both it and the covered foot really add to the overall presentation of the cigar. The wrapper is a very attractive milk chocolate brown that feels like parchment and there is not only a touch of oil present but also a soft spot noticeable just under the secondary band. Aroma from the wrapper includes cocoa nibs, leather, earth, generic nuts and barnyard while the foot brings notes of peanut shells, dark chocolate, manure and hay. Finally, after a straight cut the cold draw includes flavors of strong dark chocolate, roasted coffee beans, leather tack, earth, creamy almonds and a slight floral note.

Both a noticeable spice as well as a distinct leather note greets me as soon as I torch the foot of the Cohiba Serie M, and both continue to be very evident in the profile—joined by a strong almond flavor—as the burn line continues to burn down. Secondary notes include cloves, gritty earth, cocoa nibs, roasted espresso beans, creamy hay and a slight floral flavor that comes and goes at various points. In addition, there is a very strong caramel sweetness on the retrohale that combines nicely with some black pepper that seems to be getting less intense as the halfway point approaches. Flavor is at medium-plus, body is at medium and the strength ends the first half at a solid medium.

The flavors of creamy almonds and leather easily remain the top notes in the profile during the second third, but the secondary flavors morph quite a bit, and now include not only cloves and dark chocolate, but also sourdough bread, creamy cedar, cinnamon, freshly brewed coffee, tree bark and light citrus peel. While the black pepper on the retrohale has receded a bit from its high point in the first third, the caramel sweetness has been replaced by a strong marzipan sweetness that stays around the same intensity until the end of the cigar. Flavor builds slowly before ending just under the full mark, body reaches medium-plus and the strength hits a point just over medium by the time I put the nub down with less than an inch remaining. One of the high points of the Serie M is the construction, including a close to perfect draw after a straight cut and quite a bit of thick, gray smoke. In addition, the burn is excellent for the entire cigar, with a constant razor-sharp burn line and ash that was so well-formed, it only fell three times during the entire one-hour and 42 minute smoking time.