During the 2013 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, RoMa Craft Tobac introduced a new limited edition named CRAFT with an interesting concept: take parts of each of the company’s lines and use them to blend one cigar in a unique vitola. While it was introduced as an annual limited edition release, more than four years passed before the next installment was seen. The original CRAFT release shipped in November 2013, but the next cigar wasn’t shipped until March 2018. Since then, CRAFT has been an annual release, albeit in varying production numbers and distribution approaches ranging from being limited to as few as two retailers to this year’s release, which was offered to the majority of RoMa Craft Tobac stores.

In May, RoMa Craft announced the latest installment in the series: CRAFT 2022, a 5 x 50 robusto priced at $12 each with 25,000 total cigars released. In a text conversation, Skip Martin, co-founder of RoMa Craft Tobac, told halfwheel that the 10 cigars in each box all feature unique designs that were rolled by two specific pairs of rollers over a period of about three months at the company’s Fábrica de Tabacos NicaSueño S.A. factory located in Estelí, Nicaragua. Interestingly, Martin described all 10 cigars as different “blends,” though he declined to elaborate what those blends might be other than to say Nicaraguan tobaccos from at least two regions are included. From the wrappers’ appearances alone, it seems quite clear that the tobaccos used from the wrappers are not all the same.

“Since 2013, CRAFT has been a project we use to tell a story about what is happening in our factory and our company,” said Martin. “This year, we are focused on the 5 x 50 format and some new tobaccos we have been using from Jamastran and Condega. The various designs in the box are fun, but this is a very serious piece of work.”

There have been six different CRAFT releases since the start of 2013.

Note: The following shows the various CRAFT releases over the years. Please note, some of these cigars may have been released after this review was originally published. The list was last updated on Aug. 10, 2022.

92 Overall Score

Over the years, we here at halfwheel have endeavored to be as consistent as possible when it comes to our reviews: we all use the same score sheet, we all fill it out the same way and we all smoke the same number of cigars for each review whenever possible. That wasn't what happened here because of the very essence of what CRAFT 2022 is. Even with all of that said, there are some things I am sure about, starting with the construction, which was virtually perfect when it comes to draw, the amount of smoke and the burn. In addition, while there was a clear winner in my mind—and it was not even close, as the first cigar I smoked was easily one of the best cigars I have reviewed this year—each of the cigars was extremely enjoyable in its own way. This includes not only different main flavors—one cigar featured anise and cedar, one had a profile full of charred meat and sweet grass and the last had main flavors of cocoa nibs and hay—but also retrohales featuring very different sweet flavors. In the end, the CRAFT 2022 easily lived up to my expectations and then some and I absolutely recommend you try to get ahold of some before they disappear.

  • Cigar Reviewed: CRAFT 2022
  • Country of Origin: Nicaragua
  • Factory: Fábrica de Tabacos NicaSueño S.A.
  • Wrapper: Undisclosed
  • Binder: Undisclosed
  • Filler: Undisclosed
  • Length: 5 Inches
  • Ring Gauge: 50
  • Vitola: Robusto
  • MSRP: $12 (Box of 10, $120)
  • Release Date: May 2022
  • Number of Cigars Released: 2,500 Boxes of 10 Cigars (25,000 Total Cigars)
  • Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

I have always loved smoking cigars that feature designs on their wrappers, and each of the CRAFT 2022 has that in spades. While not exactly the same, the wrappers for the cigars I have chosen to smoke look very similar: a light espresso brown color for the main part of the cigar, with strips of both candela and golden brown wrapped around the cap and foot. In addition, each of the cigars features quite a bit of oil as well as some noticeable veins, and all three are extremely firm when squeezed. The aromas from the wrappers are similar and include nuts, cocoa nibs, wood—either cedar and oak, albeit not from the same cigar—manure, earth, coffee beans, hay, grass and sugary sweetness. When it comes to the foot, the first cigar has notes of creamy nuts, cedar, leather, barnyard, hay, baker’s spices and toasted bread, while the cold draw expands on those with flavors of sweet almonds, rich espresso beans, cedar, dark chocolate, leather and cinnamon. The second cigar is quite bit different, with aromas of earth, grass, oak, leather, sourdough bread and nutmeg emanating from the foot and a cold draw full of flavors that include quite a bit of sweet grass, gritty earth, leather, oak, freshly brewed coffee and a touch of floral. Finally, the foot of the third cigar smells like cedar, generic nuts, leather, earth, barnyard and slight citrus, while the cold draw includes flavors of powdery cocoa nibs, leather tack, peanut shells, creamy cedar, earth and cinnamon.

The first CRAFT 2022 I light up starts off with a blast of massive brown sugar sweetness and spice, both of which continue to be a major part of the profile as the first third burns down. Flavors of anise and cedar take the top spots about 10 puffs in, followed by peanuts, earth, leather, sawdust, cinnamon, cocoa nibs and a slight vegetal note that seems to be getting stronger. The second cigar features strong flavors of grass and black pepper right off the bat, both of which quickly give way to main flavors of charred meat and sweeter grass. Additional flavors of gritty earth, almonds, dried cereal, leather tack, dark chocolate and oak flit in and out at various points as well. The last CRAFT 2022 begins with a large amount of black pepper and espresso beans that eventually morph into top notes of cocoa nibs and hay, with flavors of leather, earth, nutmeg, tobacco leaves, biscuits, barnyard coffee grounds bringing up the rear. The retrohale is sweet for all three cigars, albeit with different flavors: brown sugar and black pepper for the first, sweet grass and white pepper for the second and molasses and black pepper for the third. Flavor is at medium plus for the first cigar and at a solid medium for the other two, body is solid medium for all three cigars while the strength is just under medium for the first and third cigars and at a solid medium for the second cigar. In terms of construction, all three cigars have excellent draws after straight cuts, plenty of thick smoke and nary an issue when it comes to the burn.

While there are some changes in the profiles of all three cigars during the second third, most are pretty minor differences. Cedar and anise continue to be the top flavors in the first cigar, followed by notes of cocoa nibs, creamy peanuts, earth, cinnamon and a vegetal note that has become just strong enough to remind me of raw broccoli. The second cigar continues to be dominated by flavors of sweet grass and charred meat, with secondary flavors that include creamy almonds, leather, dark chocolate, earth and butter. The main flavors in the final CRAFT 2022 are the same combination of hay and powdery cocoa nibs—albeit more of the former than was present in the first third—followed by additional flavors of barley, citrus peel, leather, earth, espresso beans and nutmeg. Retrohales for all three continue to be noticeably sweet, with brown sugar and black pepper present on the first cigar, white pepper and a sweet grassy note on the second cigar and molasses and black pepper on the third cigar. Flavor remains at medium plus for the first cigar and a solid medium for the second cigar, but the final CRAFT has bumped up to just over medium. In addition, the body remains at a solid medium for the first two cigars and just above medium for the third, while the strength increases on all three: the first and third cigars end the second third at a solid medium, while the second cigar has bumped up to just over the medium mark. Construction-wise, both the draw and smoke production continue to be excellent for all three cigars, and while the burn is giving me no problems for the first and third cigars, the second CRAFT needs a couple of minor corrections with my lighter.

Consistency seems to be the name of the game with all three CRAFT 2022 cigars, as each cigar’s profile ends up being very similar to the previous thirds. This includes the main flavors for the first cigar—cedar and anise—and the second cigar—sweet grass and charred meat—as well as the final cigar, which continues to be dominated by a combination of hay and cocoa nibs. Secondary notes for the first cigar include a stronger and more creamy peanut flavor, earth, dark chocolate and cinnamon, but the vegetal flavor is down quite a bit from its peak around the halfway point. Additional flavors for the second cigar include mostly familiar notes of espresso beans, dark chocolate, creamy almonds, earth and leather. The final cigar has flavors of wheat, peanuts, citrus peel, leather, nutmeg, earth and espresso beans that show up in various amounts. Each of the three cigars continues to have its own distinct sweetnesses on the retrohale as well: the first cigar features the familiar black pepper and brown sugar, the second cigar has a bit more of the sweet grass note along with more white pepper and the final cigar has a bit less molasses but an increased amount of black pepper. The second cigar I smoke sees flavor end at medium-plus while the other two cigars are both medium-full. The body ends up being around the same for all three cigars—just over the medium mark—and the first cigar ends up remaining at a solid medium in terms of strength, while the second and third cigars end up at medium-plus. Finally, the overall construction has not changed for any of the three cigars when it comes to draw and smoke production—both aspects are great on all three cigars—and while two of the CRAFT 2022 give me no issues with the burn until I put the nubs down, the final cigar needs one minor correction to avoid larger problems.

Final Notes

  • Although there was no CRAFT release in 2014, RoMa Craft Tobac did release the La Campaña de Panamá Soberana WitchCraft, which was essentially an inside-out version of the first CRAFT blend. The original CRAFT 2013 used an Ecuadorian wrapper and Connecticut broadleaf binder, while the WitchCraft incorporated the broadleaf ligero as wrapper and the Ecuadorian habano ligero as the binder.
  • While I love the idea of being surprised by a cigar, it is a little disconcerting to know virtually nothing about the blend of each one of the cigars I smoked for the review, especially since each of the blends is different.

  • Having said the above, I tried to pick the three cigars that have the closest wrappers in an attempt to keep things as consistent as possible. Unfortunately, it seems that my attempts were in vain, as only one of the cigars featured what looked to be a double binder, one of which was candela tobacco.

  • If you are curious as to which exact cigars I smoked, I’ve marked which cigar was which in the photograph above.
  • As is the case for most of RoMa Craft’s releases I have photographed, the boxes for the CRAFT 2022 are extremely heavy and extremely well-built. In fact, our box fit together so well and closed so tightly that I had to get a knife to pry the lid open. They also apparently make decent firewood.
  • In addition to the 2,500 10-count boxes, Martin told me that the company has packaged up “a few” bundles of the CRAFT 2022 “for damaged cigar replacement.”
  • I think it would be interesting if RoMa Craft held a contest of some sort to see which design/blend is the winner from those that have smoked them and then produce that specific blend in a larger release.
  • During the 2022 PCA Convention & Trade Show, Mike Rosales, co-founder of RoMa Craft Tobac, told halfwheel that it was working on a release named Quinquagenario which will be a celebratory release for Martin’s 50th birthday. Although the blend still isn’t finalized, It will be made at Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr.’s Tabacalera La Alianza S.A. factory in the Dominican Republic, the first time the company is selling a cigar made at a factory other than NicaSueño.
  • The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
  • Final smoking time for all three cigars averaged one hour and 44 minutes.
  • If you would like to purchase any of the RoMa Craft Tobac CRAFT 2022, site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co. and JR Cigar have them listed on their sites but are currently sold out.
92 Overall Score

Over the years, we here at halfwheel have endeavored to be as consistent as possible when it comes to our reviews: we all use the same score sheet, we all fill it out the same way and we all smoke the same number of cigars for each review whenever possible. That wasn't what happened here because of the very essence of what CRAFT 2022 is. Even with all of that said, there are some things I am sure about, starting with the construction, which was virtually perfect when it comes to draw, the amount of smoke and the burn. In addition, while there was a clear winner in my mind—and it was not even close, as the first cigar I smoked was easily one of the best cigars I have reviewed this year—each of the cigars was extremely enjoyable in its own way. This includes not only different main flavors—one cigar featured anise and cedar, one had a profile full of charred meat and sweet grass and the last had main flavors of cocoa nibs and hay—but also retrohales featuring very different sweet flavors. In the end, the CRAFT 2022 easily lived up to my expectations and then some and I absolutely recommend you try to get ahold of some before they disappear.

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Brooks Whittington

I have been smoking cigars for over eight years. A documentary wedding photographer by trade, I spent seven years as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. I started the cigar blog SmokingStogie in 2008 after realizing that there was a need for a cigar blog with better photographs and more in-depth information about each release. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars. I am a co-founder of halfwheel and now serve as an editor for halfwheel.