El Rey del Mundo Petit Robustos (ER Spain 2015)

Late last year, a new Edición Regional arrived in Spain.

In somewhat of a rare occurrence, this Edición Regional—the El Rey del Mundo Petit Robustos—actually arrived in the year it was designated. This 2015 Edición Regional for Spain is what its name suggests, a 102mm (4 inches) x 50 petit robusto.

In case you are unfamiliar with the Edición Regional program, the basics are as follows:

The Edición Regional program is how Habanos S.A., the marketing and distribution company behind Cuban cigars, creates unique, limited vitolas for its distributors around the world. Sizes must be those that are in the Habanos S.A. portfolio, but not amongst the regular production offerings for the brand, although some discontinued regular sizes can be created. New vitolas created for a certain brand are also not eligible to be used. In addition, the “global” brands—i.e. Cohiba, H. Upmann, Hoyo de Monterrey, José L. Piedra, Montecristo, Partagás and Romeo y Julieta—are not eligible to be made into an Edición Regional.

Since 2012, distributors have been limited to a single release per year, a change from prior years when some distributors would receive multiple releases per year. Distributors are the ones to initiate the idea of a new release, and the cost for any new Edición Regional must be underwritten by the distributor. There is no guarantee that any particular region will get a new release in a given year.

 

The Petit Robustos is limited to 7,500 numbered boxes of 10 cigars. Local pricing is said to be around €7 ($7.80) per cigar.

• Cigar Reviewed: El Rey del Mundo Petit Robustos Edición Regional España (2015)
• Country of Origin: Cuba
• Factory: n/a
• Wrapper: Cuba
• Binder: Cuba
• Filler: Cuba
• Length: 4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Vitola: Petit Robusto
• Est. Price: $7.80 (Boxes of 10, $78)
• Release Date: December 2015
• Number of Cigars Released: 7,500 Boxes of 10 Cigars (75,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

First, it looks like an Edición Regional. I’m fond of the El Rey del Mundo band and the Edición Regional band always looks good. The wrapper smells like sandpaper, though the cigar itself actually feels like really soft leather. From the foot, it smells of a Hershey’s bar, with mild notes of sweet cocoa, though they are joined by some pine cone, burnt brisket and some twang. The cold draw is also sweet: artificial creamer, peanut shell and some orange soda.

While I didn’t have any issues with the tightness on the cold draw, the first draw on two of the cigars is a bit tight. Flavor-wise, there’s cedar, oats, peanut and a mild, less artificial creaminess. The finish has a distinct Dubble Bubble gum flavor, akin to when you put the pink substance in your mouth before you take a chew. The draw opens up, but not completely, it certainly is better when the cigar is smoked a bit quicker, though the flavor of the Petit Robustos is better when there’s a bit more time in between puffs. The flavor transitions to peanut butter, oaks, oregano and some mild saltiness on the tongue, particularly on the finish.

In the second third, that saltiness moves towards the front of the tongue. In addition, the El Rey del Mundo presents rye bread, a salty chicken stock like flavor, green pepper and some lime zest. I find myself really wanting some sweetness, but the cigar is providing none. If I was pairing the cigar with a drink, I definitely would want something with some sweetness to help contrast the tobacco’s profile. The smoke production continues to be a bit anemic and there’s nothing coming from the foot of the cigar 30 seconds after I take a puff, but the cigar manages to stay lit despite two minutes in between puffs. The flavor and body remain medium-full, while the strength is medium-plus.

The pepper reduces itself in the final third of the El Rey del Mundo, but the profile gets a lot sharper. There’s a flavor that teeters somewhere between bread and dry ramen noodles, joined by some apple, salty pretzels and some rough minerals through the nose. Two cigars need a touch up in the final third, but otherwise construction remains similar.

Final Notes

• The box code for these cigars is RAU OCT 15.
• Each cigar had some construction woes, mainly needing some touch-ups.
• This is the 10th Edición Regional release for El Rey del Mundo and the first time the brand has been selected for Spain.
• Tabacalera S.L.U. is the distributor for Spain. It’s a subsidiary of Imperial Tobacco Group, who also happens to own 50 percent of Habanos S.A. as well as Tabacalera USA, Altadis U.S.A. and JR Cigar, amongst other brands.
• Strength is right below medium-full, towards the stronger side of current Cuban releases.
• Cigars for this review were given to halfwheel by a reader.
• Final smoking time was one hour and 10 minutes on average.