Gran Habano Blue in Green Gran Robusto

In late 2018, Gran Habano released a new line of cigars that looked a lot like Johnny Walker Blue Label.

That line, Gran Habano Blue in Green, was marketed not as a cigar that was made to be smoked alongside a finger or two of Johnny Walker, but rather, as a new age Connecticut. There was a time when a lighter wrapper color almost always meant a very mild filler blend, though in the early 2010s, that began changing. Instead of taking lighter wrappers and pairing them with some of the most non-descript and nicotine-light fillers, cigar companies began to pair the Connecticut-seed wrappers with more medium tobaccos.

While I don’t remember most cigars I smoked five years ago, I do remember the Gran Habano Blue in Green Gran Robusto, as it’s one of the best cigars I’ve smoked in the last five or so years. Here’s what I said when I first reviewed it:

The early candidate for “cigar that was most enjoyable to smoke of the year” is the Gran Habano Blue in Green. Flavor-wise, it’s probably not the best cigar I’ve smoked this year, but put everything together and it’s the clear winner. It seems quite rare these days that we can take three cigars, smoke them and never have to once think about construction issues, but the Gran Habano Blue in Green was that exception. Well-made, well-balanced and decently flavored, I’d recommend this cigar more than the score will inevitably suggest.

• Cigar Reviewed: Gran Habano Blue in Green Gran Robusto
• Country of Origin: Honduras
• Factory: G.R. Tabacaleras Unidas S.A.
• Wrapper: U.S.A. (Connecticut-seed)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Shape: Round
• MSRP: $9.50 (Boxes of 20, $190)
• Release Date: October 2018
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 1

This is an incredibly regal-looking appearance. With the bright colors, a cedar wrap and crisp printing, it looks like a cigar that’s going to cost a lot, even if my recollection is that it wasn’t a breaking-the-bank type of situation. While the cellophane comes off easily enough, the cedar wrap gets stuck about two inches before it’s fully removed from the cigar. Fortunately, some firmer tugs get it to slide off the cigar without damaging any of the wrapper, or even the cedar itself. I’m greeted by a very rich, light, mustard-colored wrapper that has lots of oils and not many veins. While based on flavor, this may not be my top choice for a wrapper, it’s about as pretty as any. The aroma from the wrapper is medium-plus with faint hints of sweet and fruity cedar, though not much else. The foot is closer to full with scents of chocolate syrup and joined by some plum-like sweetness. The cold draws are medium-full with lots of orange sweetness and tartness joined by cocoa and salty nuttiness, the draw is also slightly open.

The Gran Habano Blue in Green Gran Robusto has a slightly open draw to the first puff, which limits the amount of smoke production I’m able to get. Flavor-wise, it’s a very smooth and rich woody flavor with some cold milk-like creaminess. That one-two punch sticks around for most of the first third, though the profile turns a bit drier than I would like. Nuttiness, rye bread and black pepper join the mixture. Puffs finish with earthiness more than nuttiness, though there’s also creaminess and black pepper. Retrohales are largely a remixed version of the list of flavors you’ve read so far, though there’s some leather and dry popcorn. Flavor is full, body is medium-plus and strength is medium, though those descriptions aren’t remotely close to the full story. The more appropriate descriptions are rich, smooth and electric. Similar to how a properly seasoned, freshly ripened tomato can taste electric this time of year, the Gran Habano’s flavors interact with my taste buds in ways few cigars will ever. Even if there aren’t that many flavors, and even if the flavors aren’t the most interesting, what I taste explodes on the palate in the best possible way. No doubt, some of this is helped by how cool the cigar burns, the cherry on top of what is excellent construction.

While the nuttiness and creaminess are still very present, the dry bread flavors make the most notable increase in intensity between the first and second third. Damp earthiness, leather and black pepper are also regularly present though not on the finish, which remains quite like the first third. By the final third, the nuttiness is isolating itself a bit more, a reminder that while this is an excellent cigar, it’s perhaps not the most harmonious in terms of spatial positioning on the palate. In this case, the nuttiness is increasingly found in places where I can’t taste any other parts of the profile. The cedar flavor becomes more pronounced and has a juicy component that wasn’t present before, that said I never get the fruitier aspects I found before the cigar was lit. Retroahles do have a more traditional citrus flavor, with both sweetness and tartness, though it’s largely still about the creaminess and nuttiness. In both the second and final thirds, I find the retrohale’s finish to be the grittiest part of the otherwise remarkably smooth profile. Flavor is full, body is medium-full and strength is medium. Construction was thoughtlessly excellent from start to finish.