Redux: Room 101 LTD Namakubi Papi Chulo

Matt Booth’s Room 101 introduced their third major line at the IPCPR show in Las Vegas in 2011. Dubbed Namakubi, the brand features an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper and uses Dominican and Honduran tobacco for the filler and binder.

There are 100,000 total cigars released among five different vitolas. They are:

• Papi Chulo — 4 x 42 — $6.00) — 400 Boxes of 50 Cigars
• Roxxo — 4 x 48 — $7.00) — 1000 Boxes of 20 Cigars
• Tiburon — 6 x 44 — $8.00)— 1000 Boxes of 20 Cigars
• Sucio — 7 x 48 — $9.00)— 1000 Boxes of 20 Cigars
• Monstro — 5 x 60 — $10.00)— 1000 Boxes of 20 Cigars

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Here is what I said about the Room 101 LTD Namakubi Papi Chulo in my original review back in August of 2011:

Although I was not impressed with the first Room 101 release back in 2009, I enjoyed the Conjura line, especially in smaller vitolas. The Namakubi is in the same vein, enjoyment wise. The Papi Chulo vitola, while not overly complex, was surprisingly (and impressively) strong for such a small cigar, easily a full minus in body by the end of the cigar. The Papi Chulo was also the best in the line, in my opinion. Easy to smoke, nice flavors, great construction and a great size — a winner in my book.

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But enough of that, let’s get down to business, shall we?

• Cigar Reviewed: Room 101 LTD Namakubi Papi Chulo
• Country of Origin: Honduras
• Factory: Tabacos Rancho Jamastran
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
• Binder: Honduras
• Filler: Dominican & Honduras
• Size: 4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 42
• Vitola: Petit Corona
• MSRP: $6.00 (Cabinets of 50, $300.00)
• Date Released: August 2011
• Number of Cigars Released: 400 Boxes of 50 Cigars (20,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 1

The Namakubi Papi Chulo is a nice looking stick with a milk chocolate brown wrapper, albeit, a bit less oil than I remember. It is extremely hard when squeezed, but the predraw is great and the wrapper smells of cedar, chocolate and coffee with a tad bit of barnyard thrown in.

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The Room 101 starts out fairly mild with cedar, sweet floral and espresso the dominant flavors. Through the halfway point the interesting sweetness gets stronger, peaking midway through, although never dying down totally. There is very little spice or pepper, even on the retrohale, which is a change from when they were first released. The second half is much like the first, but with less floral sweetness and more chocolate and coffee with a tiny amount of an earthy note. It is easy to nub and final smoking time is right at 40 minutes.

Despite the hardness of the cigar when squeezed, the draw and construction are excellent for the entire cigar, although the burn had a tendency to wander just a bit at a few points. Smoke production is above average, especially for such a small vitola. The strength was much reduced from when it was fresh and I would put the Namakubi Papi Chulo at no more than a slightly stronger medium at this point in time.

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The Bottom Line: I enjoyed the Room 101 LTD Namakubi Papi Chulo when they were originally released and I enjoy them now, albeit for different reasons. The profile has shifted quite a bit becoming less strong and adding a sweet floral profile as opposed to when it was first released when it was more of an earthy and espresso mix with some floral thrown in. Still a very good cigar and I am glad I have more of them, but I honestly enjoyed them a bit more when they were fresh.

Original Score: 89
Redux Score: 87

Brooks Whittington

I have worn many hats in my life up to this point: I started out as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, then transitioned to photographing weddings—both internationally and in the U.S.—for more than a decade. After realizing that there was a need for a cigar website containing better photographs and more in-depth information about each release, I founded my first cigar blog, SmokingStogie, in 2008. 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, and it was one of the predecessors to halfwheel, which I co-founded.