Room101 Master Collection Two Mutante

Last year, details of the Room101 Master Collection One started coming out. The limited edition line was shown off at the 2013 IPCPR trade show and then was released in October.

The intention was to have the Master Collection Two follow shortly after and be released in 2013 as well, however packaging delays caused the release to be pushed back. While Matt Booth told halfwheel that he was expecting them to ship in February, they ended up shipping just a bit earlier at the end of January.

Like the Master Collection One, the Master Collection Two has the same five sizes and features the Room101 cherry blossom logo in gold tones as opposed to black and white. The sizes are:

• Room101 Master Collection Two Monstro (5 x 60) – $12.00 (Boxes of 20, $240.00)
• Room101 Master Collection Two Sucio (7 x 48) – $11.00 (Boxes of 20, $220.00)
• Room101 Master Collection Two Mutante (7 x 38) – $10.00 (Boxes of 20, $200.00)
• Room101 Master Collection Two Roxxo (4 x 48) – $9.00 (Boxes of 20, $180.00)
• Room101 Master Collection Two Papi Chulo (4 x 42) – $8.00 (Boxes of 50, $400.00)

This is the fourth 7 x 38 lancero from Room101.

• Room101 Daruma Mutante (7 x 38) — September 2012 — 1,000 Boxes of 20 Cigars (20,000 Total Cigars)
• Room101 Master Collection One Mutante (7 x 38) — November 2013 — 1,000 Boxes of 20 Cigars (20,000 Total Cigars)
• Room101 Namakubi Ecuador H-Town Lancero (7 x 38) — December 2013 — 500 Boxes of 20 Cigars (10,000 Total Cigars) 
• Room101 Master Collection Two Mutante (7 x 38) — January 2014 — 1,000 Boxes of 20 Cigars (20,000 Total Cigars)

• Cigar Reviewed: Room101 Master Collection Two Mutante
• Country of Origin: Honduras
• Factory: Agroindustrias Laepe, S.A.
• Wrapper: Criollo
• Binder: Honduras
• Filler: Honduras & Nicaragua
• Size: 7 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 38
• Vitola: Lancero
• MSRP: $10.00 (Boxes of 20, $200.00)
• Date Released: January 30, 2014
• Number of Cigars Released: 1,000 Boxes of 20 Cigars (20,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 2

The Master Collection Two Mutante has a beautiful medium brown wrapper that has a slightly rough feel to it with a touch of oiliness. There is some slight give to the cigar, though no specific soft spots to speak of. The aroma off the wrapper is sweet barnyard, fresh hay, and light spice notes. After clipping the pigtail cap the cold draw has notes of graham cracker, sweet hay and some freshly cut grass – overall a very herbaceous profile.

Starting into the first third I get an interesting profile of sweet vanilla cookies and very light spice. The retrohale has some mild pepper that really isn’t noticeable otherwise. While the burn is pretty even, a slight touch up is needed to even out the beginning. The draw is right in the middle of ideal and there is plenty of smoke production. For a lancero the ash holds on quite strong – well past an inch. The profile has developed into an interesting mild, mellow spice profile with a slight sweetness to it – very unique and I can’t really think of another cigar I’ve tasted like it. Picking apart the sugar and spice profile there’s a touch of brown sugar, cinnamon, a little nutmeg and a bread note that makes it almost taste like coffee cake.

 

The second third begins with much less sugar and sweetness to the profile than before. The spice is still there, though the mild pepper has grown some, giving the cigar a bit of a kick. The cinnamon is starting to stand out, along with some light vanilla notes and a touch of espresso makes for an interesting and enjoyable profile. The burn continues to stay fairly even despite it not being perfectly straight. The black pepper continues to grow and the spice fade, leaving the profile less sweet and more savory.

The final third sees the savory ramp up, with a profile of rich black pepper, espresso, the slightest touch of cinnamon and an almost meaty bite to it. For what started out as a mellow and mild bodied cigar, it really transformed into a full body profile while still staying at a medium strength. The burn has remained even and slow, allowing the cigar to continue smoking smooth and cool to the very end.

Final Notes

• The following was included as part of the materials sent to retailers:
  

  ALL GOLD ERRYTHANG
  THIS SECOND INSTALLMENT OF THE ROOM101 MASTER COLLECTION SERIES COMES TO YOU LIVE AND DIRECT FROM THE MINISTRY OF CHEDDAR.
  PAPER CHASE INCORPORATED IS PROUD TO OFFER YOU A PRODUCT WHICH IS THE DIRECT RESULT OF FIVE YEARS OF BALL BUSTING WORK, SACRIFICE AND INVESTMENT OF THE MONETARY, SPIRITUAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL NATURE ENCAPSULATED IN THIS PIECE OF HANDCRAFTED ART THAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO INGEST BY FIRE.
  WHILE YOU ENJOY THIS PRODUCT IN A CALM MOMENT, KNOW THAT YOU ARE INDULGING IN THE MOST PHYSICAL REPRESENTATION OF THE AMERICAN DREAM. A YOUNG TEAM OF CREATIVE AND INDUSTRIOUS MINDS HAVE TAKEN A STAND TO MAKE SOMETHING OF THEMSELVES.
  WE LIVE OUR LIVES THE WAY MOST PEOPLE DARE NOT, TO THEN LIVE THE REST OF OUR LIVES THE WAY MOST PEOPLE CANNOT. SOMETHING TO PONDER WHILE YOU BURN THROUGH THIS FINE PREMIUM CIGAR. OF COURSE – IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE STONES, YOU COULD ALWAYS JOIN US FOR THE RIDE.
  TWO

• The Room101 Master Collections One and Two were both scheduled to round out a busy 2013 for Oettinger Davidoff AG limited editions, though the fact that the packaging wasn’t shown off at the 2013 trade show might have been a clue that the second release wasn’t going to follow the first as closely as planned.
• Both samples I smoked were similar in profile and construction, though the second seemed to be more prone to occasionally going out. This could have just been my fault however, since smaller ring gauges are particular about their smoking speed.
• I would place these in the medium strength category.
• While the gold bands look good, I prefer the Master Collection One’s bands a little better. The cherry blossom logo however looks great without any wording, giving the band a very clean look.
• I smoke a lot of lanceros and other smaller ring gauge cigars and for some reason the Mutante seemed to smoke very slow, surprising me each time I noticed how much was left of the cigar.
• The samples for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Davidoff, part of Oettinger Davidoff AG, is a site sponsor. Room101 is part of the Oettinger Davidoff AG family.
• Final smoking time averaged around two hours and 20 minutes.