Rojas Street Tacos Carnitas Robusto

For some people cigars and food are a natural combination, so it is no surprise that there are multiple examples of cigars named after—or inspired by—specific types of foods or the people who make create them. General Cigars’ Punch brand has a number of American Chinese food-centric releases, Crowned Heads named one of its releases after a pioneer in French cuisine and Davidoff’s Chefs Edition line draws on the food expertise of four well-regarded chefs who helped to create the blend.

In 2020, Rojas Cigars announced Street Tacos, a new series that will eventually contain three distinct blends. The first release in the line debuted in March 2021 and was named Barbacoa, a popular taco filling that is sheep and/or goat cooked in the ground.

During the 2022 PCA Convention & Trade Show, Rojas showed off the second addition to the Street Tacos line named Carnitas, a term used to describe Mexico’s version of pulled pork. The three-vitola line features a blend made up of an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper covering both a binder and filler tobaccos grown in Nicaragua.

There are currently three different vitolas in the Street Tacos Carnitas line:

• Rojas Street Tacos Carnitas Robusto Box-Press (5 x 50) — $8.50 (Box of 16, $136)
• Rojas Street Tacos Carnitas Short Corona Box-Press (5 1/2 x 46) — $8 (Box of 16, $128)
• Rojas Street Tacos Carnitas Toro Box-Press (6 x 50) — $8.75 (Box of 16, $140)

The Street Tacos Carnitas are being produced at the Rojas Cigar Factory in Nicaragua and began shipping to retailers in July.

• Cigar Reviewed: Rojas Street Tacos Carnitas Robusto
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Rojas Cigar Factory
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Connecticut)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 5 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Vitola: Robusto
• MSRP: $8.50 (Box of 16, $136)
• Release Date: July 2022
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

A pale, golden brown wrapper covers the Rojas Street Tacos Carnitas Robusto, and while it is silky smooth to the touch, there is a noticeable lack of oil. A soft box-press is readily apparent on all three cigars and each features a covered foot that is a nice visual touch. Aromas from the wrapper are somewhat restrained, with faint generic nuts leading the way followed by barnyard, leather, creamy wood and generic sweetness. The foot’s aroma includes more distinct notes, including strong peanuts, nutmeg, creamy hay, cedar, earth and light milk chocolate sweetness. After a straight cut, the cold draw brings flavors of strong straw, powdery cocoa nibs, creamy cedar, earth and lighter vanilla bean sweetness.

White pepper and bitter espresso are the first things I taste after lighting the foot of the cigar, along with some spice on my tongue and astringency on the finish, the combination of which is slightly off-putting. This combination lasts for about 10 puffs before I notice the profile becoming noticeably creamier, at which point the main flavors switch to creamy cedar and hay. Additional flavors of toasted bread, earth, leather tack, peanuts and a slight vegetal note flit in and out at various points, and while I notice a slight mint flavor on the finish during one cigar, it was never strong enough to really affect the rest of the profile and it dissipated fairly quickly. In addition, the retrohale features a combination of white pepper and very light vanilla syrup sweetness, the latter of which reminds me of the flavoring that Starbucks uses for its vanilla lattes. Flavor and body are both at mild-plus while the strength reaches a point halfway between mild and medium by the end of the first third. Finally, all three aspects of construction—burn, draw and smoke production—are giving me no issues whatsoever for all three cigars so far.

There are a couple of changes in the profile of the cigar during the second third, including the main flavor, which has switched from creamy cedar and hay to a dry tea leaf note. Secondary flavors include dray straw, cedar, sourdough bread, earth, cocoa nibs and espresso beans, but the retrohale has not changed at all from the combination of white pepper and light syrupy vanilla sweetness. The flavor and strength have both increased enough to hit a point just under medium, but the body stays put at mild plus. Construction-wise, the draw and smoke production continue along their excellent paths for all three cigars, but the burn line on two cigars becomes problematic enough to need correcting with my lighter, albeit just once each.

The main flavor shifts again during the final third of the Street Tacos Carnitas, with the creamy cedar flavor from the first third moving up from the secondary to once again take over the top spot, followed by brewed coffee, sourdough bread, hay, gritty earth, dark chocolate and peanut butter. There is a change in the retrohale as well, as a bit less white pepper combines with an increased amount of the vanilla syrup sweetness. In addition, a small amount of spice shows up on my tongue in two out of the three cigars, although it never reaches a point that I would call aggressive. Flavor ends solidly in the medium range, while the body and strength manage to reach a point just under the medium mark. In terms of construction, I continue to have no issues with either the draw or the smoke production, but one cigar does need help with my lighter to keep it from straying too far.

Final Notes

• While the bands used on the Street Tacos Barbacoa and the Street Tacos Carnitas use the same art, they each feature different colors: the former’s band is orange with black text and details, while the latter’s band is all yellow with black text and details.
• Interestingly, both the Street Tacos Barbacoa and the Street Tacos Carnitas debuted in the exact same three vitolas.
• One of the best places to get street tacos in Dallas—where the halfwheel office is located—is actually a gas station named Fuel City that is just south of downtown.
• I took a portrait of Rojas Cigars owner Noel Rojas back in 2015 that you can see here.
• The wrapper on this cigar is extremely fragile; in fact, all three of my cigars I smoked for this review developed small cracks at some point during the time I was reviewing them. Having said that, none of those cracks ever became a major construction issue, but it is something to be aware of, especially if you are smoking in colder weather.
• This is one of those blends that becomes extremely bitter if you puff on it too fast, so keep it slow and easy.
• Noel Rojas recently opened a new factory in Estelí, Nicaragua carrying the somewhat appropriate name of Rojas Cigar Factory. The building was originally a movie theater and features just over 7,000-square-feet in total, which Rojas said will give him space for approximately 40 pairs of rollers. In terms of production, he estimates the factory could produce approximately 3 million cigars per year at full capacity.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time for all three cigars averaged one hour and 32 minutes.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Rojas Street Tacos Carnitas cigars, site sponsor Atlantic Cigar Co. has them in stock here.