Room101 Farce Nicaragua Robusto

In January 2017, Matt Booth announced that he and his Room101 cigar brand were leaving the cigar business.

However, that situation did not last long: less than six months after a press release was sent out referencing his “retirement,” Booth released two cigars in collaboration with Caldwell Cigar Co. named Hit & Run and The T., although neither was branded as Room101 products. In April 2018, Room101 released a five-vitola line named Farce, made up of an Ecuadorian wrapper covering an Indonesian binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Pennsylvania. Since then, Room101 has also been released in Connecticut and Maduro variants.

Last November, General Cigar Co.—whose parent company bought the Room101 cigar brand in June 2022—began shipping a fourth incarnation under the Farce brand named Farce Nicaragua. Considering the name, it is not surprising that the blend is made up entirely of Nicaraguan tobaccos; however, unlike the original Farce—which is made at Tabacalera William Ventura—the Farce Nicaragua is being rolled at Fábrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua S.A.

The Room101 Farce Nicaragua line debuted with three different vitolas, all of which are packaged in 20-count boxes:

• Room101 Farce Robusto (5 1/4 x 50)
• Room101 Farce Toro (6 x 52)
• Room101 Farce Gordo (6 x 60)

• Cigar Reviewed: Room101 Farce Nicaragua Robusto
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Fábrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua S.A.
• Wrapper: Nicaragua
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 5 1/4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Vitola: Robusto
• MSRP: $11.70 (Boxes of 20, $234)
• Release Date: November 2022
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

From a visual perspective, the Room101 Farce Nicaragua Robusto is covered in a dark brown wrapper that seems almost totally devoid of oil, although there are some obvious veins running up and down its length. That wrapper is sandpaper rough to the touch on all three cigars, but one cigar does have a large soft spot between the foot and secondary band the other two are missing. Aromas from the wrapper include strong dank earth, hay, generic wood, nuts and indeterminate sweetness. Cocoa nibs leads the scents I note from the feet of the cigars, followed by more earth, leather tack, barnyard, peanuts and light brown sugar sweetness. After cutting the caps, the cold draws bring flavors of creamy cedar, gritty earth, leather, espresso beans, cinnamon and a sweetness that reminds me of honey.

An enormous amount of spice is the first thing I notice after I toast the foot, but a gritty earth flavor is not far behind. Within about eight puffs, the earth moves to the background and is replaced by a combination of anise and espresso beans that easily remains at the top of the profile for the rest of the first third. Secondary flavors include the aforementioned earth—albeit less of it than before—as well as some creamy cedar, cashews, leather tack, sourdough bread and a generic vegetal note. The retrohale features plenty of black pepper as well as a small amount of cotton candy sweetness while two cigars have a slight mineral saltiness on my lips. Flavor ends the first third at a solid medium while both the strength and body manage to reach a point just under medium. Construction-wise, all three cigars feature no issues at all, with razor-sharp burn lines, amazing draws after v-cuts and more than enough thick smoke.

The spice on my tongue shows no signs of letting up during the second third of the cigar and while the profile is creamier overall, the main flavors of rich espresso beans and anise continue to lead the profile. Additional notes of cocoa nibs, earth, cinnamon, charred meat, hay and cedar flit in and out at various points, while the amount of black pepper and cotton candy sweetness on the retrohale has changed very little. Flavor has bumped up to a point slightly above medium and the body has increased to a solid medium, but the strength takes a larger leap to land slightly above the medium mark and is still increasing. Once again, all three aspects of the construction seem to be working in harmony, with the burns, draws and smoke production giving me no issues whatsoever through the end of the second third.

The gritty earth flavor that has lurked in the background for the previous two thirds finally bursts to the forefront of the profile during the final third, easily overpowering the less aggressive flavors of hay, coca nibs, cedar, toasted bread, cinnamon and brewed coffee. In addition, there is slightly less cotton candy sweetness on the retrohale as well, but the amount of black pepper has actually increased a bit. The strength continues to increase until it levels out at medium-full while flavor stays put at slightly above medium and the body increases to medium-full. There is one minor issue with the burn on one cigar that needs correcting about halfway through the final third, but all three cigars continue to feature excellent draws and plenty of smoke production until I put the nubs down with about an inch left.

Final Notes

• Room101 was founded by Matt Booth in 2003 as a jewelry company specializing in custom silver pieces.
• Scandinavian Tobacco Group—the parent company of General Cigar Co.—purchased the Room101 cigar brand in June 2022. Matt Booth, Room101’s founder, is now serving as creative director for STG.
• Along with the above, STG finalized its purchase of Alec Bradley last month.
• There is lots to love regarding the color scheme of this release: the light blue color on the main band is not used all that often in the cigar world and it definitely stands out when looking at a pile of cigars.

• I can’t say enough about the construction on these cigars: all three featured amazing draws and plenty of smoke production, along with burn lines that remained almost totally straight from the beginning to the end. Only one cigar needed a minor correction with my lighter.
• General Cigar Co. advertises on halfwheel.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time averaged a fairly quick one hour and 21 minutes for all three cigars.