Matt Booth made the decision to wrap up the Room101 Master Collection series last year with the Master Collection Three. Since then however, he’s been anything but idle—releasing plenty of new series and blends. The Master Collection though, continues to linger out there with availability that belies the fact it is a limited release cigar. The higher production numbers—while limited—has allowed us to continue finding these in stores long after they’ve been released, and in my experience that’s good news.

The time has really flown by, seeming like I had just done the review for the Master Collection Three Roxxo a few months back, though a quick check of the review shows a date that’s well over a year ago. Wondering if time has been helpful or detrimental to this blend, I look back to remind myself what I originally said about the cigar:

In a previous Room101 review I mentioned that the brand’s cigars have been hit and miss for me. At this point however, there have been enough hits. In recent times, Room101 has been consistently coming out with great blends in sizes that I really enjoy, and the Master Collection Three Roxxo was no exception to that. A solid, enjoyable profile paired with phenomenal construction really took this cigar to great places. Historically the Mutante size has been the one to sell out quickly, so I’m sure that the Roxxo will be easier to find a full box of. Having said that though, I wouldn’t wait around all day to seek these out.

  • Cigar Reviewed: Room101 Master Collection Three Roxxo
  • Country of Origin: Honduras
  • Factory: Agroindustrias LAEPE, S.A.
  • Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
  • Binder: Dominican Republic
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Length: 4
  • Ring Gauge: 48
  • Vitola: Petit Robusto
  • MSRP: $9 (Boxes of 20, $180)
  • Release Date: Feb. 6, 2015
  • Number of Cigars Released: 1,500 Boxes of 20 Cigars (30,000 Total Cigars)
  • Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 1

The year hasn’t really done anything to the visual or tactile aspects of the cigar, still presenting a medium brown wrapper that is smooth and slightly oily to the touch. A pleasant aroma of grains, graham cracker and fresh hay notes is produced from the wrapper, while the cold draw is something else all together, with black pepper, gingerbread and other rich spices washing over my senses.

Starting into the first third, cedar and rich spices are readily available, with only a hint of pepper and espresso in the background. Where the black pepper increased steadily before, it certainly is playing a much more subdued role in the profile, keeping to the background and allowing a much more mellow showcase of spice to bloom. The second third doesn’t see much change to start out, with rich spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves, followed closely by cedar and espresso in the middle, while the lightest hint of black pepper trails behind all the rest. Almost as if on queue right before the final third, toasted marshmallow shows up, adding its caramelized sugar and vanilla notes to the mix. The final third doesn’t see any more surprise notes show up, continuing the same bakers’ confection profile all the way until my fingers start burning.

Room101 Master Collection Three Roxxo

The first third’s burn line starts out a little wavy, certainly not as sharp and even as I remember, but it’s still quite early to worry too much. An ideal draw allows for plenty of smoke production, which is a boon for my sensory experience, allowing the pleasant aroma of the cigar linger around me. Only a half an inch in, the burn even itself up nicely, while dense ash holds on without any hint of dropping off. The second and final third don’t have any burn issues, continuing the sharp and even burn line that it showcased before all the way to the end.

Disclosure: Davidoff of Geneva USA & Room101 advertise on halfwheel.

93 Overall Score

I was a little hesitant to see how the Master Collection Three blend aged, as the Master Collection Two Mutante redux left me a little disappointed 16 months after I originally reviewed it. The good news is that the Master Collection Three Roxxo was as much of a delight as before, albeit slightly different. It was just a little smoother, slightly more mellow, and perhaps a bit more complex with the lack of pepper overpowering the specific notes. With our scoring system I’m not sure what this will score, but even if it’s the same number, the slight differences make me prefer these more now than before. And of course—the good news for you is that these are still available at various shops, so if you waited before, you still have a chance to try these for yourself.

Original Score (March 2016)
92
Redux Score (May 2016)
93
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Brian Burt

I have been smoking cigars since 2005 and reviewing them as a hobby since 2010. Initially, I started out small with a 50-count humidor and only smoking one or two cigars a month. Not knowing anybody else that smoked cigars, it was only an occasional hobby that I took part in. In March of 2010, I joined Nublive and Cigar Asylum, connecting me with many people who also shared an interest in cigars. Reading what they had to say about brands I had never heard of, I quickly immersed myself in the boutique brands of the industry and it was then that cigars transformed from a hobby into a passion.