Somm Rioja Robusto

If the brand is called “Somm,” it should be no surprise that the various lines also have wine-inspired names.

Bordeaux. Premier Cru. And, for the company’s third line, Rioja was the inspiration.

Rioja—pronounced ree-ow-huh—is a wine region in northern Spain that includes La Rioja, Álava and Navarre. As for the cigar, it uses a three-year-old Dominican corojo wrapper over a three-year-old Sumatra binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic, all of which are aged between three and four years. Production is handled by Tabacalera Díaz Cabrera in the Dominican Republic.

“With this blend, I wanted to pay homage to one of the last, great bastions of value – the famed Spanish region of Rioja and its Gran Reserva wines,” said Vlada Stojanov, Somm’s founder, in a press release when the cigar was announced last year. “Nowhere else do you find such an exceptional combination of tradition, prowess and skill at such an amazing quality to price ratio. With that in mind, who better to team up for this release than the famed Tabacelera Diaz Cabrera.”

It is offered in two sizes:

• Somm Rioja Robusto (5 x 54) — $13.50 (Box of 10, $135)
• Somm Rioja Toro (6 x 52) — $14 (Box of 10, $140)

The line debuted in December 2023 via Luxury Cigar Club, an online retailer and cigar subscription service, before heading to other stores earlier this year.

• Cigar Reviewed: Somm Rioja Robusto
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Tabacalera Díaz Cabrera
• Wrapper: Dominican Republic (Corojo)
• Binder: Undisclosed (Sumatra)
• Filler: Dominican Republic
• Length: 5 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Vitola: Robusto Extra
• MSRP: $13.50 (Box of 10, $135)
• Release Date: December 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

The Somm Rioja Robusto has medium brown wrappers that have a fair amount of veins and oil. The three cigars I grab for review are generally well-rolled, though I spot a cracked foot on one of the cigars and the vein structure of each could be prettier. The aromas from the wrappers are medium-plus or medium-full and oddly not very consistent. One cigar has a rather generic mixture of earthiness, leather, tobacco and paste. The cigar that is medium-full has tree bark and earthiness, which reminds me of walking through a forest right after the rain has passed. The final cigar’s wrapper doesn’t present any unique identifiable smells, just cigar tobacco. In complete contrast, the foot of each cigar has a full aroma that is led by a mostly unsweet cocoa smell over earthiness or, on one cigar, lime skin. Cold draws are similar, though not exactly identical. They are medium-full, with some combination of nuttiness, cocoa and oatmeal cookie, leading creaminess, gingerbread, a metallic flavor and some butterscotch sweetness. Unfortunately, the resistance of the three draws are different: one is normal, another is tight and the final cigar is open.

Those differences in draws extend to the first puff. I’m not sure how much that has to do with why the cigars start with different flavors or it’s something else, but the flavors are different. For example, the cigar with the tight draw has lots of woody flavors with leather and dry earthiness underneath. By contrast, the cigar with the open draw has a velvety nuttiness and white pepper on the lips; unfortunately, smoke production is negatively impacted by the open draw. That said, the Somm Rioja Robusto with the open draw sees its draw tighten as the first third progresses. The flavors of each cigar tend to head towards the same place. Grains and black pepper are the core, though the secondary notes change. One cigar has more acidity, another creaminess, the third cigar has aloe. The largest difference is that the final cigar is substantially sharper than the other two. Outside of the difference in sharpness, the three cigars finish quite the same: minerals leads multigrain bread and nuttiness. As time goes on, pepper—either black pepper or white pepper—picks up in intensity. Retrohales offer some floral sensations and creaminess, but pepper—it varies between the type—quickly disrupts that. As the finish develops, creaminess and the pepper remain. Flavor is full, body is medium-full and strength is medium. The draws on all the cigars are a tad bit tight, even the cigar that started open. On one cigar, it’s a very tight draw, which is causing the cigar to burn noticeably slower than normal.

Love it or hate it, I find that Jack Daniels, the standard Old No. 7 bottle, has this distinct vanilla flavor. Every once in a while, I find myself tasting that unique vanilla flavor in a cigar. For about 15 minutes of each Somm Rioja Robusto, seemingly every other puff has that flavor. Similar to when drinking the whiskey, I don’t find this vanilla to be the most intense part of the blend, but it sticks out and is incredibly easy to identify. As far as the cigar, the strongest flavors during the second third are nuttiness and a musty earthiness. Secondary notes include pepper—more black and green sensations at this point—and, on two cigars, that distinct vanilla that takes me back to Jack Daniels. The finish adds some spices to the mixture, but it’s more or less a rearranging of the flavors that were already present. Retrohales see the mineral flavor from the first third add a toasty component. That sensation sits over nuttiness, black pepper, creaminess and white pepper. Some puffs deliver a softer nuttiness and allow for some generic white sandwich bread flavors to emerge, but those puffs are a rarity. The finish adds a distinct burnt flavor as well as some herbs, but it too is largely just an extension of the main retrohale. Again, the final cigar is much sharper than the other two cigars. That’s not to say there’s more pepper, but seemingly every flavor has an extra edginess to it. Flavor is full, body is medium-full and strength is medium-full. Two cigars need touch-ups at various points of the second third, though my larger issue is the draw on the second cigar, which remains tight enough that I need to deduct points for it.

Just two of the cigars had the Jack Daniels’ vanilla flavor in the second third, but all three of the cigars have it at some point. For the first cigar I smoke, it’s not noticeable until the final third. I’m not sure why it showed up at a different place, but it shares a lot of similarities with how it presents itself in the other cigars. As far as the main flavors, there’s an initial blast of pepper sensations for a second or two and then the nuttiness takes over its spot as the strongest flavor. Two of the cigars get sharper and toastier, though fortunately, the final cigar—the one that has been the sharpest of the three—doesn’t seem to add much more sharpness. It does have some added cinnamon that accents the nuttiness and earthiness, but I’m just thankful the sharpness seems to be the same. The finish sees the toastiness combine with black and green pepper. Underneath are honey, creaminess and some of the nuttiness. Retrohales continue to deliver lots of different pepper sensations—including a sharp tingling sensation during some puffs—along with earthiness and nuttiness. Those flavors stick around for the finish, joined by a flavor that reminds me a bit of lemon lime soda, though I couldn’t tell you which brand. Flavor is full, body is medium-full and strength is medium-full. Construction-wise, two of the cigars do great in the final third, though the cigar with the tight draw continues to also need touch-ups.

Final Notes

• Every time I look at the name of this cigar, I think the bands should be red. Rioja seems so close to roja, which is the Spanish word for red.

• These cigars are listed at 5 x 54.
• I oftentimes note that when a cigar struggles with draw or combustion issues, it tends to affect the flavor. In the case of the second cigar—the one with the tightest draw—that didn’t seem to be the case. If I had to rank the cigars based on flavor, I’d take that flavor profile over the other two. For whatever it’s worth, it was the cigar that had an open draw to start with—one that ended up slightly tight—that delivered the least desirable flavor profile.
• The second cigar, the one with a tight draw, burned epically slow. Midway through the cigar, I noticed that the wrapper was cracking.
• Within five minutes of lighting the final cigar, the one with the open draw, a small crack developed near the middle part of the cigar. That cigar was also very firm.
• The Jack Daniels flavor was extremely distinct but it didn’t last for very long, maybe 15 minutes worth of puffs.
• Cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time ranged from two hours to two and a half hours.
• Site sponsor Cigars Direct carries the Somm Rioja Robusto.