Cohiba Siglo III

Size: 42 × 155 (6.1")

Shape: Long Corona

Filler: Cuba

Binder: Cuba

Wrapper: Cuba

Smoking Time: 1¼ hours

Beverage: Cola with lime

Ah, Cohiba. The Cuban brand so shrouded in mystique, so often overhyped, and so highly priced that smokers are sharply divided into (what I think of as) three camps: those who love them, those who hate them, and those who can't get them. Thankfully for us here in Canadaland, we don't fall in to the third camp, but the two of us here at The Friday Cigar are slightly bipolar on the love/hate spectrum. My colleague argues that there are many other cigars at least as enjoyable for less cost. And besides, he doesn't care much for the flavour profile of most Cohibas. While that may be, I don't have any particular aversion to expensive things (if you're reading this, you probably don't either) and the Cohiba flavour profile generally fits my tastes well. But like it or not, Cohiba is one of the highest grossing and most in-demand Cuban cigar brands in the world.

The Siglo line (Siglo meaning Century in Spanish) was announced in 1992 and released in 1994 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus' voyage to the new world. However, it has long been rumoured that the Siglo line was really introduced to replace the (up until then) Cuban-made Davidoff line (you can read about the soap opera surrounding Davidoff's decision to break up with Cuba here). Whatever the case, the original lineup consisted of the Siglo I (tres petit corona), Siglo II (petit corona), Siglo III (Long Corona), Siglo IV (Grand Corona), and Siglo V (Lonsdale). In 2002, the Siglo VI (Robusto Extra) was released, and another special Grand Reserve Siglo VI was released last year (phew!). Today's review is of a Siglo III from a 2007 box purchased in Italy.

The wrapper of this stick was a beautiful chocolate brown, expertly applied with no soft spots. The cigar was pretty firm and dense with a nice weight to it. Predraw notes were of cedar. The cap shaved off nicely with my cutter, and the cold draw tasted of tobacco and cedar, with nothing to write home about. However, after lighting, the first few puffs gave off the classic Cohiba profile of black tea, some mild spice, and faint notes of vanilla. The draw was a little tight for my liking, but I had no problem drawing plenty of smoke.  What began as a mild cigar in the beginning moved solidly to a medium by the first half, with a razor sharp burn that gave off some caramel sweetness and less spice. The spice returned more strongly in the final half, but always remained smooth and balanced.

Love it or hate it, the Cohiba line is here to stay, and the Siglo III is a fine cigar with a subtlety that even a novice smoker could appreciate. However, the Lonsdale format can be finicky with the draw, which simply doesn't do for a Friday Cigar.  I much prefer the Siglo IV size, which strikes a nice balance between being thin enough to taste the wrapper but thick and short enough to avoid draw problems. But I have to concede to my colleague that when cigars are priced in the premium range, you expect perfection. While the flavours are unmistakably great, I have to give the Siglo III an overall (but still solid) rating of three and a half Fidels out of five.