Reo

Reo robusto
$7/ 5pk., Size: 5", Ring: 52 box-pressed
Costa Rican Sumatra wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, Honduran and Nicaraguan mixed fillers

Rolled in Danli, Hounduras, the Reo is an EO Brands/United Tobacco cigar blended to their spec and made by Rocky Patel. I got a 5-pack from CBid, let the cigars hang out for a week, then smoked the first.

Reo's wrapper is a nice, medium-dark maduro, glossy, and sporting some moderate veins. The cigar was fairly firm, but the draw loose, and I had to keep puffing on it to keep it lit. Even still, I needed to relight twice, and do a bit of touch-up on the wrapper in between. The crumbly grey ash dropped after an inch.

The first 3/4 inch tasted like an unfiltered Marlboro; Harsh tobacco flavor with no pleasant attributes. After an inch a roasted nut flavor came in, but it was harsh and edgy. Mid-cigar, it mellowed to an earthy cedar, tasting like a Tierra Del Sol, and there it stayed for the duration. The finish on my palate was reminiscent of varnish or shellac.

For a cigar from a well-esteemed blender, I was a bit let down. Reviews from just a year prior to my purchase hailed the Reo as a good cigar, so I expected a little more from it. After letting the cigars rest for a couple more months:


Stogie Review smoked the Reo robusto back in Nov. '06.