Troya Clasico robusto

Ladies and gentlemen; sometimes, a recommendation can get you in trouble. My friend and colleague, Uncle Booga, had the good fortune to be a reviewer for the Winter '09 Cigar Magazine, and one of the cigars to smoke was the Troya Clasico. On his recommendation, and against my better judgment, I picked up a pair of them at the shop.

"Holy crap!"
" $9.60!?"
" Plus tax?!"
" EACH!?"
"For a ROBUSTO?!"

I paced the walk-in humidor. I held the pair of robustos, almost putting them back in the box. Damn, Booga said these were good. How good could they be? Hell, Pepin's got a new cigar out as often as I fart. How good could they be? The La Aroma de Cuba was pretty good, and that was $8, and I still felt it was overpriced.

So, I went ahead and bought the pair of Troya and headed home, wondering if I've just thrown away good money. How good could they be?

So here it was, a month later, and I fished one out of the cooler. (Heh, "Hogan! 30 days in the cooler for you!")

The Troya Clasico robusto has a nice, medium brown Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper sporting moderate veining on an otherwise smooth surface with light tooth. This 5x54 cigar felt hefty in the hand, like it was decently stuffed with Pepin's Nicaraguan fillers, and the draw had some moderate restraint to agree.

The cigar started off with Pepin's trademark white & black pepper blast. Okay, Holt's 'Old Henry' started off this way too, and it only costs half that of the Troya. Great. La Aroma de Cuba, all over again.

And then, after the "Pepin is in da Hizzouse" beginning, the cigar changed. Wow. The flavors were simple: Cedar and leather with a thick, creamy white pepper alfredo sauce. So creamy, that it really coated the palate with a smooth pepper spice. I'd say this cigar was medium to full-bodied, and I didn't notice any outrageous nicotine content.

It was delicious. All the way to the finger-burning nub.

The flavor didn't change much the rest of the cigar, but that was fine with me, as this was a lovely blend. I didn't really want to like it, as I hate falling in love with expensive cigars. But, despite my resistance, Pepin's reeled me in on this one. I hate when that happens.

Verdict:

If the price were a buck cheaper, this would be a solid 4 Horseman stick.