Five years ago, we managed to acquire a very special tobacco in the Caribbean. We had it fermented specifically for a limited edition blend that will only be available once and exclusively for our 190th company anniversary in 2020.
The “190th Anniversary” is the most flavorful of our Royales cigars and will particularly delight lovers of Cuban cigars.
There are only 300 numbered boxes of 10 cigars of these cigars.
Cigar tasting: How does the Royales 190th Anniversary taste?
Royal “190th Anniversary” | Toro format | Length: 14.5 cm | Ring size: 56
Munich and Costa Rica – what do they have to do with each other? Well, the Royales line connects Upper Bavaria with the Caribbean. For the 190th anniversary, we created another cigar for the Royales line, the final tobacco filler of which is not revealed in the online shop either.
So I’m sitting here today with a cigar in my hand that will certainly not give up its innermost secret, even with fire and curiosity. And if you want to use your taste buds for detective work, you should hurry, because the “190th Anniversary” is limited!
Haptics and optics – before lighting
I’ll start my approach to the great unknown with the key data : The “190th Anniversary” is already visually striking. With a length of 14.5 centimeters and a ring gauge of 56, it is clearly a Toro. It has a pleasant weight in the hand and the feel of a high-quality premium cigar is evident.
Visually, it continues. The rich, milk chocolate brown already stimulates the imagination. It is immediately noticeable that there are no thicker leaf veins on the wrapper. The smooth, slightly oily wrapper lies securely around a rather soft cigar when cut, making it appear stable and “insensitive”. The black belly band with the Z crowned with a tobacco leaf is already known from the Royales line. What makes it an additional eye-catcher is the red fabric band at the base of the cigar. I immediately thought of a kind of sash that emphasizes the royal character and the history of the Zechbauer house in equal measure. Another fantasy could be that Zechbauer himself is preparing the red carpet for enjoyment here.
The cold smell immediately presents rich aromas of fresh earth, cedar wood, full-bodied tobacco, dark chocolate, a little new leather and something mineral behind it. In between there is always a little sweetness, which becomes even more exciting later on in the smoke. The “190th Anniversary” also smells somehow homely without coming across as old.
I would initially rate the draw resistance as a 6 out of 10. This then settles at 5 out of 10 while smoking, so it can be classified as medium. Personally, I particularly like cigars when the draw resistance is not too light. This also increases the anticipation of this test!
The cigar reveals its first surprising floral, sweet and overall fresh aromas immediately when it is drawn cold . This creates the first complexity of this tobacco blend: the cold smell and the cold draw actually seem contradictory and yet everything still fits together. After all, a true queen rules them all.
From lighting to laying down
Some cigars in the Toro format are a little difficult to light . The “190th Anniversary”, on the other hand, seems to welcome the flame and the foot glows very quickly across its full diameter. The smoke development is also absolutely satisfactory. The smoke itself is only somewhat creamy in texture, which is an advantage. The cigar is rich with a wide range of aromas. If the smoke were “thick and heavy” it would lose its freshness and could be overwhelming.
Another note on lighting: it is not only uncomplicated – the cigar does not even go out, despite smoking breaks.
The first few puffs elicit a full spice, perhaps even a slight spiciness, which finally awakens the taste buds. After just the first half centimeter, it becomes lighter and the tobacco aromas, the cedar wood and a hint of lemon become noticeable. Right from the start, the Royales develops a somewhat cold, rich tobacco aroma. The coldness mentioned seems fresh – not stale. Now I come to the mysterious sweetness mentioned above, which surprised me even when I took a cold puff. From the first centimeter of smoking, a small hint of slightly burnt caramel keeps appearing between the increasingly intense cedar wood aromas. Or is there a cedar sweetness that I am confusing here?
After smoking two centimeters, the Royales “190th Anniversary” settles at an absolutely high level and becomes a little lighter again without losing any of its spectrum. Now and then, in addition to earth, cedar wood, tobacco and sweetness, it develops a spice that briefly reminds one of liquorice. On the surface, the cigar could be classified as an “easy smoke” because it shows developments rather than fluctuations. Nevertheless, it is worth delving into the Royales and exploring the playful versatility aspect by aspect.
The ash falls off for the first time after about two and a half centimeters and is a light gray color. The ash cone shows fine, thin horizontal cracks, which sometimes make the cigar look like a metal thread. The burn is also even throughout the entire smoking process. From halfway through, the background changes a little: fresh leather joins the previous consistent aromas.
Halfway through, the initially unclear sweetness develops into dark chocolate. The sweet caramel tips, which become liquorice, are now spicier and you might think that cloves are involved. To be honest, these are already the harbingers of the ammonia, which seems almost unavoidable given the format and the fullness of the tobacco in the cigar. Fortunately, this develops only slowly and is embedded in the taste. In the last third, the spiciness increases significantly. After three quarters of the total length, I put the cigar down with a heavy heart, which is okay after a good 65 to 70 minutes .
Conclusion on the Royales “190th Anniversary”
There are Toros that are one to one and a half centimeters longer, but cannot hold a ring gauge of 56. For my taste, the decision to go for a larger ring gauge with such a large and rich tobacco was exactly the right one. Thicker cigars simply “forgive” a stronger/more frequent draw, do not get hot as quickly and do not over-sharp. Zechbauer shows not only with the Royales line, but especially with this limited cigar, that tobaccos from Costa Rica are suitable for premium cigars. I personally look forward to further developments in this series, because I am convinced that the Royales are not just “some house brand”, but an independent cigar brand that should be known far beyond Munich.
Gerry Lächnfinga
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