I have to admit that I am a sort of Greg Pease cheerleader. While a couple of his blends have missed the mark for me, the majority of the ones I have tried have been a resounding home run. Robusto is one of those blends. Now I have had a lot of experience with cigar leaf blends. Billy Budd is the standard by which, in my opinion, all should be judged, being bold, strong, smoky, tasty, yet very balanced. Habana Daydreams is lighter and more refined, less bold but still tasty. Key Largo is a blend which has no equal and is very complex and flavorful. Then you have Robusto. I see posts every once in a while where cigar smokers ask what pipe tobacco would be a good introduction to pipes while still maintaining that cigar flavor profile. I will say here and now Robusto is that blend. This blend, if you had not tinned it and processed it, would taste exactly like someone lit up a nice Maduro and shoved that SOB right into my pipe bowl. What really intrigues me is to whether or not this flavor is achieved through the sheer amount of Maduro cigar leaf in the blend, or if all the components are blended so well that it emulates that flavor. I'm willing to bet this blend was pressed at some point as it comes in a very broken flake, but rubs out very finely and very easily. I will say that the Latakia is used just right, the leather, campfire, and dark chocolate notes complimenting the coffee and earthy bitterness from the cigar leaf. The Virginia holds everything together, making everything sweet when it gets a little strong and bitter, offering a slight fruity note, but taking a backstage to everything else and really letting that cigar flavor shine. Greg says that there is some Oriental leaf to "fill in the gaps" but honestly, I taste so little of it that I think he could have left it out and been just fine. My only critique of this blend is that when smoked in a deeper chamber, the last few puffs can be a little harsh, but if you're smoking it in smaller bowls you won't have that problem. I will also say that the nicotine hit, at least for my taste, is absolutely PERFECT. Enough to make you feel satisfied but not so much that it makes your head spin. It also burns effortlessly but needs a bit of time to dry out. Bottom line: Robusto is hard not to love, at least for me. I love a good cigar and this blend nods so well to the cigar flavor that it is very hard to resist lighting up a bowl, especially in the hotter weather that we have been having. If you love a good cigar, try this blend. If you're a cigar smoker looking to venture into pipe smoking, try this blend. You want a nice nicotine hit? Smoke this blend. If you don't like cigars, never have and never will? Well, maybe not so much. In any case, Greg has a real winner on his hands here, and it's not to be missed, at least for the cigar lover.
