If you like full bodied cigars with chocolatey nuances and complexity, the Stallone Zaino robusto might be a cigar for you. The smoking time was shocking and it’s not often you sit with a classic robusto for 90 minutes.
Construction
Like all other cigars from Tony Barrios, the name is linked to his passion for horses. Zaino is the color of dark brown almost black horses.
The Zaino robusto was firmly rolled and had a thick but yet smooth oily feeling to it.
Wrapper: Broadleaf USA – Binder: Nicaragua – Filler: Nicaragua
Scent and cold draw
The scent of the wrapper of Zaino reminded me of dark chocolate while the filler had a scent of chocolate and lighter shades of hay.
The cold draw was extremely pleasant and offered flavors of chocolate, hay and oats.
1/3 Lets light up the Stallone Zaino robusto to see what it has to offer
The cigar started off calmly in the first third and gave a smooth start. The texture was creamy with a hint of butteriness and the flavors the Zaino robusto offered were dark berries, cacao and sweet earthiness. In the background were hints of citrus, raisins, syrupy sweetness and black pepper. The retrohalation was smooth and gave hints of general woodiness.
2/3 Zaino robusto showed complexity
As I entered the second third of the cigar, it grew and gave off a wonderful complexity. The texture was creamy and the flavors I was offered were Nougat chocolate combined with cacao, sweet herbs and dark berries with a hint of cherry. In the background were flavors of pepperiness that leaned towards black pepper, salty licorice, syrupy sweetness, raisins combined with citrus. The retrohalation tickled my nose slightly and gave shades of black pepper and woodiness.
3/3 a lovely end to the cigar
When I got into the last third, the flavors had changed a bit and the moment with the cigar was unfortunately soon over. The texture was creamy and the flavors I felt were sweet woodiness, salty but at the same time sweet licorice, Cacao with a hint of nougat chocolate (compared to earlier where Nougat was dominant), Nuttiness and espresso with a hint of milk. In the background there were shades of dark cherries, lime, earthiness and a flavor I unfortunately cannot describe in any other way than a combination of herbs and leaves. The retrohalation tickled my nose slightly and gave shades of white pepper and black pepper.
After taste
Walenut
Body
Full bordering on medium
Smoke time
I was amazed by the smoking time of the Stallone Zaino robusto. The cigar smoked incredibly slowly without it even coming close to going out or affecting the taste. I sat with the cigar lit for 90 minutes.
Conclusion
Stallone Zaino is a cigar with a lovely complexity and an incredibly good balance between the flavors. Zaino can be smoked incredibly slowly and gives a long moment of enjoyment. The body that is on full makes it suitable for the slightly more experienced afsisionadosen. If I compare price vs taste vs quality, I think it is low in price and is cheap compared to what you get. Usually you have to go up one or two sizes to sit for 90 minutes. What makes it even better is that you don’t have to take puffs often and reduce the risk that it is on the verge of being overheated and becoming bitter.
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