Cigar Review: Room 101 San Andres 305
Following on the heels of the highly successful Limited Editions of Namakubi and One Shot One Kill, the latest offering from Room 101, the San Andres, is now available. The San Andres is a departure from the normal Room 101 style in the fact that Matt Booth, owner of Room 101, chose to not use Dominican tobacco for the filler and opted to use Honduran tobacco instead. The resulting blend gives a different dynamic to the normal flavor profile found in Room 101 cigars. The wrapper is unique to Room 101 also in the fact that they chose a San Andres natural wrapper for this release. The price point on the San Andres line comes in between $5 and $7.50 for the various sizes. In my opinion, that is a great price point for a premium cigar. The cigar I will be reviewing today is the San Andres 305, which is a 5 by 50 Robusto.
Pre-light: The appearance of the cigar is pleasing, minimal veins with a nice toothy wrapper. Pre-light draw reveals hints of earthiness and cedar, with a slight hint of cocoa. Construction is flawless and while the draw is pretty easy I didn’t feel and soft spots to the cigar. Time to light this one up!
First Third: A couple puffs in and the San Andres is producing huge plumes of smoke. The earthiness and cedar are present from the pre-light as well as a hint of spice and pepper to the retrohale. Light gray ash held for about an inch and burn line has been razor sharp so far.
Second Third: Getting in to the middle of the cigar now and it has been burning and smoking great. The strength has built up to a solid medium and the cedar and pepper have given off a slight tingle on the tongue. There is a slight oak taste in the background, it vaguely reminds me of a flavor I picked up in the 2008 Camacho Liberty.
Final Third: The strength of the San Andres built slightly as I smoked through the cigar. The same notes of cedar, spice and pepper were present from start to finish, but towards the end the spice seemed to fade where the cedar seemed to pick up.
It is obvious from the tobacco make up that Room 101 was looking for something different with this release, and I feel they accomplished just that. The San Andres had a good, rich flavor to it and the strength was just a bit more than the previous Room 101 releases that I have smoked. Couple that with a nice long finish, the San Andres is sure to be a hit with Room 101 fans and also with those who enjoy the San Andres wrapper. Throw in a great price point and Matt Booth has come up with a winner with this one!
The Room 101 San Andres is available at all five Emerson’s locations, as well as online at emersonscigars.com.
