The Zino Classic is another great cigar created by Hindrek Kelner, one of Davidoff’s master blenders. This is a mild to medium bodied Robusto at 5” long with a 50 ring gauge. The cigar comes in a nice cedar lined black aluminum tube. The wrapper is a natural Connecticut leaf, the binder is Dominican and the filler is a nice blend of Dominican and Honduran tobacco. The cigar is handmade in the Dominican Republic.
Flavor and Aroma
I decided to smoke this cigar with a nice dark roasted organic coffee from Central America. The cigar’s woody aroma complimented the coffee well. About a third of the way in to the cigar I could taste a hint of spice but the wood flavor and the coffee covered it keeping the spice very subtle.
Draw and Construction
This is a very well made cigar. The wrapper is close to perfect without any blemishes or veins. It is also a very firm and cut well. The draw was moderate but the cigar did not light easily. However, once lit, it produces large amount of blue-grey smoke. The ash held for 2” and dropped by itself after 40. This is a very slow smoking cigar. It burned fairly even but I did have to re-light it 3 times and I finally put it down when it was about 1 ½”. The total smoking experience lasted 2 hours.
Value
This is a tough call. I had never had a bad Zino but they are costly for an average rated cigar. I found them online in 5 packs for $33.99 and boxes of 20 for $124.99. That prices the cigar out at $6.25 to $6.80 per stick and if you buy them as singles in your local shop you could pay as much as $7 or $8 for one. If you can find them for under $6/stick it might be a good deal just for the fact that it is a long smoke.
