Cigar Geeks - Illusione OneOff +53 Super Robusto

Cigar Geeks Geek Critique

Illusione OneOff +53 Super Robusto
Written by Cigar Geeks Member: Brlesq

86
Cigar Geeks Rating

Welcome to another Member sponsored Geek Critique generously sponsored by our member junglepete (Pete). This was done as a blind review so there were no pre-conceived notions about what anyone was smoking. The cigar provided for this round is the Illusione OneOff +53 Super Robusto.

The history of the OneOff brand isn't particularly long, but it is a bit unusual. It was created by Andrea Molinari in 2001, who ran a La Casa del Habano in Milan, Italy and wanted a cigar brand of his own. Molinari was also the CEO of Italian airline Lauda Air S.p.A. When he couldn't get a cigar brand made in Cuba, he sought the expertise of the Plasencia family in Nicaragua. The Plasencias made OneOff cigars under contract for Molinari at their Segovia Cigars S.A. factory in Nicaragua, but initial production was very limited and the first run of cigars were only shipped to a few accounts, mostly in Asia and Europe. This was in keeping with the idea behind the name OneOff—cigars being made in such limited quantities, they were almost unique enough to be considered one-offs. Eventually, the brand was sold to Cuban Crafters before Dion Giolito of Illusione—a longtime fan of the brand—bought it in September 2017 and tweaked it to his own version. The +53 is a reference to the country code for Cuba that is needed to make a phone call to the island. It debuted in a 5 3/4 x 48 size called Super Robusto.

Illusione OneOff +53 Super Robusto

Brand:: Illusione
Name:: OneOff +53 Super Robusto
Length:: 5.75
Ring Gauge:: 48
Country of Origin:: Nicaragua
Binder:: Nicaragua
Wrapper:: Honduras
Color:: Naturale
Strength:: Medium-Full
Shape:: Robusto
Average Member Rating:: (1 Review(s))
Notes:: http://illusionecigars.com/product-category/oneoff/

This cigar was enjoyed with Water

Pre-Light: 10 Points of 10 Possible

This cigar has a beautiful medium brown wrapper with a slight oily sheen and a covered foot. Very smooth to the touch with minimal veins. Sports a nice triple cap that cut cleanly. Appears to be solidly rolled with no soft spots. Prelight aroma reminded me of sourdough bread.

Lighting and Burn: 9 Points of 15 Possible

The cigar was burned nice and straight with no touchups for the first half. Unfortunately, it began to tunnel hard on the second half and required touchups and even a relight when it went out. The first ash fell off onto my shirt at 3/4 inch, so I choose to tap it after that to avoid more ash drops. Ash was black & white layered. The cigar burned nice and cool.

Construction: 25 Points of 30 Possible

The cigar seemed to be well rolled and was solid with no soft spots to be found. The wrapper had a smooth texture and a slight oily sheen. Very smooth with minimal veins. Draw gave just the right amount of tug. However, the cigar did not hold an ash past 3/4 inch and tunneled for the second half, so there had to be some latent problems with the construction.

Flavor and Aroma: 42 Points of 45 Possible

This cigar was mostly a one-note cigar and not very complex, BUT the flavors that developed were balanced, extremely satisfying and kept me wanting more. It had some muskiness, some creaminess, with notes of cedar and black tea. No pepper or spicy notes to speak of. Very smooth. Medium in body and medium-full in flavor.

Summary

You knew that the sample Pete sent was old because of the dark brown cello (he said 5 years aged). A cigar doesn't have to be complex to be enjoyable. I really enjoyed the flavor of this one. Unfortunately, mine had a tunneling issue half way through which forced relights, touch-ups and other distracting triage routines. This would have scored 5 or 6 points higher if it wasn't for those issues.