The Byron Petit Poemas is a cigar that has been on the market for a number of years – it hit the market back around 2009. It is blended and hand crafted by Selected Tobacco and distributed by United Cigar here in the United States.
The name “Poemas” translates to “Poem” and is a nod to the Lord Byron – an English romantic poet who was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement. He is regarded as among the greatest of English poets. He may be best known as the author of Don Juan – a satirical poetic work that depicts Spanish legend of Don Juan not as a womaniser, but as a man easily seduced by women.
The cigar is expressed in a 4 x 50 vitola and carries an MSRP of about $20.00/cigar.
So what do you get for that 20 bucks? Let’s start with the blend. The Byron Cigars website describes the blend as:
- Wrapper – Ecuadorian
- Binder – Ecuadorian
- Filler – Nicaraguan (ligero & seco) and Peru (volado)
They are made in Costa Rica, as others in the Selected Tobacco portfolio. All leaf used in the construction is aged 4 years. Originally released in jars of 25 they were recently transferred to boxes of 25. You can purchase these in single and 3-pack tubos..
For this review I sampled one of these which I received as part of a Secret Santa package in 2022.
Pre-Light Examination
The Byron 19th Century Petit Poemas is a stunningly beautiful short cigar, at least in length but a nice 50 ring gauge in girth. It is cloaked in an even dark brown wrapper that has an fine oily sheen. The wrapper is all but devoid of veins and is silky smooth to the touch. When pressed between the fingers, the cigar is notably firmly packed from head to foot. A expertly applied triple cap finishes the presentation.
Two bands adorn the cigar. The primary band uses the standard Byron logo, with Lord Byron – the famed English poet. centered in the middle with the name “BYRON” printed in gold on a red ribbon below. A secondary blue and gold band is placed just under the primary band and declares this as a “RESERVA 4 ANOS” (4 year Reserve).
Running the Byron 19th Century Petit Poemas along the nose I picked up a delicate natural tobacco sweetness and baking spice along the barrel. The foot exuded notes of floral, clove, and natural sweetness.
Using my CigarMedics Baller cutter, I opened the cap perfectly and gave the cigar some cold draw puffs. The draw restriction as spot on and offered notes of light earth, caramel, and gentle peppery spice.
Cigar Review Notes
- Introductory puffs offered notes of caramel and black pepper to start the journey
- Smoke volume is solidly full from the first puff
- Mild floral notes quickly join the profile
- Solid light grey ash forms on top of an even thick char line
- Sweet syrupy aroma wafts off the foot
- Dark chocolate nuances notes break through in second half
- Continued mild floral in the background with an added meaty component
- Peppery notes roll back in to the final
- Medium Plus in Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 10 minutes
Final Analysis
So, what do you get for a $20.00 Petit Robusto? Flavor and more flavor. It was quite an enjoyable, hour plus journey, of balanced flavors and aromas. I really loved the early rich caramel notes that started the journey and then there were delectable dark chocolate nuances starting the second half. The meaty notes in the second third were a pleasant transition in the profile. The way the pepper started early then faded and re-merged in the end was a plus. It had excellent construction throughout with nary a wave on the thick maduro wrapper. If your wallet allows you, this is certainly a box buy but if not grab some and treat yourself to a quality cigar. I rate this a solid 96.
Point Deductions: NONE
Bonus Points: (+1) Box Buy; (+1) Clean Even Burn;
