The Luxury Cigar Club has teamed up with Matt Booth and Room 101 to create an exclusive cigar known as the Snake Shake. This is the second time that the two have worked together, the previous was the Stogie Press 90 rated Room 101 Johnny Tobacconaut which hit the market back in November of 2021.
The Room 101 Snake Shake is described as a Nicaraguan puro that is expressed in a (6 x 50) toro vitola. The team used Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A. to craft this. The Luxury Cigar Club notes that a total of 10,000 cigars were produced and come packaged in 20-count boxes. The company has set the MSRP at $16.00/cigar.
Pre-Light Examination
The Snake Shake by Room 101 and Luxury Cigar Club is a dark brown and lightly veiny cigar that has a firm packing and is solid to the touch. There is a mild grit along the wrapper but not much of an oily sheen. A double cap completes the presentation.
A single band adorns the cigar using a black and gold motif. It displays a snake curled around a bone in the center. It kind of reminded me of the Rod of Asclepius also known as the Staff of Aesculapius which has a serpent-entwined rod. It was wielded by the Greek god Asclepius, a deity associated with healing and medicine. It is a symbol used in the flag of the World Health Organization.
Running the barrel along the nose, I picked up a mild hickory note while the foot offered notes of walnut and chocolate.
I sliced the cap straight across the shoulder and gave it some cold draw puffs that offered more of the walnut with an added mild spice component.
Using my double flame torch, I warmed the foot and drew in the first puffs of that walnut and spice mix to begin the journey. Follow along as I burn the Snake Shake to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- Light spice and walnut enter to start the journey
- Slight wave forms on a thin char line
- Solid white ash develops
- Cocoa notes add to the early spice and nut rounding it out nicely
- Coffee nuances add a mild dimension to the profile
- Ash fell in a solid chunk revealing a decent burn cone
- Cocoa notes are prominent midway
- Burn has evened out well
- Caramel and cream notes wrap the cocoa like a caramel nougat
- Pleasant fruit aroma wafts off the foot
- Slight sour bite entering final third(maybe that’s the snake?)
- Ash fell often
- Medium in Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 35 minutes
Final Analysis
The Snake Shake by Room 101 and Luxury Cigar Club was a medium strength medium body cigar that pleased the palate through a good two thirds of the journey. With a solid core of cocoa it offered complimenting notes through the transitions including coffee, cream and caramel. If not for the sour notes that developed in the final third this would be an outstanding cigar. I smoke three of these and each had that sour note which ended the journey for me. I feel the price is too high for the overall experience. I rate this an 89.
Point Deductions: (-1) Mild Wave in First Half; (-1) Sour Notes in the Final; (-1) Ash fell Often (-2) Overpriced for the Experience
