Coyabo Green Label Cigar Review – An Ugly Duckling with Swan Performance

It has been a while since I talked about Coyabo Cigars and one of the most pleasant Brothers of the Leaf, Juan Nunez. You may recall, we reviewed two of Juan’s four blends last year and today I would like to introduce you to the 3rd blend in the series, the Green Label. This cigar is a true multi-country blend that is described by Juan as:

“A daring and satisfying smoke, it is dark and bold with plenty of character presenting  earthy sweetness and coffee aroma.”

If the blend description is any tip-off, you should be drooling with desire to smoke this.

• Wrapper – Negro maduro San Andres (Mexico).
• Binder – Ecuador Connecticut natural and Peru (Viso).
• Filler – Dominican Republic (Piloto Cubano), Dominican Republic (Doble ligero), Nicaragua (Viso)

Did you get all that? Go ahead, read it again. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Countries! Juan did not skimp on this blend.

The Coyabo Green is available in 3 popular vitolas:

• Toro Gordo – 6.5 x 60 (MSRP $9.25)
• Toro – 6 x 52 (MSRP $8.75)
• Robusto – 5 x 52 (MSRP $8.15)

Like all Coyabo cigars, the Green Label is made in the capital city of the Dominican Republic – Santo Domingo.

For this review I sampled the Coyabo Green label toro vitola which I received from  Juan Nunez for reviewing on Stogie Press.

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Pre-Light Examination

The Coyabo Green label is a blotchy dark brown cigar with a high sheen on the wrapper. There is a decent amount of tooth on the wrapper which tells me this may pop with oils as it burns down. The cigar is well capped and tightly packed. This  is one of those cigars that will not win a beauty contest, with its veins and bumps, along the barrel – but we ain’t looking for pretty, we are looking for flavor,  aroma, and solid burn qualities.

Like all  Coyabo cigars, the band is unique. The center of the band has the Coyaba logo centered in a green oval with gold trim. Then there is two rectangular strips intersecting the oval and wrapping around the barrel of the cigar. The strips declare this is “Hand Crafted” and “Premium Cigars”

Speaking of aromas, there are some bodacious notes of caramel, cocoa, and pepper off the foot and a sweet fermented leaf aroma along the barrel.

I sliced the cap with my Colibri double blade and gave this multi-national craft a few cold draw puffs. The draw was to my liking and it offered  some  pre-light notes of cocoa and pepper.

Now let me say, I never judge a book by its cover but I may judge the cigar by the pre-light aromas and taste. In the case of the Coyabo Green label, I give it two thumbs up for the pre-light journey. I only have two thumbs, so that is excellent, but the real test is what happens when I fire it up and puff it down to ash.

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Cigar Review Notes

• Boom! Pow! — Dang, that is some whack of nasal cleansing peppery spice on the first puffs
• Pepper settles after a half-inch and sweet oak notes enter
• Medium grey ash develops on a thick char line
• Ash does fall early, after an inch of burn, revealing a fairly flat and centered burn cone
• Sweetness continues with a cocoa nuance through the first third
• Mild cedar notes enter moving into the second third
• As expected, the wrapper is oozing oils
• Smoke is getting very smooth at this point
• Fruity almond aroma develops
• Citrus works it’s way in near the end of the second third
• Black coffee fills out the profile entering the final third
• A most delicious buttery sweet almond note completes the journey through the finish
• Medium  Strength
• Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 50 minutes

Overall, the Coyabo Green label was an ugly duckling when it comes to looks but the flavors and aromas were pleasant from foot to nub.  Yes, I took this to the nub, drawing out the last note of that buttery sweet almond note in the final third. The burn was solid through the journey but the ash did fall about an inch at time. When I think about the flavors in the Coyabo Green,  I would consider pairing this with a Café Mocha or a Café Caramel Macchiato to complement the sweetness.