Blind tasting in a class of its own: on November 19, 2025, Sonne Sissach was once again transformed into a place full of curiosity, aromas and heightened senses. 26 cigar lovers came together to experience a blind tasting that was extraordinary even for experienced aficionados - the kind of evening where you know after just five minutes that today is going to be legendary. I organized a blind tasting with three cigars. Yes, you read that right. Three. Blind. One after the other. A sporty program that made many a pulse beat faster than lighting the first flame.

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The rush was so great that one room was not enough

As soon as we arrived, it was clear that the Sonne Sissach's usual club cigar lounge would not even have been big enough for the appetizer that evening. Two lounges were needed because the rush was so great. A camera transmitted my presentation to the second room - a live broadcast of the kind usually only seen in sports studios. As always, the President of the Sonne Sissach Cigar Club greeted us eloquently, humorously and, of course, via the screen. A premiere - and as it should be for premieres, everything went surprisingly well. The President didn't have to shout „Can you hear me?“ three times, it worked the first time. Grandiose.

The participants listened intently to the President's explanations. Blind tasting Sonne Sissach.

The participants listened intently to the President's remarks.

Three box-pressed cigars, one importer, lots of question marks and an extremely good mood

The surprise guest of the evening caused a particular stir: The Royal Cigar Company AG from Basel, represented by Dominik Mezzomo. The importer had three box-pressed cigars in Robusto format in his luggage - a luxurious tour de force and, as it turned out, a sensory rollercoaster ride.

In the room next door: enjoy, speculate, enjoy. The third man on the right counted from bottom to top: Dominik Mezzomo represented The Royal Cigar Company AG from Basel. Blind tasting in Sonne Sissach.

In the room next door: also enjoying, speculating, discussing. The third man on the left from bottom to top: Dominik Mezzomo represented The Royal Cigar Company AG from Basel.

What nobody knew was that Dominik was the secret star guest. It wasn't until shortly after 9:30 p.m. that he revealed the big secret - with a facial expression somewhere between „Now I'm telling you“ and „Hold on tight“: what we had actually been smoking for over two and a half hours. Afterwards, some people looked as if they had just found out that they had won a competition that they had never entered.

All participants smoked all three cigars. Wow! Great!

The tasting session was intense. People asked questions, speculated, laughed, browsed. Sometimes the participants looked at me as if to say: „Vasilij, please tell us what kind of cigar this is before my brain confuses caramel, pepper and leather for good.“

The cigars only bore the numbers 1, 2 and 3 - box-pressed, Robusto format, no clues. Pure tobacco psychology.

And an extremely

GROOOSSEEESSS

Thanks to Dominik for preparing 90 cigars: removing the original cigar rings and attaching the numbered cigar rings to the correct cigar. Do you know how long this takes? I'll tell you at the next blind tasting.

All three cigars were evaluated on the Zigarren.Zone tasting sheet. High praise to all: that was real stamina in the name of science. Or pleasure. Or both. And as a reward, no one went away empty-handed: Everyone also received all three cigars in Toro format to continue their research at home. Research for the living room, so to speak.

The tasting sheet was used intensively. It is from Zigarren.Zone and from my new website Origin Of Cigar (online on 01.01.26). You can download this Download the PDF tool for free by subscribing to the Origin Of Cigar newsletter.

An atmosphere like the final of a gourmet tournament

Discussing, testing, speculating. „What are we smoking?“

The atmosphere was intense: flames hissed, notes were scribbled, frown lines appeared, assumptions were spoken aloud and immediately discarded. Another shook his head and muttered: „The second cigar is more complex than the first...“ As always, the mix of guests was great: experienced connoisseurs, ambitious aficionados and curious newcomers. This is exactly what makes the Zigarren.Zone blind tastings so special: Everyone is allowed to have a taste here - and everyone is wrong at some point, and somehow right at the same time. Grandiose! It's a fair balance to the otherwise dominant cigar vanity.

Oops, that's me! (Vasilij from Zigarren.Zone).

The result was astonishing

A clear picture emerged in the club lounge:

Cigar 1: mild and pleasant, wonderful.

Cigar 2: good complexity, strong, great smoke

Cigar 3: somewhat stronger, very interesting, lots of spice and pepper.

And now comes the plot twist: in room 2, the ranking was almost reversed! While in the Club Cigar Lounge, Cigar 1 was dubbed a mild diva, in the other room it was considered a muscular flavor machine.

All participants enjoyed a fantastic evening. Blind tasting Sonne Sissach.

All participants had a fantastic evening.

I still can't remember exactly who rated what and how. But one thing is clear: Food influences everything. People ate between cigars - and depending on who had cheese, meat or dessert in their mouth beforehand, the cigar tasted different. An incredibly instructive experiment for everyone.

What was tested?

Of course, everyone wanted to know what exactly was being smoked there. Shortly after half past nine, Dominik relieved us with the big reveal:

Cigar 1: Rocky Patel Sixty

Cigar 2: Rocky Patel A.L.R. Second Edition

Cigar 3: Rocky Patel Gold Label

A trio that was a winner - and twice as exciting in blind form.

These three cigars were tested blind. Blind tasting in Sonne Sissach.

These three cigars were tested blind. You can find the links to these cigars in the resources section below.

Zigarren.Zone blind tastings - long a cult

What began years ago as a small experiment is now more than ever a permanent fixture on the Swiss cigar scene. The Zigarren.Zone blind tastings are now very well known, always fully booked weeks in advance and provide a topic of conversation in lounges and humidors. If you want to take part, you shouldn't register early. But very early.

Food in the Sonne Sissach and rum tasting from Best Taste Trading

In short: the food, top class - as always. I won't tell you any more. You have to experience it for yourself. As this was a club event, you can only get in on recommendation. But don't worry: Zigarren.Zone is planning more public blind tastings at Sonne Sissach and other locations in Switzerland.

So subscribe to the newsletter, otherwise you'll miss the ticket rollout.

We had two different rums with dessert and cheese. Both sensational. And then we were able to taste our way through more rums, generously presented by Best Taste Trading. Many a notepad turned into an adventure book.

Outlook: The next event is already fully booked

The next blind tasting event on November 22, 2025 at the Bürgenstock Resort - exclusively for just 15 participants - has been fully booked for months. A clear sign: Cigars.zone tastings are not just tastings. They are experiences.