COHIBA 55 Aniversario LE 2021 Tasting - A Masterpiece
COHIBA 55 Aniversario LE 2021 Tasting in a 3-way test. First things first: in my opinion, this cigar is a masterpiece. The box date is unknown to me and the cigar is already excellent. This review is from December 22 and was updated on 19.04.23. 98 points!
Expected Reading Time: 7 Minutes
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COHIBA 55 Aniversario Edición Limitada 2021 quality
My Analysis I performed with the Cigars.Zone Testing Tool by. Explanations to the ZiZo R+ smoke technology you can find here.
Fantastic format: Ring 57 / Length 150mm. The quality of the rolling: Very good / The wrapper: Very good / The draw resistance cold: Optimal / And the draw resistance at the Smoke: Optimal.
The anilla on the cigar foot is neatly printed and embossed.
On top, the two anillas are also perfectly printed and embossed.
The cigar makes an imposing impression. The cold smell: Hard to describe. It reminds me of warm chocolate, maybe some licorice and something else "warm"; but I don't know what it reminds me of. I was fascinated by this cold scent.
Just like the legendary "Lancero" format of the Cohiba Línea Clásica or the three formats of the super premium line Behike, it has the characteristic braid on the mouthpiece. The Cohiba Talismán, the extremely successful format of the Edición Limitada 2017, also had it.
The taste
Let's move on to the first puff: Full-bodied / very aromatic / warm nuts / dark wood.
The first five minutes: Scent of the wrapper is still "warm chocolate" / tongue: very aromatic / a lot of nut / some earth / dark wood /// Retronasal: Full load of roasted aromas of cocoa beans and coffee beans and burning wood /// ZiZo R+Technique: Enormous amount of warm cocoa and roasted nuts.
Strength after about 20 minutes: 3/5. The cigar increases permanently and the previously described flavor nuances become partly more intense and partly less intense. A little more leather and earth are added.
The room note (arome = scent of smoke) is rich (difficult to describe) and elegant, complex.
Here I am at about 45 minutes. The ash is stable and firm. The wrapper has partially white dots (deposits of the oil from the tobacco), and is a very good sign, because this is a high quality wrapper.
After about 60 minutes: Cocoa, chocolate, nut, wood and leather. I am extremely enthusiastic. The cigar now becomes slightly biting; this is not a fault of the cigar, because it still has to mature. The tobacco has been aged for at least two years, but that is (as you know) too little for a cigar. Recommended minimum aging: 5 years.
After about 90 minutes, it becomes a bit too spicy for me. Again, this is not a fault of the cigar (please see the text by the photo before). I look forward to when I smoke my next copy in 5 years.
Conclusion of the COHIBA 55 Aniversario Edición Limitada 2021
This cigar is a masterpiece for me. This complexity in taste and aroma has fascinated me. I would like to get rid of a few thoughts on the subject of price. The cigar costs EUR / CHF 300.00 per piece. It is tiresome when I read spiteful or exaggerated comments on social media about the price. And I can not understand it either, it is illogical for me.
If Ferrari presents a car that costs EUR 600,000.00, why should I get upset about it and shout, "They're nuts, I'm not paying that much money for it;" of course I'm not paying that because I can't afford the price. So: I keep my mouth shut. ?
So! If someone can not afford this Cohiba at the price of EUR. / CHF 300.00 can not afford, why does he scream?
I am really flashed on this cigar and look forward to when I receive my whole box during January 2023. Purchased at La Casa Del Habano St. Gallen by Urs Portmann.
Resources on the topic
Download Cigars.Zone PDF Tasting Tool
Helpful Cigar Tips: From "retronasal", "R+ technique", about "umami" to the difference of cigars storage between Non Cuba and Cuba.
World Of Habanos: All articles at Zigarren.Zone
Presentation of the COHIBA 55 Aniversario Edición Limitada 2021
Well roared lion!
Hello Vasilij,
the Cubans did not want this price increase, as you write. I find it
sad when they think about this product, which grows on their land
and processed by them, can no longer determine it themselves.
Why do they get involved with a Chinese participation of 50 % ?
Happy smoke!
Wolfgang
Hello Wolfgang, previously the shareholder was the Spanish tobacco group Altadis. The group wanted to monetize its stake. There were a few contenders for the purchase. An investor group led by Hans Hoejsgaard was also in the running. The Chinese offered the most money and won the bid. Since when the Cubans have had a stake in Habanos S.A., I don't know. But why do I know: it's about money that they urgently need. ? HAPPY SMOKE ?
One should ask, why did the tobacco world allow this to happen ...?
Why does the world allow Cuba to be forced to take these measures ...? Why does the world allow a dream spot of this earth to face exodus ...?
On your comment "... their ground ...", is it really still their ground ...?
Nevertheless, I wish you all and your families a really good new year with lots of enjoyment.
Simple answer to your questions: Because nobody cares. Unfortunately, that's the way it is. Dramatically, that is.
Hi Vasilij, Thanks for the review. By the way, compliments for your great homepage and the cool magazine!
But I still have one objection to the comparison with Ferrari: Well, I'm not quite sure that Cohiba has also earned this title... For that I expect a little more perfection. For me, this includes never having to wait 5 years to enjoy this without unpleasant spiciness. It may of course like to mature and get better (belongs to the hobby), but must still perform from the beginning. In addition, I expect the cigar to be qualitatively right in the very most cases (burn, draw...). As we all know, the quality at Habanos currently rather does not remind luxury. With such an expensive product, I also expect older tobaccos. 2 years are me there much too little for the prices charged.
There are other manufacturers like Davidoff, Arturo Fuente, Padron, etc. that master all these points. The requirements for a true luxury product are better met in my opinion.
Please don't get me wrong, I like Habanos, but there has to be more to come for the comparison with Ferrari....
LG
Martin
Hi Martin, thanks for your comment and praise. Yes, I would also like to have "finished" cigars from Cuba (auto-correct just wrote "greasy" ? . The Cubans have a resource problem and therefore too little tobacco. For this reason, they need to produce cigars that go on sale quickly. I have very few quality problems with Cuban cigars in my specimens. I vaporize about 40 Cuban cigars per year. Of these, there's sometimes one that draws badly. And from this specimen it was even my fault (stored too moist). I always find this topic in particular super interesting, because I hear these quality problems frequently (and I almost don't have them). Maybe it's like this: Cuba cigars love me and don't bitch ? And you maybe they like less ? ...Fun...
As for the comparison with Ferrari: I know, of course, that the comparison is lame. It just bothers me that many cigar smokers scream the same because of the price (and most of them can not afford the cigars anyway). I'm one of them that I can't afford the Cohibas anymore. I treated myself to this box for Christmas and now I'm only allowed to eat the skin of the sausages for 14 months ? (....aber I do not scream around, would be illogical).
Thank you for using ZiZo and I wish you continued enjoyment here. ? HAPPY SMOKE ? ~ Vasilij
Thanks for your answer :-) Well, maybe they really don't like me :-P. I am well aware of the problem. I hope that this will level out again in the next few years.
You do not treat yourself to anything else, enjoy the cigars:-P
Happy Smoke!
Moin Martin, there are yes some Habanos Anejados cigars, which are offered. These are geaged in Cuba. A fine deep aroma as with even matured I have not experienced here so far. I have acquired / smoked various other Habanos, which are already teil's very long geaged elsewhere. My conclusion is: The best aroma result in aging I have with the cigars, which I have acquired myself fresh and self-controlled geaged. With boxes, which were stored elsewhere for years, the result is often questionable and the risk of acquiring an unsightly box (taste) is already considerable. Many argue like you... "so at the price I want to be able to smoke the already immediately, with Non Cubans goes that also." From my personal experience I would not agree, as just justified, without further ado. I also enjoy following the development of Habanos in aging over the years. Nose tiiiief in the box.....aaaaah and aha! Best regards, Heino
Salü Heino, I understand your arguments. But as you just wrote, it works for the non-Cubans too. Do not think that Cuba is an exception. With the mentioned Añejados the whole cigars are stored ripe. I prefer to do that myself at home. I also do it with non-Cubans, since they also benefit from aging. In addition, the process and the trial and error makes me fun :-). But it is quite different when the tobaccos are stored unrolled for a long time ripe and only then rolled. And they do that too little in Cuba. There you can of course again argue about the scarce resources.
But hey, the cigars are sold anyway. As long as the word "Habanos" is in it, they go away like hot cakes^^. Would like here but no further rummeckern. Fortunately, the ones I enjoy are still reasonably affordable.
Best regards and Happy Smoke!
Cuban cigars are very good and always remind me of my trip to Cuba. But I find it ethically difficult that casa de habanos is fifty percent in Chinese hands. With cohiba, I can't keep up financially ... At the moment.
Hello Jorge, so that there are no misunderstandings: The partnership has nothing to do with Casa del Habanos. The Chinese partnership concerns Habanos S.A., which is the Cuban company responsible for marketing Cuban cigars worldwide. The "Casa del Habanos" is a franchise system of Habanos S.A.. As an alternative of Cuban cigars I recommend all other brands from Cuba, which have not experienced the price increase. There are still most of them.
Thanks for the insight 🙂 that sounds very tempting. I could have gotten a box but the 3000€ was unfortunately a bit much. Something I'm annoyed in retrospect not to have taken, but I'm also one of the people who do not approve of the increase factor 3. Some gladly smoked cigars are in my opinion now unfortunately too expensive for what they offer. But otherwise I can also understand the Cubans who seem to get the price for their product, so it is just with 'supply and demand'.
Greetings Christoph
Hello Christoph, the new Chinese partners have increased the prices; the Cubans did not want that. For our western understanding, we would have first developed a super premium cigar with a nice box, and then sold it in the market at a high price. The socialist system in China is equal to the capitalist system.
Thanks Vasi for keeping us happy with articles like this. You are doing a great job, please keep it up!!! As you always say: HAPPY SMOKE!
I'll sign that, Philipus.
With the heart with the Cubans, thus on the right spot, and with both feet on the ground of reality!