My Weekend Cigar: 601 Blue Maduro Robusto

By Gary Korb

I know it's been while since I've posted "My Weekend cigar," but the weather here in Eastern PA hasn't been very cooperative of late. However, this past Saturday (12/15) I attended a 601 Cigars tasting event at Famous Smoke Shop in Easton, PA. Eddie Ortega and Patrick Vivalo of United Tobacco were there to do the honors, and the store was crawling with smokers who wanted to get their mitts on these exquisite, Don Pepin Garcia-made cigars.

Until this weekend, I only had one all too brief experience with the 601 cigars. It was a 601 Red that I sampled on the last day of the RTDA show in Houston this past summer. I remember it tasting good, but unfortunately I never had the chance to finish it.

On this occasion Patrick handed me a 601 Blue Maduro Robusto, a very attractive-looking cigar in a 5½" x 52 box-pressed shape. This cigar, which is blended with diverse Nicaraguan fillers and a Nicaraguan Habano Maduro wrapper, was solidly packed and looked good enough to eat. The pre-lit flavor was not as spicy as I was expecting, and once lit, the cigar drew perfectly with a deep, earthy and naturally sweet flavor. The smoke was smooth, thick and creamy with a heavy aroma; a sharp contrast to the cigar's medium to full-bodied character.

As the cigar burned toward the halfway mark, it didn't get stronger or bitter, it got better. The flavors began to caramelize into a more complex smoke, maintaining it's heartiness, yet never became overpowering. I continually found myself holding the smoke holding the smoke in my mouth as long as possible just to make sure I got every nuance of flavor before passing it out through my nose. If it's consistency you like in a full-flavored cigar, the 601 Blue Maduro Robusto's got it. I checked with some of the others around me who were also smoking the 601 Blue, and we were all pretty much in agreement.

In conclusion, this was one of the best cigars I've smoked all year. It had just the right amount of everything, and I smoked it down to ¾ of an inch - no joke. What's funny is, it was like when you meet a really great girl and hit it off right away; I couldn't stop thinking about this cigar all weekend. Congrats to Eddie Ortega and Don Pepin on this really beautiful "finger burner."