San Cristobal Seleccion Del Sol

Today's review is of a new addition to Ashton's San Cristobal line. This is the Seleccion Del Sol, and has a sungrown wrapper grown in Nicaragua by Don Pepin Garcia (who also blends and rolls this cigar for Ashton). This Nicaraguan Puro comes in three sizes, and today I am smoking the Robusto (5x52)

The wrapper on this particular stick seems a bit dry and rough, but Sun grown wrappers aren't always the prettiest. This one is a nice dark brown and a little mottled. This line features a band on the foot to distinguish it from the regular San Cristobal line. The construction overall looks very nice, with a perfectly applied triple cap. The predraw flavor shows just a touch of cedar and nicely aged tobacco.

This cigar starts out with a nice bit of spice that I tend to notice with a lot of Pepin's blends. Behind the spice there is a definite flavor of sweet cedar. The mix of sweetness and spice really works nicely together. This seems a bit dialed back compared to the original San Cristobals. It is not as full bodied or as rich, but it is still an enjoyable cigar. At the halfway point I would consider this to be at the low end of medium bodied. There is just a touch of citrus on the finish as well.

Overall, the new San Cristobal Seleccion Del Sol is a solid cigar. The construction and burnline are pretty much perfect. I didn't have to touch up the burn at all, which is always nice. I think I prefer the standard San Cristobal line over the new one though. I like the richness of the originals, as well as the dried cherry flavor combined with the spice that they offer. This one has some spice to it, but just a little. The sweet cedar flavor and slightly citrusy finish is very tasty on the new one. I was expecting a full bodied cigar, but this one lands at the low end of medium. The price of the robusto is around $8 if I'm not mistaken. These will be great to smoke when I want something medium bodied with a nice complexity to the flavor.