Cohiba Riviera Perfecto Cigar Review
As many of you already know, Cohiba has recently rolled out a new line of regular production cigars dubbed the Riviera. Featuring a Mexican San Andres wrapper (a particular favorite tobacco of this blog’s author) and made in a different factory than the rest of the Cohiba portfolio, this cigar is intriguing to say the least. Today, we’ll be doing a review of the Cohiba Riviera Perfecto. This box-pressed perfecto is truly a unique animal among Cohiba’s cigars, and it should be extremely interesting to see what the company has managed to do with it.
I’ll admit going into this cigar that I’m a bit apprehensive. While I tend to like the flavor profiles of the various Cohiba blends, their construction always seems hit-and-miss to me. Particularly, I tend to find many Cohibas offer a much tighter draw than I would like to experience from such expensive cigars. Given that I find it difficult to get a good draw from a basic parejo from the brand, I’m wondering how well they did with a much more difficult perfecto vitola. Well, only one way to find out.
Critical Stats
- Vitola: Box-pressed perfecto
- Size: 6×60
- Wrapper: Mexican San Andres
- Binder: Honduran Connecticut
- Filler: Honduran Jamastra and La Entrada with Nicaraguan Esteli and Condega
- Strength: Medium-full
- Smoking Time: 55 minutes (Surprisingly fast)
First Third
Even before I’ve lit the cigar, my construction concerns are slightly alleviated. With a relatively shallow cut, I’m getting a good, even draw. The cold draw of the Cohiba Riviera Perfecto is also quite flavorful. Fig cookies are the most immediately discernable note here, but I’m also getting hints of leather and cocoa powder. So far, I’m intrigued.
Lighting the cigar, I find the initial flavor profile quite reminiscent of the cold draw. I get immediate cocoa powder, alongside rich red fruits. I should note that the fig cookie note has lost its definition, but I’m certainly not going to complain. I also get a pleasant cured meat savory quality on the back end of the smoke. As I get a little deeper into the first third, the cocoa powder shifts toward more of a milk chocolate, and the smoke takes on a very enjoyable creamy texture to match.
A bit later, I notice the red fruit notes from the beginning of the cigar are starting to fade. Around this same time, a sweetness that I can best describe as rum-like shows up. The savory note, now almost venison-like in its intensity, continues. This gives the Cohiba Riviera Perfecto a really fascinating interplay between very complex sweet and savory notes. So far, I have to admit, I’m enjoying this cigar much, much more than most Cohibas.
I’m also starting to get more of the spice notes I would typically expect from a San Andres wrapper tobacco. Hints of ginger are becoming perceptible, giving the cigar another layer of rich flavor that nicely complements the persistent milk chocolate note. One thing that isn’t quite as enjoyable is the arrival of both black and white pepper. Ordinarily, I’d welcome these, especially with the cured meat thing going on in the background. Here, though, the peppers really clash with the milk chocolate. Fortunately, this state of affairs is fairly short-lived. The sweet chocolatey notes begin to recede, leaving this cigar as a spicy and savory combination.
The last flavor development that takes place as I near the end of the first third is the emergence of a mossy earth flavor. This is slightly vegetal and adds to what’s already a pretty complex smoke. I have to say, this cigar is a flavor rollercoaster. We’re only a third of the way through this Cohiba Riviera Perfecto review, and I’ve already gotten more distinct flavors from it than I do from some entire cigars. Needless to say, we’re pressing on into the second third with some pretty high expectations.
Before leaving the first third behind, however, I should take a moment to talk about the construction. As someone who is generally unimpressed with Cobiba’s construction standards, I have to say I’m surprised by how incredibly well this one is behaving. Not only does the cigar display a long, firm ash, but I haven’t had to touch it up a single time. The draw is still even and open, and I haven’t struggled once to enjoy my smoke.
Second Third
As we begin the second third, some of the late changes from the first third begin to reverse themselves. The pepper backs off, while the sweetness returns, although to a more muted degree. Amid this rebalancing, I also get an entirely new nutty note, specifically black walnut. This is both a little surprising and very, very enjoyable.
Shortly after the beginning of the second third, the ash that has been hanging on since the very first draw finally falls. It stayed with us for a long time, and I’m hardly disappointed. Flavor-wise, the combination of light sweetness, black walnut and well-cured meat persists. This enjoyable triumvirate is also joined by a woody note that reminds me of the smell of fresh-cut pine. The pepper is fading fast at this point, and that mossy note from earlier starts to move toward center stage.
Not long afterward, our old milk chocolate note rejoins the group, fortunately coming back to the party after the pepper has made a graceful exit. Some minerality also appears in the flavor mix, giving an impression of slate. The cigar teases with a bit of cinnamon, though this note remains quite faint and never really picks up appreciably.
Around the end of the second third, the spice notes start to make their presence felt again. This time, though, I get a flavor that is almost like a smoked paprika. Very different and unusual, but still enjoyable. As I end the second third, I should note that I still haven’t had to touch this cigar up.
Final Third
Going into the final third, the strength of the cigar starts to build to a little more than medium-full, though I’d stop short of calling it truly full-bodied. The more savory notes really start to take hold here, with cured meat, slate minerality and some leather engaging in a delicate balancing act with the dark fruit notes and a renewed cocoa powder flavor. At this point, I feel like I could be describing a good Spanish wine as much as a cigar. The flavor balance, however, remains thoroughly enjoyable.
Nearing the end, the smoke has taken on an extremely thick and creamy texture. We get a final burst of fruit sweetness, alongside a really nice rich chocolate flavor that my hand-written notes describe as fudge-like. The mossy earth once again ramps up, and the cigar finishes with a rich and complex flavor profile. And, it’s worth noting, I never did have to touch it up.
As I’m writing this, I realize that the final third really encapsulated what this cigar was all about nicely. An interplay between sweet and savory was happening pretty much through this entire smoking experience, and this was really on display near the end of the cigar. It’s not often I say this, but this Cohiba never bored me for a second.
Cohiba Riviera Perfecto Review and Closing Thoughts
Flavor
This blend was a bit of an experiment for Cohiba, and boy did it pay off. San Andres tobacco is, as noted above, a particular favorite of mine. As such, I was probably more pre-disposed to like this cigar than I otherwise would’ve been. Even for those without this bias, though, the Cohiba Riviera Perfecto offers complexity, richness and dynamism that makes for a deeply enjoyable smoking experience.
Construction
Though I enjoyed the flavor, the biggest surprise from this cigar was far and away the construction quality. Half the time, I find that Cohiba can’t even get a basic parejo to draw properly. This box-pressed perfecto is a different animal, yet somehow the construction here was truly excellent. I never even considered reaching for my lighter once the cigar was going, the ash held long and firm and I didn’t have to cut half the cigar off to get a good draw. I heavily suspect that having been made at a completely different factory from most of the brand’s products has something to do with this, but it still shows a level of construction quality I have rarely seen from Cohiba before.
Value
Rating the Cohiba Riviera Perfecto for value is tricky, to say the least. At about $22.50, there’s nothing to call this but an expensive cigar. And, while I found the flavor enjoyable, engaging and delightfully complex, I’d be lying if I said I couldn’t find cigars that can claim the same accolades at more reasonable price points. At this level, it’s vying with upper-end Fuentes, Padrons and Montecristos. However much I liked this cigar, I can’t claim it was an amazing value for the money.
With that said, there’s a caveat where value is concerned: namely, that this is a Cohiba. I consider pretty much every Cohiba I’ve ever had overpriced, and the truth is that this is a pretty decent value by the brand’s standards. When I compare it to blends like the Red Dot or Cohiba Connecticut, I think this is actually a much fairer value. So, while it doesn’t fully hold up to its competitors, the Riviera actually stands out as one of the more reasonable buys in the Cohiba portfolio.
Final Verdict
8/10
In doing this Cohiba Riviera Perfecto review, I’m a little torn on the final score to give it. The cigar is, in terms of both construction and flavor, really excellent. It also isn’t terribly priced, considering the brand it comes from and given that few other Cohibas are as good in my opinion. However, in comparing it to competitive cigars, I still have to say its a bit overpriced. As such, it’s getting a point docked for value, though the reader should understand that it would have received a richly deserved 9/10 were it even a couple dollars cheaper. In the end, I think I may have a new favorite among Cohiba’s regular production lines. I thoroughly enjoyed this cigar, and I would strongly recommend picking up one or more to add to your own humidor.
