Camacho Ecuador Robusto

I have had the Camacho Ecuador a few times over the last few years but have never had a chance to review it since I started this blog in 2020.  As I was researching this smoke, I was shocked to find that it is not an Ecuadorian puro as the only item sourced from Ecuador is the dark and oily Habano leaf wrapper. Bare with me a second: this cigar is manufactured in Honduras with an Ecuadorian wrapper, Brazilian binder, and filler tabacco from The Dominican and Honduras..... and this qualifies to be called "Ecuador?" 

Whatever, I'mma just be over here mad for Ecuador.  The size and thickness of the Robusto is at least the traditional 5"x50. The Robusto vitola can be purchased with a tubo, if desired, as well. The Camacho Ecuador can also be found in Toro, Churchill, Gordo, and Figurado vitolas with each of them also being, more or less, traditional lengths and ring gauges. 

Price wise, these cigars do not fall in to my "daily smoker" category because they retail for around $8 USD per stick. You may be able to squeeze that down a bit using auction sites and waiting for sales as these are very common smokes. 

Wrapper: Ecuador

Binder: Brazil

Filler: The Dominican Republic and Honduras

Length: 5"

Ring Gauge: 50

Size: Robusto

The Smoke: I paired this smoke with an Old Fashioned. The Ecuadorian Habano wrapper leaf provides a nice milk chocolate hue. It is oily and has some toothiness to it that gives it a bit of a velvet like texture.  It has a huge teal/aqua/turquoise band that provides a nice contrast to the wrapper leaf's color. 

I used my Xikar V2 cutter to take a wedge out of the head. The cold draw was good and felt open despite the smaller cut. The cold draw had some wood and earth. Toasting and lighting the cigar came with ease. The light cigar had cedar and earth as well but also added some pepper. The cigar is slightly sweet. This cigar and its flavor profile changed very little and provided consistent flavor from beginning to end. 

One thing I felt was an issue was the construction. The burn rate of the cigar was uneven and required multiple corrective burns. Towards the end, the wrapper leaf began to unwind too. It took an hour and ten minutes to work through the robusto, which I did smoke down to a nub. 

Overall, the cigar was decent. The consistent flavor made the cigar fell less than complex and more like a one trick pony. The flavor it did have was pronounced and enjoyable. The construction could have been better. For $8 USD I would not buy this cigar again but for $5 or less I would consider it. 

The Score: Buy a Single