Today Punch and Draw check out the little brother to the Room 101 Daruma Monstro – the diminutive 4 x 42 Daruma Papi Chulo
Draw: Cold draw: mild raisin‑y, as expected from this Ecuadorian habano wrapper. I cut this Daruma papi chulo and the draw is just about perfect for me, right in the middle. This cigar looks as sturdy as its bigger counterpart: Colorado maduro color, very toothy – an almost leathery appearance – with proportionately smaller but still prominent veins. The seams on this one are practically invisible. Nice cap, or what’s left of it; the edge is lifting from a poor cut on my part.
Punch: Upon lighting I’m getting some definite harshness, even when using a soft flame – like burnt pepper – echh. I just rinsed my mouth with water in hopes of getting a fresh start after the light-up. Okay, that’s better: some nice leathery green tea and a non-existent finish.
D: Green pepper, or green chile on the attack, with nice Corinthian leather, and, as you said, a non-existent finish. And I must say, there’s raisin in there. On the roof of my mouth. With the leather. The smoke itself smells extraordinary. I’m enjoying this on the heels of a most-excellent smoked-turkey stock and homemade egg-noodle soup.
P: Corinthian leather? Okay, Ricardo. (Did I spell that correctly? I’m not even going to try to spell “Montalbán”.) A half-inch in I’m detecting some mild, very mild, sweetness, along with a faint, very faint leathery tea on the finish. Not bad.
D: I actually get a hint of sweetness on the attack, too. More of an asian-pear sweet, rather than raisin. In any case – so far, the sweetness is ephemeral. I also note that while the finish is empty, the aftertaste is not. Green-hot spice, leather, and again a hint of fruit. So… I guess I made you read this just to say “nothing new”.
P: “Papi Chulo” is Spanish for a cute guy, a sugar daddy or a pimp, depending on the context. Hmmm… I wonder what Matt Booth intends for it to mean in this context? Maybe something about the Dominican and Honduran long-fillers, or the Brazilian binder? Or maybe that’s just a shameless attempt to slip that information into this review? Hmm, indeed.
D: At about half-way, there’s no real change. For me the flavor is building slightly, with a little more pepper on the leather in the middle. Overall, still in the mild-side of medium intensity. Fairly even burn, and my ash held on almost to the half-way.
P: I was just thinking that the flavor of mine has moved up close to medium, with some woodiness – pine – showing up on the short finish.
D: Interesting that. Just after praising the fine burn characteristics, I find that it’s becoming harder to maintain from idle. I just hot-boxed for a few minutes, trying to get the wrapper burning again, and finally just flamed it to prevent hot-box muck. All that said, it does seem to be building further in flavor and strength; I’m really feeling it on my lips.
P: Coming up to the last third (the length of a typical nub) the flavors are blending into an amalgamated munge and the smoke is getting warm. I think I’m done. I was hoping for some of the pretzel we detected near the end of the Monstro from this Daruma Papi Chulo.
D: I’m down to about two-fingers. I’m detecting an interesting chocolate cream coming from the middle to rest in the aftertaste. The fruit-sweetness is still there, no doubt helping make this mocha-moment.
Burn it or Spurn it?
P. The flavor of this line is distinctive and pleasant, standing out as not just another cigar. (As was my opinion of a few lines I tried this past weekend which were in the “why bother” category.) There is plenty of reason to bother with the Room 101 Daruma. This one, like it’s biggest brother, burned well for me, had an interesting variety of flavors including leather, green tea, and pine. At $6 a stick the price/quality ratio is fair, but the price/smoking time is a bit high. The value to you of this Room 101 Daruma Papi Chulo will be determined by what you prioritize more; quality or duration.
D: I agree with your profiling. Consistent flavor throughout, and it’s a flavor I enjoy. No real surprises, yet the flavor has nuances that are detectable through the smoking. Medium-to-full intensity at max, mild-to-medium strength. Good construction, good burn characteristics. It takes a little more work to maintain after half-way – at least it did for me (note, that my environment is rapidly cooling below freezing as I’m typing). This is a cigar I would enjoy smoking again and again, particularly a new one each time.