Alec Bradley Nica Puro Robusto

📌 Brand: Alec Bradley
📌 Line: Nica Puro
📌 Size: Robusto (5" × 50)
📌 Weight: 15.2 g
📌 Age: 7 years
📌 Origin: Nicaragua

Tasting Notes

• Earth – Dry and straightforward

• Cocoa – Light, faint sweetness

• Black Pepper – Strong early bite

• Leather – Supporting base

First Impressions

The Nica Puro Robusto shows a clean, medium-dark Nicaraguan wrapper with light oils. Pre-light aroma reveals earth, cocoa, and pepper. Cold draw is perfect with peppery sweetness.

Smoking Experience

• First Third – Pepper arrives aggressively, with earth dominating. Slight harshness develops early. Burn is straight.

• Second Third – Cocoa sweetens the edges slightly, leather adds depth, but the cigar maintains a rougher texture than expected.

• Final Third – Pepper returns strongly, harshness increases, and flavors remain bold but linear.

Pairings

• Alcohol – Sotol Por Siempre (Mexico) - Herbal, grassy, slightly smoky character cuts through the harshness and elevates the earth-pepper profile.

• Tea – Assam Hathikuli Black Tea (India) - Malty and full-bodied with natural sweetness to soften the cigar’s sharper edges.

Music Pairing

“Cosmic Slop” – Funkadelic
Grit and groove that mirror the cigar’s earthy punch.

Final Thoughts

Alec Bradley’s Nica Puro Robusto offers earth, pepper, and leather in a bold but somewhat rough delivery. The profile is enjoyable but has a persistent harshness that limits finesse.

Final Score: 8/10
Why not a 10?
Harshness present in every third and limited complexity kept it from greater refinement.

Only cigars that deliver flawless draw, balance, flavour evolution, construction and satisfaction get a 10.