Staff Review: RoMa Craft CroMagnon Knuckle Dragger
Introduction:
Today’s staff review will feature RoMa Craft’s CroMagnon Knuckle Dragger. Skip Martin has been able to build his brand into a heavy hitter, especially over the past decade, and with RoMa Craft’s seemingly always increasing momentum, they have grown to become a staple in the boutique space of the industry.
Feel free to skim the quick hits for an overview or jump into any section below to find the full details of CroMagnon Knuckle Dragger. Here we go!
The Quick Hits:
- CroMagnon made its debut back in 2011
- Main tasting notes of leather, black pepper, charcoal-grilled beef
- Recommended for: fans of Mi Querida Triqui Traca, Cohiba Black, Liga Privada Unico Serie
- Even considering its relatively small size, to me, CroMagnon Knuckle Dragger is a bargain at $8.25 per cigar
The Story:
CroMagnon hit the scene back in 2011, and in the decade since its introduction to the market, has quickly become one of the more sought-after offerings from RoMa Craft. Currently consisting of five regular production sizes, and some allocated limited-edition sizes, CroMagnon is a staple of the boutique space in the market, and for a lot of enthusiasts, has helped to solidify RoMa Craft as one of the premier brands in cigars.
The name CroMagnon alludes to an early species of humans, dating to the Upper Paleolithic Period about 10,000 to 40,000 years ago. This kind of naming convention is not uncommon with RoMa Craft as they have a couple of different lines that have references to different periods of human history, including their Neanderthal line.
CroMagnon was the first blend that came from the work of Skip Martin and Mike Rosales, and really has grown to become the staple of the brand’s portfolio. Produced at the revered Nica Sueno factory, and meticulously crafted with almost unrivaled precision, CroMagnon perfectly embodies RoMa Craft’s dedication to the art of cigar making.
The Build:
If I had to describe the blend of CroMagnon with two words, those words would be bold, and unique. CroMagnon starts with an almost jet-black Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper that sits overtop a delicate Cameroon wrapper and finished with a powerful blend of Nicaraguan fillers. The result is an exceptionally rich profile that is equally as refined. The thing that stands out the most to me about CroMagnon’s blend is the combination of the bold Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper and the elegant Cameroon binder – maybe I’m just ignorant to the world of cigars (this could be true), but I don’t recall seeing too many blends that use a wrapper/binder combination of these two notable tobaccos.
The Look:
When it comes to the look of the overall RoMa Craft portfolio, I think it’s pretty clear that the idea that “less is more” is something that the brand hangs its hat on. CroMagnon follows suit with a simple design but does a fairly good job of complementing the look of the cigar itself.
CroMagnon’s band design is understated, and I have admittedly heard some grumblings from friends that they don’t appreciate the fact that it’s hard to read the black “CroMagnon” on the band, but I disagree with this sentiment. It’s fairly easy for me to identify a CroMagnon from a distance just by the layout and colors of the band, and I’m sure most experienced smokers feel the same way.
The primary black strip on the band is accentuated by the thin white borders and shows off a lot of contrast, especially as it sits on top of the super dark Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. The back of the band shows of the RoMa Craft logo in white; a minor touch, but an addition that looks great, nonetheless.
Continuing with CroMagnon’s simple approach, the box is constructed of a light-colored, unfinished wood with a black skull and “CroMagnon” displayed on the top of the box. “CroMagnon” is present on the front and side panels of the box, with the size also indicated on the bottom right of the front panel of the box.
All in all, a simple design from CroMagnon, but eye-catching at the same time – remember, sometimes less is more.
The Experience:
There is no way around it – from first to final puff, CroMagnon was full-bodied and then some. A lot of times when I smoke an uber full-bodied blend, there isn’t too much to write home about regarding the flavor of the cigar. Rather than having the experience be dominated by the strength of the blend, CroMagnon, was able to keep the focus of the cigar on the flavor profile – something that regularly gets lost with strong cigars in my opinion.
The first third showcased a few different flavors, all just as prevalent as the last – notes of leather, and black pepper started things off in the first third with CroMagnon and would ultimately make their presence felt until the last draw. In addition to the leather and black pepper, there was a unique, but distinct flavor note that reminded me of something like a charcoal-grilled burger. This may seem a little odd in the context of a describing the flavors of a cigar, but the charcoal-grilled beef flavor actually intertwined relatively well with the black pepper, leather, and slight sweetness on the backend.
The flavors in the second third didn’t stray too far from what I was experiencing in the first third save a couple of minor additions. The biggest addition to CroMagnon’s flavor profile was a rich note of a dark roasted coffee that complemented the spicy black pepper and slightly salty leather that were already present.
The final third was the highlight of CroMagnon for me – it was sweet, spicy, salty, and rich and packed with complex flavors that were able to stand up to the obvious strength of the blend. I want to add that towards the tail end of the final third, a background note of toasted walnuts added a slightly buttery touch to the already flavor rich blend and came at a time when I didn’t think that CroMagnon had the capacity to add anything new.
To sum it up, CroMagnon was delicious, beautifully constructed, and provided a flavor profile that was able to play off the blend’s apparent strength more than adequately enough.
The Value:
Premium cigars are expensive, and to take it even a step further, so-called boutique cigars tend to be even more expensive. I say this because it seems that spending $12.00 for a good cigar in today’s age is more of an expectation than it is an outlier. The most impressive part of CroMagnon to me is not its exquisite flavor profile, or its exceptional quality, but rather the combination of both these things that you can get for the low price of $8.25. Now I know that Knuckle Dragger is a relatively small size at 4” x 52, but even if you want something bigger, there are three other CroMagnon sizes that you can get for under $10.00.
Final Thoughts:
I have been a fan of RoMa Craft for some time now, and surprisingly enough, CroMagnon was the only core blend I hadn’t smoked yet. Sometimes I feel like I sweep RoMa Craft under the rug in favor of newer and more “flashy” brands (an obvious mistake on my part, I know), but that all changes now.
I was more than impressed with CroMagnon, and I feel like this Knuckle Dragger size specifically, did a good job of highlighting all that this blend has to offer - although I’m pretty biased towards petit/short robustos, I am really excited to try CroMagnon in a couple of other sizes (I just placed an order for a 5-pack of Anthropology’s and EMH’s).
If you are looking for something bold, flavor-packed, and reliable, then I would suggest you look no further than RoMa Craft’s CroMagnon.
