Sancho Panza Extra Chido Robusto

The Sancho Panza cigar line has a long, rich history. In the past, I have reviewed Sancho Panza The Original. At last year’s PCA trade show, a line extension was released under the direction of Matt Booth and Justin Andrews, as has become the norm with today’s contemporary rendition of the Sancho Panza brand. The Extra Chido (translating to Extra Cool) is now the fourth cigar to be in regular production within the Sancho Panza brand.

Extra Chido has some interesting differences which set it apart from its predecessors. A highlight of this cigar is that the Extra Chido is made in the Dominican Republic, which is a first for this brand (which has historically been rolled in Honduras and occasionally Nicaragua). Additionally, the cigar uses Dominican Piloto aged in tercios—a unique method of aging tobacco in bound palm leaves to ferment and age over time.

It appears that Sancho Panza brand, through General Cigar Co., will continue to develop and expand. This legacy brand will hopefully continue to bring additions to its classic lines through the collaboration of Matt Booth and Justin Andrews. Per Matt Booth, “It is an honor to contribute my part to such a classic brand. More to come…”

Sancho Panza Extra Chido Robusto Breakdown

Appearance

The Sancho Panza Extra Chido has a very unique color contrast between the bright pop of teal in the main band and the dark brown of the Sumatra wrapper. It gives off an island vibe in the coloration and design of the cigar. The teal label has “SANCHO PANZA” in large gold lettering. The wrapper itself is lumpy to the touch, with noticeable seams and veins present. It has a very toothy feel, and gives a sticky grip to the cigar. The robusto itself, however, feels very dry to the touch, with no oiliness coming from it. The cap has a rather rough application, and is a bit wrinkled around the seam where it meets the length of the cigar. While on the rough and chunky side, the bright colors make up for any small imperfections. A light squeeze of the cigar reveals a dry, firm feel. There’s little give, and it appears to be well filled with tobacco. Overall, this cigar seems well constructed and expertly rolled, with the exception of the application of the cap—which appears to have been placed with less carefulness than the rest of the cigar.

Smoking Experience

The pre-light of the Sancho Panza Extra Chido has aromatics of strong leather from the cap, heading down the cigar. The foot, however, has a sweet cedar note with no leather aroma. With a straight cut and a cold draw of the cigar, a sharp cedar and Muenster cheese flavor is noted. Additionally, the draw is on the firm side prior to lighting the cigar.

After toasting the robusto, an intense smoky cedar flavor emerges, reminiscent of a burning cedar spill. A nutty pecan flavor—along with a sweet floral finish—balances that smoky cedar character. The retrohale produces a flavor that is unlike many others I have experienced. It is a strong mint flavor and gives a sensation that hangs in the sinuses. The texture of the smoke is very light on the palate.

The burn of the Extra Chido is fairly straight, leading to a light smoke output overall. The ash, which is on the dense side, has a graphite color to it, clinging on for about three cm. After being lit and while being smoked, it maintains a solid feel between the fingers. The draw remains rather tight, not loosening at all from the heat of the burning of the tobacco.

Coming into the midway part of the cigar, the smoky cedar flavor has lessened to just a light, sweet cedar nuance. The floral and nutty pecan flavors have disappeared at this point in the smoking experience. The retrohale, however, went from mint (and its associated sensation) to red pepper, with some heat remaining in the nostrils. Closing out this robusto-sized Sancho Panza Extra Chido, the flavors on the palate have nearly all been lost. Nothing of real interest or excitement from the experience at the start of the cigar remains. However, the cigar finishes very fresh and clean on the palate, without any lingering off-notes to influence whatever it is you decide to smoke next.

Would I Smoke This Cigar Again?

Sancho Panza has so much history, and this line extension of the Extra Chido- another collaboration with Matt Booth and Justin Andrews- will likely grab cigar smokers’ attention. The start of the cigar produced some unique flavors that I have never noted before, which was definitely a good surprise and very enjoyable. The smoky cedar, pecan, and sweet floral notes were very pleasing to the palate, and that unique minty retrohale and sensation were exceptional. However, unfortunately by midway through, these flavors were all lost. And by the end of the cigar I was just going through the motion of smoking with nearly no flavor remaining to make me want to finish the end of the cigar. It was certainly enjoyable to smoke and review this cigar, but I will unlikely pick it up in the future.

• Currently, the Sancho Panza Extra Chido cigar ranks on Dojoverse as “100% Smokable,” placing in the top 41 percent of cigars on the all-time leaderboard.

Short Link: