Oh, Wildfire Wanderer Robusto, you had me at Cold Aroma! The moment this mahogany-colored heater slid out from its cellophane sleeve I was enveloped in fragrant aromas of tobacco, earth, cedar and some sort of sweet pungency. The cigar’s scent was so invigorating, so intoxicating, I could have honestly stopped then and there and still written a favorable review. Sometimes you’re trying to analyze a cigar’s properties, in terms of spiciness, sweetness, earth or fruit aromas, etc., and other times you’re just surrounded by sense-gratifying fragrances, like you walked into a well-stocked, well-maintained cigar humidor, redolent of Spanish cedar and Caribbean tobacco.
Of course, such an inviting sensation, while momentarily gratifying, only serves as a prelude to the experience of actually smoking the cigar. Maddeningly, that act needed to be performed in steps, as the purpose of this article is to review the cigar in all of its exacting stages (appearance, aroma, draw, heft and various other descriptors).
As fate would have it, although analyzing these features delayed the eventual act of smoking the Wanderer Robusto, each was in itself enjoyable, because the darned cigar just performed beautifully in every category.
Appearance: What should I say? Look at the photos! The Wanderer is gorgeous. It’s so cliche to call it milk chocolate, so let’s refer to it as mocha: a rich, dark brown. Jeremy McDonald generously supplied me with three samples of this cigar, and while there was some variation in appearance, each beckoned with its appealing wrapper leaf, supple with oils. One sample showed a couple of slender veins but near-invisible seams. The other two examples were virtually free of veins, and likewise presented well-applied seams.
The Wildfire cigar band features a raging fire, rendered in gold, on a glossy black rectangle over the name Wildfire Cigar Co. in cream and gold tones. The look is clean and contemporary. A ribbon adorns the sides of the cigar band proclaiming the brand’s catchphrase: Leaves Burn, Stories Live. Below the main band is a sub-ring in high-gloss forest green, trimmed in gold, and the name Wanderer in gold block letters. It all fits together well.
Cold Aroma: As mentioned above, the Wanderer Robusto’s wrapper leaf is bursting with the alluring scent of a cedar-lined aging room. Tobacco, earth, wood and spice combine for a medley of intriguing aromas, which beckon the smoker to light up. The foot of the cigar offers a deeper, more pungent and woodsier fragrance.
Cold Draw: The three samples of the Wanderer gave me a Goldilocks type of experience. One was a bit firm, one drew somewhat freely, and one was just right. Here I should add that the firmest drawing of the three nonetheless eventually smoked extremely well, and opened up to a perfectly normal draw. The freest flowing robusto was likewise an exemplary smoke, never getting hot or softening to the touch. It just delivered a lot more smoke, perhaps thinning out the flavors to some degree. The “just right” version gave me everything I relish in a fine cigar: good draw, solid ash, a medley of flavors and an alluring aroma, discernible even while smoking outdoors. In terms of the cold draw flavor sensations, each sample gave a buffet of cocoa, cedar, soil and a touch of dried fruit.
Light-up: Here was an example of a cigar teaching me a lesson in smugness. I felt gratified to recognize all the flavor sensations I appreciate in a great Nicaraguan cigar, until I realized that this cigar is rolled in Honduras, with tobacco from three countries other than Nicaragua. It goes to show that fine tobacco and impeccable blending are available from more sources than the current industry leader. The Wanderer leads off with a smooth, creamy coating of the palate, highlighted by some ripe fruit and a dash of red pepper, especially on the retrohale. The effect was a harmonious blend of sweet and savory elements. Strength and body were at the dead-center medium point.
First Third: The baseline of earth and aged tobacco is enhanced by a subtle cocoa-like sweetness. The pepper spice drifts to the background, but baking spices like nutmeg become more noticeable. The burn is slow and the temperature neutral. The char line is relatively well behaved, occasionally running slightly up or down, but mostly staying straight. The cigar’s ash is a thing of beauty: solid and dense, the color of gray flannel.
Second Third: The Wanderer gets a little earthier in this middle section. There’s still some stone fruit taste, and some mild pepper and cocoa remain as well, but earth and cedar are taking the lead here. The Wanderer continues to burn well, building up a solid column of ash, holding a sharp char line, all the while staying as cool as a cucumber.
Final Third: In this home stretch, the Wanderer starts to assert its strength, finally pulling away from medium and veering toward medium-full. As the body builds, the flavors become somewhat less distinct, but the cigar is just so enjoyable, that factor is almost inconsequential. This is clearly a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its individual parts.
While each sample burned well, the slowest drawing one, which by the way felt like more of a 52 ring than a 50, developed a long and uniquely formed ash. The nearly three-inch-long ash looked more like a Jenga stack than a cigar ash.
Final Thoughts: It is important to re-emphasize the point that this cigar was produced in Honduras, once the leading source of non-Cuban cigars, and now relegated to a distant third in terms of units imported into the U.S. I mention this because it serves to underscore how great tobacco is grown in each of the cigar producing countries in Latin America, and that every one of them is capable of producing award-winning cigars. From the perspective of quality of construction, flavor and aroma, and overall satisfaction, I found the Wildfire Wanderer Robusto to rank right up there with all the iconic brands available on today’s market. My recommendation? “Wander” down to your local tobacconist, and request, nay demand, that they stock this prime example of premium cigar excellence. You’ll thank me.
Wildfire Wanderer Robusto
- Size: 5 1/4 x 50
- Wrapper: Ecuador Sumatra
- Binder: Nicaragua
- Filler: Dominican, Nicaragua, Paraguay, USA Pennsylvania
- Country of manufacture: Honduras
- Release Date: April 1, 2023
- MSRP: $11.00
- Smoking Time: 1 hour, 44 minutes
– Samples courtesy of Wildfire Cigars. Story and review by Larry Wagner.
This story first appeared in PCA The Magazine, Volume 3, 2024. To receive a copy of this magazine, you must be a current PCA member. Join or renew today at premiumcigars.org/membership.