Chateau Diadem Monkey Business Gran Robusto (Full Bundle of 10)

• Length: 127mm
• Gauge: 55
• Flavour: Light - Medium
• Wrapper: Dominican
• Binder: Dominican
• Filler: Dominican medium-length filler
• Hand Rolled Cigars
• Cellophane Wrapped
• Humidor Advised

There is a certain refreshing honesty to Monkey Business. No cedar chest, velvet lining or certificate informing you that somebody numbered the box by hand. You get ten handmade Dominican cigars in a bundle, and the money has been spent chiefly on the bit you actually smoke.

The range comes from Château Diadem in the Dominican Republic, with the cigars handmade at its factory in Santiago de los Caballeros. Monkey Business was developed as the more affordable side of the Château Diadem portfolio, using medium-length filler rather than the long-filler construction found in its dearer lines.

That makes these medium-filler cigars, but certainly not machine-made ones. Each is rolled by hand, individually protected in cellophane and packed into the rather cheerful ten-cigar bundle pictured here. The packaging even tells you precisely what is inside: 10 Medium-Filler Cigars – Handmade in Dominican Republic by Château Diadem.

The Gran Robusto is a substantial 5" x 55, giving it considerably more girth than the name Robusto might initially suggest. That broad format produces plenty of smoke and generally allows somewhere around 45 minutes to an hour for each cigar, depending upon pace.

The blend is medium in strength, with a straightforward Dominican character. Cedar and wood lead the way, followed by light earth and warm spice, while a little natural sweetness keeps the whole affair nicely rounded. It remains fairly steady as it develops rather than suddenly discovering its temper halfway down.

Buying the full bundle makes particular sense with Monkey Business. These were conceived as cigars one could smoke regularly rather than save for somebody's wedding, retirement or unexpected inheritance. Ten individually wrapped cigars also makes storage straightforward once the bundle has been opened.

And the packaging deserves a mention. Château Diadem has resisted the usual cigar industry's obsession with coats of arms and imaginary Spanish aristocrats and put a large red monkey on the front instead.

Ten handmade 5 x 55 Dominican cigars, sensibly priced and presented with a monkey.

Frankly, plenty of more expensive cigars have been sold on considerably less convincing arguments.