Trinidad Coloniales Hand Rolled Cuban Cigars (Single Loose Cigar)
- Length: 132mm
- Gauge: 44
- Flavour: Medium
- Wrapper: Cuban
- Binder: Cuban
- Filler: Cuban
- Single Loose Cuban Cigar
Trinidad Coloniales – Hand-Rolled Cuban Cigar (Single Loose Cigar)
For a cigar brand that spent its early years largely out of public view, Trinidad has done remarkably well for itself. There was a time when getting hold of one was rather more complicated than walking into a tobacconist and asking for it. The cigars were associated with Cuban diplomatic gifts, and it wasn't until 1998 that Trinidad became commercially available to the wider public.
The Trinidad Coloniales arrived in 2004, part of an expansion that gave the brand several new sizes and helped establish its place among Cuba's distinguished cigar houses.
What I particularly like about the Coloniales is its size. At 132mm long with a 44 ring gauge, it has a more traditional, slender profile than many of the increasingly substantial cigars being produced today. The fashion for enormous ring gauges has certainly gathered momentum over the years. Some of them are so broad you begin to wonder whether the manufacturer expects you to smoke them or use them to prop open a door.
The Coloniales takes a rather different approach.
It's a medium-strength Cuban cigar, handmade using long-filler tobacco grown in Cuba. The blend is associated with the elegant, aromatic character for which Trinidad has become known, with cedar, toasted nuts, coffee and gentle spice among its commonly reported tasting notes.
There's often a creamy quality to Trinidad's flavour profile, accompanied by a little natural tobacco sweetness. The narrower ring gauge gives the wrapper a relatively prominent role in the overall construction, contributing to the character of this classic format.
The cigar itself is a handsome little article. Its warm, golden-brown wrapper has the natural texture and fine veins of carefully handled tobacco leaf, finished with Trinidad's distinctive gold band. The band carries the brand's familiar emblem and geometric decoration, making it instantly recognisable among Cuban cigars.
And then there's the cap. Trinidad cigars are particularly associated with their distinctive pigtail finish, a small twist of tobacco at the head that has become one of the brand's visual signatures. It's a lovely piece of traditional cigar-making detail, requiring a little extra care from the roller.
Trinidad's history is especially interesting because its reputation developed before the brand became widely available. Its association with official Cuban presentations gave it a certain mystique, although the cigars themselves have always had to justify that reputation through the quality of their tobacco and construction.
The Coloniales offers an opportunity to appreciate that heritage in a relatively compact format. It has the proportions of a traditional Cuban cigar, a carefully balanced medium-strength blend and a presentation that remains closely connected to Trinidad's identity.
Supplied here as a single loose cigar, it's an excellent way to explore the Coloniales individually or add a different Cuban vitola to an established humidor.
I've always had a soft spot for cigars that retain these older proportions. There's a pleasing sense of history about them, particularly when the workmanship is as recognisable as Trinidad's.
And I must admit, a cigar that once belonged to the world of diplomatic gifts does raise an interesting question: whether anybody ever managed to settle an international disagreement over a box of Trinidads. If they did, I suspect the minutes of that meeting would make considerably better reading than most.
