Atabey Benditos - Cigar Reviews by HB Cigars
There is no way I could have left y'all on a Rocky Patel mid-review. For that I sincerely apologize. Like Elvis after a flawless bowel movement, I AM BACK! And what better way to return than with the legendary Atabey. Rumor has it it's harder to find than your dad. Buying an Atabey works a bit like buying a Birkin bag. Nobody tells you it's for sale. You're expected to build a relationship with the tobacconist first, spend a respectable amount on other things, and wait to be deemed worthy, at which point the shop graciously allows you to hand over nearly fifty bucks for a single stick. The brand comes from Selected Tobacco in Costa Rica, and the blend is a closely guarded secret. Ooooooh. Aaaaaah. The Benditos is a big boy, 7¼ x 58 double corona. (I know 7.25 inches when I see it.) Does the taste justify the price? Maybe... But probably not.
🔥 THE VITALS 🔥
Cigar: Atabey Benditos
Master Blender: Nelson Alfonso - The Cohiba Behike box dude.
Size: 7¼ x 58 (Double Corona)
Country of Origin: Costa Rica
Factory: Tabacos de Costa Rica (Selected Tobacco)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian (per retailers, Atabey won't confirm)
Binder: Undisclosed
Filler: Undisclosed ("Caribbean and Central American")
Strength: Mediumish
Price: ~$48.50 MSRP ($1,212.50 box of 25)
Production: Limited, boxes of 25 that double as a humidor
🚀 WE ARE LIT!
Draw: Easy. No PerfecDraw needed.
Burn: Mostly straight, got a little wavy late but fixed itself
Smoke Output: Plenty
Ash: Layered and flaky, held about an inch
Solid construction all around. Pale, smooth wrapper, one massive vein, and a gold and black band with the Taíno goddess Atabey herself in shiny silver. For fifty bucks, it better be shiny. Firm from head to foot with no soft spots. The burn wandered a bit in the back half, and the ash was flakier than your buddy who's "five minutes away," but it never needed a touch-up. At this price, it should be built right, and it is.
🎢 FLAVOR JOURNEY
FIRST THIRD: Sweet Cedar, Big Expectations
sweet cedar, leather, pepper
Sweet cedar right off the bat. Not the pencil shavings kind, the good kind. Leather sits underneath and a little pepper pops up on the retro to keep you awake. It's smooth, it's balanced, and it's very... polite. Like a waiter at a restaurant where the menu doesn't have prices. Pleasant enough, but I kept waiting for the fifty-dollar moment.
SECOND THIRD: The Cream Shows Up
cream, honey, toast, citrus
Pepper backs off and the cream moves to the front, with some honey sweetness and toast behind it. A little citrus pops in on the retro every now and then. This is the smoothest part of the cigar and if you like mild to medium sticks, probably the best part. It's also the most boring part. This third is so smooth and soothing it could put a newborn to sleep, and trust me, I've tried everything else.
FINAL THIRD: Now We're Talking
molasses, cocoa, cedar, white pepper
The last third finally wakes up. Molasses and cocoa darken things up, cedar comes back to the front, and a white pepper tingle shows up on the retro. Strength creeps up to a solid medium. This is the best stretch of the whole cigar, and of course it shows up after you've already dropped fifty bucks and an hour and a half. It's like an NBA game. You could honestly skip to the last five minutes and not miss much. Finished smooth right down to the nub, no bitterness, no heat.
🏆 THE VERDICT:
B- TIER
Flavor: B
Construction: B+
Availability: C
Price: C-
It's a good cigar. Well made, smooth, and the final third is legit. But good isn't enough at fifty bucks a stick. At this price I want to be blown away, and I wasn't.
📊 BOTTOM LINE
Here's the thing about Atabey. The whole appeal is the mystery. Secret blend, secret tobacco, whispers about Cuban leaf that nobody will confirm or deny, and a price tag that makes you feel important just for owning one. And I get it, mystery sells. But when you actually light it up, it's a smooth, pleasant, medium cigar. Sweet cedar, cream, honey, molasses, great construction. You can get that exact profile from a dozen Nicaraguan and Dominican brands for fifteen bucks, and they'll actually tell you what's in it. If someone hands you one, smoke it and enjoy it. It's a nice cigar. If you're thinking about dropping twelve hundred bucks on a box, just buy the Birkin instead. At least that holds its value.
TLDR: Tasty, well-built, and way overpriced. Smoke one if it's free.
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