The Particulars

The Review

This review for the Stolen Throne Revelry - Robusto Grande (5 x 54) is based on the journal entry dated 2026-07-16

Appearance & Construction (0-3):  Good (3)

It’s a rather unassuming cigar, and without having been told it was based on the Preakness 150, there isn’t an obvious indicator (to me or probably the casual observer) that the two are related, unless you know the “revelry” refers to the infield party at the Preakness Stakes. It has a warm, but dry, deep chocolate brown wrapper that’s a little rosado and a little dark without quite becoming a Maduro. But there isn’t much visible oil; it’s on the dry side and it’s a seemingly fragile wrapper. The foot is semi-closed and bits of wrapper tobacco break off easily. But it’s quite toothy, mottled with good color variation, and adorned with several thin veins that stand out in contrast by being lighter. Even though it has a semi-closed foot, it has a traditional triple cap that has a little edge lift in one crimped corner. But it looks and feels good with a nice firmness but light density. The band is simple and a little disappointing because the semi-glossy, two-color halftone print results in a blurring of the finer details and leaves the shadows a little fuzzy. Luckily there isn’t much detail to it in the first place, but it ends up feeling a little cheap.

Draw (0-3) & Burn (0-4):  Average (2) / Good (3)

Light-up is annoying. Closed foot, semi-closed foot, either way—do you light through the wrapper tobacco or peel/cut it off to expose the filler for direct lighting? I opt to burn through and risk not properly getting the filler ignited to get those first tastes of pure wrapper. But I always end up with bits of burning wrapper falling on me during light-up, which annoys the piss out of me. Yeah, I know, treat it like a bris and take just the little bit covering the end. 😂

The draw is tight to start, staying on the tighter end of the spectrum even as it loosens. It’s just not tight enough to demand the draw tool. The burn is being good, remaining relatively flat with only a little waviness in sections that drag and self-correct. The ash is a light gray with very tight, neatly stacked striations and nearly non-existent tight cracks. The ash stacks decently, holding through the first third before falling. But the burn line self-corrects nicely after the first ash falls and settles into a relatively flat burn with a sharp and crisp edge.

Flavor Profile (0-5):  Great (4)

Malty powdered baking cocoa—like chocolate cake mix from a box—leads off and is followed by medium baking spice, light cedar, bits of roasted almonds, and just a hint of creamy espresso that leads into a marshmallow cream finish. Mexican hot chocolate for sure. Some rich earth follows, and the red pepper on the tongue grows. A good, but simple start. All the flavors are relatively light, balanced, but dry. I’m hoping things pick up before this gets boring.

The second third begins with more toasted almond, light cedar, and a slight reduction in the baking cocoa and spice, while the pepper vacillates between white and red. The pepper is staying right between my tongue and my nasal cavity. A honey sweetness has picked up nicely at the midpoint, something missing in the dryness of the first third. It goes back and forth between a stronger woody/nutty combo and more baking cocoa/spice; neither ever builds to a full intensity—mostly medium, maybe medium-plus levels of flavor boldness. But hey, it’s smooth.

With the final third, I’m really not getting any notable changes. There is a slight uptick in pepper, returning to the baking cocoa and spice combo, but the honey is holding along with that moderate and dry creamy finish. While some cigars can be described as chewy on the finish, this one comes off dry and thin. One other thing I’m noticing is the cigar is getting extra hot—like hot to the touch—and a little bitter in the last inch. That’s a mild black eye(d Susan) to end the smoke as I have to bail a little sooner than I normally would, but it’s still an enjoyable blend overall. Fun fact: the Black-Eyed Susan is the state flower of Maryland, and the namesake of the Grade II horse race for three-year-old fillies which is held the Friday before the Preakness Stakes. You can get a Black-Eyed Susan signature cocktail at the Preakness that is made with a mix of vodka, whiskey, sweet-and-sour mix, and orange juice.

Overall Experience (0-5):  Great (4)

So like I said to open the review, the revelry is known as a raucous infield party. Needless to say, the Stolen Throne Revelry didn’t bring that level of energy with the blend; it was a bit more refined and subdued, like the proper girls with the big hats. Which leads me to another Maryland reference, Wedding Crashers.

John: “Don’t waste your time on girls with hats. They tend to be very proper.”
Jeremy: “Yeah? Well, the proper girl in the hat just eye-fucked the shit out of me.”

I’m disappointed, the Revelry didn’t eye-fuck the shit out of me. 🤷🏻‍♂️ At least we still have crab cakes and football! 🦀🏈 But yeah, compared to other Stolen Throne bangers, the Revelry was a bit of a boring ass dud.  I’ll have to see how the Preakness compares, but if this is the “amped” up version… ugh…  And you may be asking yourself, if this cigar was sounds so boring and underwhelming, why did it score relatively well?  The flavors were good, just not as robust and intense as you would expect from Stolen Throne.  It’s very mild compared to the Crook of the Crown or Yorktown Fleet, but it wouldn’t be as disappointing coming from a brand known for more mellow concoctions.  It’s all relative and I didn’t hate it, I just wanted a legit party in my mouth to live up to the name.

Postscript

The second cigar started right out of the gate with more flavor, particularly a nice punch of pepper and a salted honey sweetness. Was this round going to get the party started? Not quite; that intensity was short-lived, but it was a little bolder in flavor, creamier all the way through, with a beautifully flat burn. The second one also burned very hot at the end, getting too hot to hold in the last inch. I guess that’s just how this cigar burns! But this is exactly why I always smoke two upfront and eventually revisit in the future. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Overall Score and Individual Journal Entries

While the review is based off one instance of journaling this cigar; there's a number of reasons you can have different experiences smoking the same cigar multiple times. A blend can evolve with age (for better or worse), palates evolves, preferences change, and sometimes you just get a bad example!  This section captures the ratings from each journal entry and the related journal photo.  Below you'll find an aggregate score based on every time the cigar has been journaled. Unless it was a gift or on-off smoke, this section will be updated every time I journal this cigar!

The Flavor Wheel

With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience.  These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out.  When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.

The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.

• 0:   No flavor detected
• 1:   Mild flavor
• 2:   Medium flavor
• 3:   Strong flavor

Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.

With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience.  These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out.  When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.

The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.

• 0:   No flavor detected
• 1:   Mild flavor
• 2:   Medium flavor
• 3:   Strong flavor

Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.