Zino Honduras Robusto

Earlier this year, Davidoff announced a new blend under its Zino brand named Zino Honduras. A follow-up to the company’s Zino Nicaragua that debuted in 2021, the Zino Honduras is made with an Ecuadorian wrapper covering a blend of Honduran tobaccos from Copán and the Jamastran Valley. It is made at Diadema Cigars de Honduras S.A., which is best known as the Camacho factory.

The Zino Honduras launched with three vitolas:

• Zino Honduras Half Corona (4 x 44) — $6.70 (Pack of 5, $33.50/Box of 25, $167.50)*
• Zino Honduras Robusto (5 x 54) — $7.50 (Pack of 4, $30/Pack of 5, $37.50/Box of 25, $187.50)
• Zino Honduras Toro (6 x 50) — $8 (Pack of 4, $32/Pack of 5, $40/Box of 25, $200)

*Not pictured.

Despite only being offered in three vitolas, there are nine different SKUs:

• Each vitola is offered in boxes of 25 cigars as well as cardboard five-packs
• The Robusto and Toro vitolas are also sold in four-count bags.
• The Half Corona vitola is also offered in cardboard five-packs and a five-count metal tin; the cardboard five-pack isn’t being sold in the U.S.

Interestingly, the Half Corona five-pack and the four-count bags of the Robusto and Toro vitolas have cigars that are pre-cut. The cigars in all of the other packaging options have normal caps.

“We are delighted to be launching Zino Honduras to meet the rising demand for more intense cigars,” said Javier González, svp head global marketing & innovation at Oettinger Davidoff AG, in a press release. “The high quality of these handmade cigars, combined with the enhanced flexibility and spontaneity offered through innovative packaging and cut options, truly sets this line apart and reflects what Zino Cigars stands for as a brand.” In line with Zino Cigars’ price positioning, Zino Honduras also stands out for its attractive value-for-money proposition, making premium cigar enjoyment accessible to a broader audience.”

• Cigar Reviewed: Zino Honduras Robusto
• Country of Origin: Honduras
• Factory: Diadema Cigars de Honduras S.A.
• Wrapper: Ecuador
• Binder: Honduras
• Filler: Honduras
• Length: 5 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Shape: Round
• MSRP: $7.50 (Pack of 4, $30/Pack of 5, $37.50/Box of 25, $187.50)
• Release Date: June 2026
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

Reddish-brown wrappers cover all three of the Zino Honduras Robusto cigars. While the first cigar features plenty of oil and is silky smooth to the touch, the wrappers on the other two cigars are significantly rougher and have less oil present. Each cigar has some light mottling, and they are all extremely firm when squeezed. There are veins visible on each cigar, but only the first one has one that protrudes enough to take notice of. A sweet but generic nuttiness leads the aromas emanating from the wrappers, followed by pepper, leather, tea leaves, earth, barnyard and creamy woodiness. A smell that reminds me of brewed sweet tea is the strongest scent coming from foot of the first and second cigars, while the last cigar has a strong nutmeg note, followed by dry straw, dark chocolate, and oak. After straight cuts, the cold draws bring flavors of creamy oak, coffee grounds, raisin sweetness, earth, baker’s spices, and leather tack.

All three cigars start with a blast of maple syrup sweetness, black pepper, and a touch of spice, but after about 10 puffs, the profiles diverge slightly. The first and third cigars feature main flavors of toasted sourdough bread and oak, along with secondary flavors of almonds, plain oatmeal, cocoa nibs, earth and light cinnamon. The second cigar has a combination of roasted peanuts and earth, followed by coffee beans, cinnamon, chalk, oak, creamy leather, and a slight vegetal note. All three cigars feature a bitter espresso note on the finish to varying degrees, while the retrohales feature a combination of light red pepper and brown sugar sweetness. Flavor ends the first third at full, the body hits a point about halfway between mild and medium, and the strength lands at a solid medium. When it comes to construction, the burn lines are a bit wavier than I would like, but they never came close to needing correcting, while the draw resistance and smoke production are excellent.

During the second third, main flavors of creamy almonds and oak take over the top spots in the profile. At various points, secondary flavors of cinnamon, earth, pencil lead, creamy hay, potato chips and dark chocolate show up; right around the halfway point of the second and third cigars, a new mineral salinity shows up on my lips. The retrohale still features black pepper and bready graham cracker sweetness, but the combination is slightly more distinct in the first cigar, and the same bitter espresso note from the first third lingers on the finish for all three cigars. Flavor remains at full, the body increases to a point just under the medium mark and the strength stays put at a solid medium. Both the second and third cigars run into burn issues that need correction with my lighter—see more below in the Final Notes—but the third cigar’s burn line is nice and straight, while the smoke production and draws continue to be excellent.

Just after the final third begins, a massive raisin sweetness shows up in the third cigar out of nowhere, and it combines extremely well with the main flavors of oak and cocoa nibs along with secondary notes of earth, leather, toasted bread, cinnamon and creamy nuttiness. The other two cigars feature a combination of roasted peanuts and creamy oak, followed by sourdough bread, dry hay, espresso, leather and baker’s spices. The notes on both the retrohales and finishes have not changed, but the amount of mineral salinity has decreased significantly. Flavor ends at full, the body ends at a point south of medium, and the strength remains firmly at a solid medium. Thankfully, the burn issues from the second and third are a thing of the past, and there are zero construction problems on any of the cigars.

Final Notes

• Since I happened to be the one who also reviewed the Zino Nicaragua—albeit in a smaller vitola—I thought I would point out some of the differences between the two blends. The profile of the Zino Nicaragua is both sweeter and slightly stronger—even in the smaller vitola, it tops out a bit higher than meidm—while I found that the Zino Honduras has more of the mineral salinity on my lips. Interestingly, one of the main flavors in the Zino Nicaragua was a creamy cedar note, while the Zino Honduras features a main flavor of creamy oak.
• The exact same three vitolas that make up this line are also available in the company’s Zino Nicaragua line, which debuted in 2021.
• Speaking of the Zino Nicaragua, the Half Corona vitola took 11th place in halfwheel’s Top 25 last year.

• The construction on the first cigar was excellent from the first puff to the last. At about the halfway point, my second cigar ran into a fairly significant problem—see the photograph above—that required three separate corrections. However, that was the only time the second cigar had any issues requiring correction.
• Unlike the Zino Nicagura, the half-corona vitola cigars are not available in the U.S., which is unfortunate.
• I really love the tins these Robustos are packaged in: they are extremely portable, easy to slip into a pocket.
• Davidoff of Geneva USA advertises on halfwheel.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.

• These cigars are listed as being 5 x 54 vitolas. Above are the measurements we took when we measured them.
• The final smoking time averaged out to one hour and 38 minutes for all three cigars. The Davidoff website claims this cigar has a smoking time of 35-50 minutes. That seems extremely quick to me, but Davidoff has absurdly quick smoking time recommendations and we at halfwheel have what many of you consider to be absurdly slow smoking times.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Zino Honduras Robusto cigars, site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Cigars Daily, Cigars Direct, Corona Cigar Co. and Small Batch Cigar sell them on their respective websites.

Davidoff (Company)
Diadema Cigars de Honduras S.A.
Honduras
Zino
Zino Honduras
Zino Honduras Robusto