Room101 Johnny Tobacconaut Maduro Robusto

In 2015, Room101—then an independent brand distributed by Davidoff—announced a new limited edition line with the memorable name Johnny Tobacconaut, which featured a brand icon of an astronaut holding a small shovel and wearing a backpack with some tobacco leaves. The first release was a Nicaraguan puro that consisted of three different perfecto vitolas, made at the Camacho factory in Honduras.

Six years later, a couple of years after Room101 had left the Davidoff distribution agreement, and a new AJ Fernandez-made Room101 Johnny Tobacconaut cigar was released as an exclusive release for Luxury Cigar Club. Less than a year later, in mid-2022, Room101 was purchased by Scandinavian Tobacco Group.

In 2023, another AJ Fernandez-made Johnny Tobacconaut appeared, this time, using a Connecticut-seed wrapper and offered to stores nationwide. That cigar went on to finish #3 on halfwheel’s Top 25 of 2023. Last year marked the 10th anniversary of the first Johnny Tobacconaut, which, of course, called for an anniversary cigar.

Earlier this year, Room101 announced yet another addition to the line, the Johnny Tobacconaut Maduro. As the name suggests, the newest blend is covered in a maduro wrapper. Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A. is producing the blend, which is made entirely of Nicaraguan tobacco.

The line debuted with three different sizes, all packaged in 20-count boxes:

• Johnny Tobacconaut Maduro Robusto (5 x 50) — $10.29 (Box of 20, $205.80)
• Johnny Tobacconaut Maduro Toro (6 x 52) — $11.39 (Box of 20, $227.80)
• Johnny Tobacconaut Maduro Gordo (6 x 60) — $12.49 (Box of 20, $249.80)

“Time brings lessons nothing else can teach – and in time we have evolved our beloved Johnny Tobacconaut into a sensational maduro variant which I believe is the most appropriate evolutionary step for this series in our evergreen effort to spread this cosmic brand across this beautiful planet of ours,” said Matt Booth, founder and creative strategist of Room101 Cigars, in a press release.

Boxes of the Room101 Johnny Tobacconaut Maduro started shipping to retailers on June 5.

• Cigar Reviewed: Room101 Johnny Tobacconaut Maduro Robusto
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A. 
• Wrapper: Nicaragua (Maduro)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 5 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Shape: Round
• MSRP: $10.29 (Box of 20, $205.80)
• Release Date: June 5, 2026
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

Despite their smaller size, visually, the cigars are a bit intimidating: the wrappers are an extremely dark brown color with plenty of mottling—especially on the first cigar—but very little oil present. I can also easily see numerous massive, protruding veins and bumps on each cigar. Thanks to an abundance of tooth, the wrappers are exceedingly rough to the touch and all three cigars are very firm when squeezed. Interestingly, the feet of the cigars are all very different shapes—more on that below in the Final Notes—and the second cigar has a large soft spot just under its secondary band. Aromas from the wrappers are led by sweet barnyard, followed by notes of black pepper, dark fruity sweetness, dank earth, sawdust and leather. The feet bring scents of cocoa nibs, earth, leather tack, breadiness and raisin sweetness. After straight cuts, the cold draws have flavors of tea leaves, dark chocolate, malt, dark fruity sweetness, black pepper, earth and a generic but creamy nuttiness.

A significant amount of spice and black pepper start the cigars off, along with an anise flavor that, while strong at first, almost immediately recedes. Within five puffs, main flavors of rich espresso and cocoa nibs take over the profiles of all three cigars, followed by secondary notes of gritty earth, leather, dried tea leaves, burnt bread, anise and cedar. On the retrohales, there is plenty of black pepper, but not enough to overwhelm the wonderful fudgy sweetness present in all three cigars. There is also an interesting note on the finish that reminds me of fresh potting soil, although it is strongest on the second cigar. Flavor ends the first third at full, while both the body and strength stick together at a solid medium. So far, there are zero construction issues and the excellent resistance on the draws is the standout.

Around the time that the second third begins, the flavors in the profiles change up quite a bit, as a combination of charred meat and anise takes over the top spot in the first and second cigars, while the third cigar sticks with the same combination of espresso and cocoa nibs from the first third. The amounts of spice and black pepper have dropped noticeably—in both the profile and on the retrohale—which allows me to discern a new blackberry sweetness on the retrohale for the first and second cigars, while the fudge note remains on the third cigar. Additional flavors include baking spices, mulch, leather tack, burnt bread, creamy almonds, and cedar. The finish for the first and second cigars has also changed to a lemongrass note, more lemony on the first and more grassy on the second. Flavor remains at full, but the body has increased to a point just over medium and the strength increases enough to land at medium-plus. The only construction issue is that the burn on my second cigar wavers enough to need a quick correction with my lighter.

The combination of charred meatiness and anise has taken over the profiles of all three cigars, followed by secondary notes of salted nuts, dark chocolate, gritty earth, toasted bread, cedar and leather tack. On the finish, there is a new cinnamon note, and while it is not all that strong on two of the cigars, it is very obvious in the second cigar. The amount of black pepper in the retorhales continues to recede, while the blackberry sweetness has become slightly stronger, especially on the second cigar. Flavor ends at full, the body ends at medium-plus and the strength makes it to the higher end of medium-full. Once again, a single burn correction is needed to keep things on track—this time in the third cigar—but the smoke production remains high and the draws continue to be problem-free.

Final Notes

• While there is absolutely some noticeable body and strength to the blend, it never hit full for me in this vitola.

• As mentioned above, these cigars had some pretty gnarly veins. In addition, the feet of the three cigars look more rectangular or oval-pressed, even though the caps are circular. After he weighed and measured the cigars, Charlie wrote a note, “The appearance of these cigars is probably not what STG wants us to be reviewing, nor what the company would use for a press photo.”
• Having said the above, I don’t think the look of the cigars was bad enough to warrant taking off points when it comes to the visual appeal.
• I have always loved the logo for this line: the image of an astronaut proudly striding while carrying a shovel—along with tobacco leaves sticking out of his backpack—is playful and memorable without going overboard. Interestingly, the first release of the cigar did not feature that logo on the bands, although it was printed on the boxes and the outer paper wrap that covered each cigar.

• Along with the above, the company had a large statue that was similar to the logo, which was displayed during the 2025 PCA Convention & Trade Show. However, that statue kept getting stolen by the Cigar Hustler crew and placed inside various other booths.
• I think this would make a nice Redux review candidate, to see if that aggressive spice and pepper combination at the first part of the first third calms down and allows a bit more nuance to emerge in that particular section of the cigar.
• STG advertises on halfwheel.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.

• These cigars are listed as being 5 x 50 vitolas. Above are the measurements we took when we measured them.
• The final smoking time averaged out to one hour and 32 minutes for all three cigars.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Room101 Johnny Tobacconaut Maduro Robusto cigars, site sponsors Cigars Daily and Small Batch Cigar sell them on their respective websites.

Nicaragua
Robusto
Room101
Room101 Johnny Tobacconaut Maduro
Room101 Johnny Tobacconaut Maduro Robusto
Scandinavian Tobacco Group
Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A.