Room101 17th Anniversary Review

What Makes the Room101 17th Anniversary Different?

Room101 could have taken an existing blend, changed the band and called it an anniversary cigar.

They didn’t.

The 17th Anniversary is built entirely around Nicaraguan tobacco and produced with AJ Fernandez, giving this release a clear identity of its own.

Wrapper. Nicaragua.

Binder. Nicaragua.

Filler. Nicaragua.

Simple on paper. Much more interesting once fire gets involved.

Room101 also kept the release focused with a single 6 x 52 Toro format instead of stretching the blend across a huge assortment of sizes.

Room101 17th Anniversary Flavor Profile

Manufacturer-stated flavor profile: Room101 describes the 17th Anniversary as a richer, fuller smoking experience with
pepper and spice appearing early before darker characteristics begin to develop.

Think along the lines of:

• Pepper
• Earth
• Dark chocolate
• Roasted espresso
• Rich Nicaraguan tobacco

Dark. Spicy. Roasted.

This isn’t positioned as a quiet Connecticut cigar you forget about halfway through.

It has some weight behind it.

Flavor perception naturally varies from smoker to smoker, but the direction here is pretty clear: darker tobacco character with spice and some muscle behind it.

Tom’s Take

What I like about the Room101 17th Anniversary is that the cigar actually has a reason to exist beyond the anniversary printed on the box.

Room101 went with a focused 6 x 52 Toro, an all-Nicaraguan tobacco recipe and AJ Fernandez production. That’s a combination that should immediately get the attention of smokers who already enjoy richer Nicaraguan cigars.

The presentation works, too.

Purple everywhere. Floral artwork. Bold Room101 branding.

You aren’t going to mistake this box for anything else in the humidor.

And that’s Room101.

A little strange. A little loud.

In a good way.

Strength and Smoking Style

The Room101 17th Anniversary is intended to deliver a full-bodied smoking experience, putting it toward the stronger side of the Room101 lineup.

If your usual cigar is mild and creamy, this probably isn’t where I’d start.

But if you regularly reach for Nicaraguan tobacco with pepper, earth, espresso and darker flavors?

Different story.

This one deserves a look.

Room101 17th Anniversary vs. Room101 15th Anniversary

Same anniversary family.

Not the same cigar.

That’s one of the things that makes the Room101 Anniversary Series interesting. These aren’t simply identical cigars with a different number printed on the band.

The Room101 15th Anniversary was also built around Nicaraguan tobacco but leaned more toward a medium-bodied profile.

The 17th moves farther into full-bodied territory.

More intensity.

More punch.

Another interpretation of what a Room101 anniversary cigar can be.

That’s how an anniversary series should work.

Who Should Try the Room101 17th Anniversary?

Nicaraguan tobacco fans.
Especially smokers who prefer richer and spicier profiles.

Fuller-bodied cigar smokers.
This isn’t designed to be the mildest cigar sitting in your humidor.

AJ Fernandez fans.
The production partnership alone makes the release interesting.

Room101 collectors.
Anniversary releases don’t stick around like regular-production cigars.

Anyone looking for something different.
Because predictable has never really been the Room101 thing.

Is the Room101 17th Anniversary Worth Trying?

For the right smoker, yes.

Room101 and AJ Fernandez already make an interesting combination before you even get to the limited-edition part.

Add an all-Nicaraguan blend, the practical 6 x 52 Toro format and a fuller profile, and the cigar has a pretty obvious audience.

This isn’t a release trying to please everybody.

Good.

Anniversary cigars shouldn’t have to.

Final Verdict

The Room101 17th Anniversary cigar feels appropriately Room101.

Bold presentation.

Serious Nicaraguan tobacco.

Limited production.

And enough personality to keep it from becoming just another anniversary cigar sitting on the shelf.

If you already enjoy Room101, this is an anniversary release worth paying attention to.

Never smoked Room101 before, but fuller Nicaraguan cigars are already your thing?

Not a bad place to jump in.

Seventeen years later.

Still Room101.