Vital Stats:
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.
Vitola: Toro
Length: 6.25″
Ring Gauge: 54
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Nicaragua
Factory: La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate
Blender: Willy Herrera
Number of reviewers: 4 —– Sandeep (Djangos) Jason (bigslowrock) Aaron (aaron72) Ron (shuckins)
Price: $9.00
Contributed by: Emmett (rhetorik)
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 89
“Nice feel to it, with a good looking smooth brown wrapper.” –Ron (shuckins)
“The cigar seems well wrapped with no major flaws visible. The wrapper is slightly toothy with some visible veins running the entire length of the cigar.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
Aroma: 89
“The prelight draw and foot aroma has a nice barnyard and tobacco.” –Jason (bigslowrock)
“Pretty standard tobacco aroma from both the wrapper and the foot.” –Aaron (aaron72)
Construction: 91
“Very firm, solid, hefty feel to it. No soft spots, but one noticeable vein.” –Ron (shuckins)
“Well constructed cigar with a nice triple cap. Firm throughout.” –Jason (bigslowrock)
First Third
Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The flavors that hit me were mostly earthy flavors with a slight white pepper on the tongue. The flavors of dry grass and hay were predominate. As the third progressed, the pepper seemed to slightly increase and move to the back of the throat. There was a lot of thick white gray smoke with a perfect straight burn line. Towards the end of the first third, I could taste a slight bitterness to the tip of the tongue. The white and firm ash held on for a little over an inch before falling off.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
“A fair amount of tobacco sweetness on the pre-light draw. On the first couple of draws I got a hot spice that reminded me of those old red cinnamon hard candies. That flavor then gave way to a taste of cedar. The third finished up with some creaminess. The ash appears to be very thick, not as perforated as the ash on most other cigars. It held on for about an inch and a half.” –Aaron (aaron72)
Second Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“In the second third, there is a transition to a largely woody dominated flavor with a nice undertone of almost roasted marshmallow.” –Jason (bigslowrock)
“Cedar is not as dry, and the sweetness has faded. A taste of white pepper shows up as the cocoa and nutmeg start to get creamy with a faint whisper of leather joining the mix. The fresh cut straw aftertaste of the tobacco has faded.” –Ron (shuckins)
Final Third
Flavor: 87
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“Now I can feel a small change in flavors but mostly still the same earthy flavors predominate. Now there is a slight tobacco and leather flavor with each puff. The bitterness is more predominant and it is a little detracting to me at this point. I look to see if there is any tar build up but there is none. Towards the end, in the last inch and half the wrapper started to unravel exposing the binder. There was also a tear in the binder that popped open as the burn line hit it. I could not finish the cigar beyond the last inch because of these problems. However in the last third I am able to appreciate a slight nicotine kick.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
“A little more leather is coming through boosting the creamy level up and is kind of nice. The same cocoa and nutmeg flavors are there, but the pepper has kicked it up a notch adding a much appreciated zing to the cedary tobacco taste.”-Ron (shuckins)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 91
“The draw didn’t give me any issues.” –Aaron (aaron72)
Very smooth draw that produced clouds of smoke.” –Ron (shuckins)
Burn: 88
“The burn was a mess, it never had an even burn. It required several touch-ups and had some tunneling issues.” –Jason (bigslowrock)
“Burn was good, but I had to keep my eye on it a couple of times.” –Ron (shuckins)
Overall Experience: 89
Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body: Medium
“The cigar started off good but was very unilateral with no significant changes in flavor as it progressed. The burn and smoke were to die for and were almost perfect. The last third fell apart on me and this cigar would have scored higher if the construction had held together till the very end. Overall a good cigar.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
“The burn and draw detracted from the overall experience. With that said, I did enjoy the flavors of the cigar.” –Jason (bigslowrock)
“Overall the cigar was just ok. Not a bad cigar, but not something I would be eager to try again.” –Aaron (aaron72)
“A good middle of the day cigar, lot’s of flavor without being overpowering. If the zing I got at the end had showed up earlier, I would have scored this one higher.” –Ron (shuckins)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 82
Total Score: 89 (good)
Link to full scores and notes: Full Notes