Island Lifestyle (The Cigar Accessory Branch of Tommy Bahama) cigars are hand-made from aged tobaccos of Nicaragua and Connecticut. They use Cuban seed filler and binder grown in Nicaragua. They are said to be a full flavor experience ranging from smooth and creamy to rich and spicy. These cigars are offered in three different wrappers, Sun Grown, Maduro, and Connecticut. Today we are reviewing the Sun Grown, which is medium-full body and all Nicaraguan tobacco aged a minimum of 5 years.
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.
Island Lifestyle Aged Reserve Cigars are packaged in limited edition collector’s ceramic jars. Each jar contains 25 Aged Reserve Toro 6X54 cigars. Each cigar is available in bundles for retail replenishment or bundle sale. Bundles contain 25 cigars. The MSRP of a single cigar is $11.00 and a Jar, $275.00.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 54
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sun Grown
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Factory: Undisclosed
Blender: Undisclosed
Number of reviewers: 5 – Ryan H. (Ryan H.) Mickey T. (irratebass) Adam B. (Bushboy) Eric (smalls29) Dave W. (mdwest)
Price: $9.95
Age:
Release Date:
Contributed by: Island Lifestyle Import
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 90
“A nice looking cigar. The wrapper has an oily sheen to it and the stick has good lines. If it smokes half as well as it looks, this will be a good cigar.” –Dave W. (mdwest)
Aroma: 88
“Rosemary is the aroma I am detecting pre light. It has a semi-sweet scent that reminds me of the Fall.” –Eric (smalls29)
First Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Nothing on the cold draw, this has me concerned . I am picking up some leather, wood and earthy flavors early on, but no spice. On the retro I get some cream and a dash of honey. It’s starting to dry out my mouth. A nice creaminess coats my tongue & lips at the end of the first.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“First third proved to be fantastic. Creamy and nutty flavors definitely took center stage. Burn is extremely impressive. Smoke output is perfect and the smoke is nice and cool as I would expect from a toro of this ring gauge. Very short finish that is slightly sweet.” –Adam B. (Bushboy)
Second Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Getting some almond and walnut flavors at the beginning of the second. Mostly just nuts throughout the second, which isn’t a bad thing, and cream on the retro.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“Flavors of cherry wood dominate the finish. Imagine chewing on a raisin, and then throwing a salty cashew in your mouth. Actually, that doesn’t sound very appetizing, although the flavors are there and it is very nice. Burn has not wavered from dead nuts the entire time. This one has me salivating with enjoyment so far.” –Adam B. (Bushboy)
“Again, this has had a nice balance of flavors that have remained consistant throughout. The sweet flavor of leather long with a good dose of cinnamon makes for a nice experience. Like most cigars, it did grow bolder towards the end. However, it did’nt go bitter.” –Eric (smalls29)
“No real changes in flavor or strength were experienced with this stick from beginning to end. It started with floral and hay notes, and finished with the same.” –Dave W. (mdwest)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 90
“It was almost effortless which is how i perfer my draw” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
Burn: 93
“Never seen better. This line stayed symmetric and even throughout. Very nice.” –Adam B. (Bushboy)
Construction: 91
“No problems with construction seems to be a very well constructed cigar” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
“Just not a good combination of flavors for me, very consistant if thats what you are looking for just no interesting flavors” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
“This was a nice smoke. Not sure if it’s box worthy, but I could see buying a fiver and throwing them in the humi. Not a bad cigar at all, curious to see what this was.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“The flavors didn’t transition much, although I don’t really think they needed to. Very delicious and enjoyable. Definitely will be buying more of these. Near perfect performance, and slow cool burn throughout. Bravo.” –Adam B. (Bushboy)
“If the draw were better so would the overall rating be. I enjoyed the immediate flavr of sweet leather and then the strong cinnamon flavor. At one point I thought I detected a sweet tea taste. All in all, the flavors remained balanced throughout and never left me guessing what was coming next. Overall an enjoyable experience. Balanced, not over bearing, sweet, and flavorful. Loved it.” –Eric (smalls29)
“Overall I thought this stick was a bit monotone and a bit long of a smoke for no really noticeable transitions. That said, performance was excellent, and the flavors presented were nice. It was a good cigar that I would gladly smoke again. I would probably just seek out a smaller vitola. This would have likely been a very good cigar as a robusto.” –Dave W. (mdwest)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 90
Reviewer
Appearance
Aroma
1/3
2/3
3/3
Draw
Burn
Constr.
Overall
Experience
Ryan H.
88
85
88
83
80
92
92
90
88
Mickey T.
90
90
90
90
92
90
95
95
92
Adam B.
92
87
90
90
92
92
97
97
95
Eric
85
87
90
90
90
83
88
90
90
Dave W.
90
87
90
90
88
85
90
90
88
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.
"The flavors didn't transition much, although I don't really think they needed to. Very delicious and enjoyable. Definitely will be buying more of these. Near perfect performance, and slow cool burn throughout. Bravo." -Adam B. (Bushboy)
First Third
