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″
Ring Gauge: 50
Country of Origin: U.S.A.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaragua Habano
Filler: Nicaragua
Factory: G.R. Tabacaleras Unidas, S.A.
Blender: Emmett Malone
Number of reviewers: 5 —– Ron (shuckins) Aaron (aaron72) Sandeep (Djangos) Gregg (McGreggor57) Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Price: $10.00
Age: 1 Month Rest
Release Date: n/a
Contributed by: George Rico Cigars
Cigar Info
When we first broke the news about the introduction of a blend-your-own cigar kit, known as the G.A.R. Deli, last August here, I was really excited about it and thought it was a really unique and intriguing idea. After talking with them about it for a while, George and Natasha Rico were gracious enough to send me a kit to review for the site, and talk about the experience of blending a cigar using the kit, and later to have the cigar reviewed and see how my blending chops fare. You can read my review of the experience of blending this cigar here.
When blending this cigar, I was going for a medium bodied cigar with strong notes of coffee/espresso and chocolate, with an undertone of cedar and baking spices. I smoked one fresh right away and thought it was very good, but lacked the chocolate element. This seems to be pretty consistent from the reviewers experiences in this review. I have a feeling that over time, once these are no longer fresh, some of the more subtle flavors will emerge, like chocolate. I was a little worried about sending these out for review so quickly after being rolled as I didn’t want them to go into a sick phase while there were being reviewed. I was torn between sending them out right away, or waiting a few months, so I contacted Natasha and George. George said that they should be good to go, so I sent them out to the group.
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 88
“This cigar sported a medium brown wrapper leaf with very few veins and invisible seams. There was a triple cap that was nicely applied and a firm, even pack. I like the way this cigar looks.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Aroma: 93
“The cigar smells of a light coffee and mostly hay and other barnyardy aromas. The foot on the other hand is tobacco with a whiff of pepper. The dry draw definitely has coffee and some white pepper.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
First Third
Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Small blast of pepper on light up,but it toned down quickly when the taste of nutmeg moved forward. Although the cedar was pleasant tasting it was a the dry side,and had a bit of heat to it at first.” –Ron (shuckins)
“Immediately I’m greeted with extremely creamy and thick clouds of smoke…this is a nice start. The main flavors are a tickling white pepper in my nose, and a bit of allspice that lingers long after each puff.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Second Third
Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The predominant flavors of the middle third are also mostly barnyardy with hay and grass in the forefront but luckily there is some added complexity now with some woodsy component mostly cedar. There is also some nutmeg like flavor towards the end of each draw. The pepper also has picked up in this third. There is slight chemical like flavor but it is not too detracting from the experience. The burn has straightened itself out. The draw is still excellent with lots of creamy delicious smoke. Overall better than the initial third.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
“Bold coffee, oak and just enough cinnamon to give it a slight cinnamon roll flavor. This pairs very nicely with the coffee. The strength is picking up some leaving no doubt this is not a breakfast cigar the profile suggests.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)
Final Third
Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“This third is starting off with a pleasurable mineral flavor along with some creaminess. A minty aftertaste has made its way into the mix of flavors. The mineral flavor went away and came back to the oak. The minty aftertaste remainder until the cigar was done.” –Aaron (aaron72)
“This is what consistency is all about…heavy smoke output, creamy flavors, and slight transitions from the ever-present allspice to sweet vanilla, and then back to the light coffee…I’m really liking this. One special note…there is a bit of hidden strength in this final third as the nicotine ever so slightly rocks my world…not extreme, by any means, but just a little buzz…I like it!” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 91
“This cigar had the draw that I search for…and the smoke production was the proof!” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Burn: 91
“This was a cool burning and maintenance free cigar…it was easy to smoke this to under an inch!” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Construction: 91
“All in all a well constructed cigar. No soft or hard spots and the overall burn suggest nothing but quality.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)
Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Overall Experience: 91
“Overall this was a decent cigar that had a freshness about it I would be interested in seeing what some humidor time would do for this cigar.” –Ron (shuckins)
“The unappealing flavor from the first third really set the tone for this cigar. After that went away, the flavors were ok, but nothing too interesting. I hope that my sample was unique from what the others experienced. Based on what I smoked, I wouldn’t go searching for another unless others had a far more pleasurable experience.” –Aaron (aaron72)
“Overall this cigar was quite interesting. Even though quite unilateral in the flavor department with hay and dry grass predominating there were enough changes in the pepper and woodsy notes to keep my interest. However the appearance of the chemical like flavors in the last third caused me to dock some points in the end. I will definitely try this again to see if resting for a while can mellow out these flavors. Overall a pleasant and easy smoke.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
“Based on the appearance of this cigar I would have passed, assuming it was a factory second. Thankfully I was afforded the opportunity to try this one. The coffee changed to different levels as the cigar progressed and truly kept a consistent profile in place. I appreciated the different spices that changed throughout, but was a bit let down by the harsh finish. I will absolutely smoke another one when i get the chance.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)
“This was a really nice cigar! Good flavors, good performance, and a really great time! Lemme know what it is so I can get some!! Recommended to everyone.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 68
Total Score: 91 (Very Good)
| Reviewer | Appea-rance | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ron (shuckins) | 88 | 90 | 88 | 88 | 90 | 90 | 85 | 90 | 88 |
| Aaron (aaron72) | 88 | 92 | 75 | 85 | 88 | 92 | 90 | 90 | 85 |
| Sandeep (Djangos) | 95 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 90 | 97 | 90 | 92 | 92 |
| Gregg (McGreggor57) | 88 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 88 | 90 | 92 | 92 | 90 |
| Jason H. (Jokey Smurf) | 90 | 97 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 97 | 92 | 95 | 92 |
| Overall | 88 | 93 | 91 | 91 | 89 | 91 | 91 | 91 | 91 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.