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: Honduras
Wrapper: Sumatra Claro
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Nicaraguan, Honduran and Panamanian
Factory: Oscar Valladares Tobacco & Company
Blender: Bayron Duarte
Number of reviewers: 5 —– Ron (shuckins) Wes (SosaCub4Life) Craig (WyldKnyght) Emmett (rhetorik) Sandeep (Djangos)
Price: $11.00
Age: 3 Months
Release Date: 2014
Contributed by: Bill Bromley Cigars
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 90
“Toro sized cigar with a medium brown wrapper that seems to have a slightly bumpy surface. The veins are visible but not too prominent. No major blemishes on the surface and no discolorations. There are at least two well applied caps present.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
Aroma: 90
“Very pleasant aromas of spicy nutmeg, cedar, and grassy tobacco.” –Ron (shuckins)
First Third
Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The first puffs are quite good, spicy but not too much. The finish is pepper and cedar and lasts a long long time. Further in I’m picking up a nuttiness that works quite well with the pepper spice. Further in the cedar flavor is picking up and becoming the dominant flavor. Towards the end I start picking up a spice I don’t get very often, clove.” –Emmett (rhetorik)
“The initial third starts off with a blast of pepper that seems almost overwhelming but it only lasts for about a half inch thankfully. After this initial blast the pepper continues to persist in each puff but now the other flavors are able to come through quite nicely. There is a definite barnyardy theme to the flavors with the major being hay and wet grass. After about an inch or so more leather and some coffee are intermingling with the earthy notes. There are no issues with the draw or burn in the initial third. The smoke production is good with lots of thick creamy smoke. The ash is mottled and holds a little over an inch and half before falling off.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
Second Third
Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Cedary tasting tobacco with splashes of nutmeg move to the front and lead the way for the peppery excitement, which has a tasty little kick with it. There is a hint of fresh coffee lingering in the background, more on the retrohale, although it brings the heat when I do.” –Ron (shuckins)
“The 2nd third has started to mellow out with less spice. It has become more creamy with some sweetness. Cigar is still producing lots of great smoke, it has just started to lose some of the punch and gotten more mellow…” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)
Final Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“This third starts out with the addition of a creamy tone now. The rest of the flavors of charred oak and pepper with some baking spices continue to the end. At the nub there is a little harshness, but overall a very good third.” –Emmett (rhetorik)
“THe final third picks up from where the middle third left off with earthy notes of hay and grass. However the cigar now is getting more spicy and peppery as the third progresses. There is definite cayenne and black pepper. It is strong and coats the entire palate. There is also a mild harshness present. Luckily there was no bitterness. The pepper reaches a crescendo towards the very end making it quite stressful to smoke. Not entirely sure of the age on these sticks but I would guess that they are quite young.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 97
“No complaints about the draw nice and loose from start to finish.” –Craig (WyldKnyght)
Burn: 94
“Other than the bit of waviness at the start the burn was straight as an arrow throughout.” –Craig (WyldKnyght)
Construction: 94
“Construction was good. No relights needed and it held a nice ash as well as produced some good smoke.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)
Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Overall Experience: 89
“A decent cigar with flavors that had potential,but I think it needed more humidor time to truly blossom.” –Ron (shuckins)
“Overall this cigar wasn’t the best for me. It started off promising but then as it went on it left some weird bitter flavors in my mouth. It was well made and burned well also, just wasn’t something I enjoyed smoking.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)
“This cigar didn’t start out as great as I would have expected but definitely picked up after the first half. No big flavor changes, it was pretty much pepper from start to finish.” –Craig (WyldKnyght)
“This was a great cigar, one of the best I’ve reviewed in a while. I’m genuinely excited to find out what it was so I can buy some. The construction, burn, draw were perfect. The flavors were classic but really defined and offered enough transition to keep me interested. Not too strong, not too weak, I would recommend this to anyone. Great cigar.” –Emmett (rhetorik)
“Over all the cigar was ok. There was definite lack in the complexity with the predominant flavors being pepper and earthy notes of hay and grass. The beginning and the end were intense pepper making it a veritable pepper bomb. I think maybe sometime in a humidor might help calm these flavors. I will try this once again after some rest to see if it can improve.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 73
| Reviewer | Appearance | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ron | 90 | 92 | 90 | 90 | 92 | 93 | 95 | 88 | 90 |
| Wes | 90 | 88 | 92 | 90 | 85 | 97 | 95 | 95 | 90 |
| Craig | 90 | 88 | 85 | 88 | 90 | 97 | 93 | 90 | 88 |
| Emmett | 95 | 92 | 95 | 95 | 92 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 95 |
| Sandeep | 90 | 90 | 90 | 88 | 88 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 88 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.
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Blind Cigar Review: Bill Bromley | Butter Toro