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: 54
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Factory: TABSA
Blender: Undisclosed
Number of reviewers: 4—–Ron (shuckins) Wes (SosaCub4Life) Jiunn (jliu) Gregg (McGreggor57)
Price: $6.92
Age: 3 Months
Release Date: August 2014
Contributed by: Casa Fernandez
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 96
“Absolutely gorgeous Colorado red wrapper. Great soft press, no major visible veins, neatly applied triple cap. I’m a total sucker for the semi closed foot and pig tail cap.” –Jiunn (jliu)
Aroma: 90
“A sweet cedar with spicy nutmeg and a faint cocoa smell.” –Ron (shuckins)
First Third
Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“First third flavors mainly consist of gritty earth, minerality, almonds blending nicely with a semi-sweet cream, vegetal notes and white pepper. Through the retrohale, the white pepper becomes more dominate, and a backdrop of cedar is detected. Towards the end of the first third, the cigar has quickly ramped up to a medium-full strength.” –Jiunn (jliu)
“The flavor of black pepper along with an earthiness and oak begin this cigar. Leather and a little toast is keeping this third very smooth. A faint coffee on the finish compliments the profile and really rounds out the flavors.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)
Second Third
Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The cedar lost what little sweetness it started off with but moved to the front as the pepper faded. This allowed the nutmeg flavor to shine a bit more. The cigar kept a gentle kick throughout the second third.” –Ron (shuckins)
“The spice has almost completely disappeared with just a slight hint on the retro. The stick has become rather mild in flavor. It is still producing lots of smoke and is enjoyable, just not as good as the first third was. The burn line is still off but going into the last third, it seems to have started to correct itself some.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)
Final Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Peppery nutmeg with a splash of almost creamy cocoa flavors move to the front as the cigar reaches the final third. The cedar has turned dry tasting as it picks up a light oak accompaniment that brings a little heat with it at the very end along with a boost in strength.” –Ron (shuckins)
“The baking spices are beginning to mature in this third. Leather and faint coffee lend a creaminess to the smoke. The wrapper is bursting a little, but the binder is still solid.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 97
“This fantastic drawing cigar made it easy to get the tasty smoke it produced.” –Ron (shuckins)
Burn: 90
“Overall, a good burner. Despite the wonky burn at times, there was never a need to touch up.” –Jiunn (jliu)
Construction: 90
“The ash held on great and the cigar produced lots of smoke. Besides the burn being off, I had no problems.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)
Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Overall Experience: 92
“A fun cigar to smoke, with flavors that excite the palate. I would like to smoke another one of these soon.” –Ron (shuckins)
“When I first started this cigar, I thought I was going to love it, and I did, but as it went on it just left what I enjoy the most. The very nice spice at the beginning all but left and it turned somewhat bitter towards the end. Other than the burn line being off for most of the smoke, the stick itself was made well and smoked well. Just not in my flavor profile I prefer.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)
“Fair cigar. The first third showed lots of promise, but unfortunately was a let down for the remaining smoking experience. I enjoyed the interplay of nuts and sweet cream (one of my all time favorite combinations). The medium-full strength and the unclean finish of gritty, earthiness was less desired. I’m going on a limb and say this is a Casa Fernandez cigar based on the flavors and finish, the semi closed foot and pig tail cap.” –Jiunn (jliu)
“The flavors and spice levels were very well balanced. Most of the changes were subtle yet noticeable. What I appreciated most was how smooth the cigar smoked. This was a relatively mild cigar but offered up some great flavors. Definitely a stick I would grab again.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)
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Smoking Time (in minutes): 75
| Reviewer | Appearance | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ron | 93 | 92 | 88 | 88 | 90 | 97 | 90 | 92 | 90 |
| Wes | 97 | 97 | 95 | 90 | 90 | 97 | 90 | 95 | 92 |
| Jiunn | 100 | 85 | 88 | 88 | 83 | 95 | 88 | 85 | 85 |
| Gregg | 95 | 88 | 92 | 92 | 90 | 90 | 92 | 88 | 92 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.
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