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: Double Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 60
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Maduro
Binder: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Filler: Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacalera Hernandez Cantillo SA
Blender: Undisclosed
Number of reviewers: 5—–Ron (shuckins) Craig (WyldKnyght) Robert (NavyPiper) Dave (mdwest) Emmett (rhetorik)
Price: $9.00
Age: 3 Months
Release Date: December 2013
Contributed by: Don Lopez Cigars
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 88
“Appearance is decent, but has some issues. It’s dark brown, and measures at 6X60. Wrapper has a number of wrinkles, as well as some raised ridges running its length along with a few lumps and bumps. Seams are tight, and the head is flat with a short rounded shoulder.” –Robert (NavyPiper)
Aroma: 90
“The wrapper and foot are very nutty with a little oak. The pre-light draw is a little musty with a hint of leather.” –Emmett (rhetorik)
First Third
Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“This cigar started out with flavors of pepper and nuttiness. As it went along, I got cinnamon on the back of my throat. There was lots of thick creamy smoke. The ash was a flaky.” –Craig (WyldKnyght)
“The first thing I noticed when getting this stick started wasn’t the flavor, but instead the unusually high amount of smoke being generated and how smooth and creamy it was. The flavor profile included lots of dark earth with a bit of nuttiness on the finish.” –Dave (mdwest)
Second Third
Flavor: 86
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“I’m in the second third and not a whole lot of change from the first. Still has that harsh smoky tobacco, but it’s also getting a bit bitter. Additionally there’s a hint of baking spices in the background. Touched up the burn twice now, and it’s still going wonky on me.” –Robert (NavyPiper)
“The flavors have improved a little and become more complex, but still nothing to write home about. I’m getting a few more spices with the addition of red pepper. The wood flavors have transformed into more of a grass/hay flavor. The burn continues to be awful. Towards the end of the third, not much has changed at all.” –Emmett (rhetorik)
Final Third
Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Peppery wood and coffee laced with allspice gives the cigar a pretty good kick as it nears the end. The leather flavor fades to the background as it is overcome by the peppery wood.” –Ron (shuckins)
“Not much, if any, change in profile from the second to the final third. The stick remains pretty mild to light in strength and the primary flavors continue to be leather and nuts.” –Dave (mdwest)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 89
“I’m giving the draw a ‘good’, even though it was a tad too loose for me, but not so loose that you couldn’t get to draw.” –Robert (NavyPiper)
Burn: 84
“No touch ups were ever required, but the burn line never was quite straight or even either. The ash was extremely flaky and rarely held on much more than 1″ before falling off on its own in the ash tray.” –Dave (mdwest)
Construction: 88
“Medium firm feel, and a lot lighter than it looks.” –Ron (shuckins)
Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Overall Experience: 87
“An easy smoking cigar, just a little harsh with too much heat at times.” –Ron (shuckins)
“The cigar was very good, with a few different flavor changes. There was a slight burn issue, but nothing to worry about. For a large cigar it burned pretty quick.” –Craig (WyldKnyght)
“This cigar really didn’t trip my trigger. I didn’t care much for the flavor, and there wasn’t much in way of changes. If I could’ve, I would have let it go in the second third. Someone else may love it, but it just wasn’t my kind of stogie.” –Robert (NavyPiper)
“The flavor profile was nice, but was a bit more muted than I would have liked. More defined or bold flavors would have certainly been appreciated. Not by any means a bad experience, but not one that really wowed me in any way either. Not sure I would be interested in giving this one another go anytime soon.” –Dave (mdwest)
“This was not one that I enjoyed. I hope my experience was different from the others and mine was a fluke, but this cigar just had nothing going for it. The flavors were boring and at times hard to take, the burn and draw were really bad and it was pretty ugly. Sadly, I cannot recommend this cigar, and don’t see myself trying this again, unless my review was way off from the others.” –Emmett (rhetorik)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 85
Total Score: 87 (Fair)
| Reviewer | Appea-rance | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ron | 90 | 90 | 88 | 87 | 88 | 92 | 87 | 90 | 87 |
| Craig | 90 | 92 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 92 | 87 | 90 | 90 |
| Robert | 85 | 88 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 88 | 75 | 85 | 85 |
| Dave | 88 | 90 | 90 | 87 | 90 | 85 | 85 | 88 | 87 |
| Emmett | 83 | 90 | 83 | 85 | 75 | 80 | 70 | 83 | 83 |
| Overall | 88 | 90 | 88 | 86 | 88 | 89 | 84 | 88 | 87 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.