Blind Cigar Review: Don Lopez | El Toro

Vital Stats:

Vitola: Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Filler: Nicaraguan, Dominican and Honduran
Factory: Tabacalera Hernandez Cantillo SA
Blender: Undisclosed
Number of reviewers: 5—–Robert (NavyPiper) Jason H. (Jokey Smurf) Gregg (McGreggor57) Dave (mdwest) Sandeep (Djangos)
Price: $7.00
Age: 1 Month
Release Date: September 2013
Contributed by: Don Lopez Cigars

Initial Impressions

Appearance: 88

“Well made torpedo with a dark chocolate brown wrapper. Slightly toothy with some veins. The surface is mostly smooth with some bumps. No discolorations.” –Sandeep (Djangos)

Aroma: 94

“Hay and faint chocolate followed by a nice cedar on the cold draw.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)

First Third

Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“This cigar lit easily and immediately began putting out a ton of rich smoke. The first flavors were woody, reminding me of an oak fire. There was a bit of spice tingle on my tongue and some pepper on the retrohale. The smoke is oily and leaves my palate feeling slick. The flavors are smooth and very enjoyable for this third.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)

Light grasses with very little spice on the initial retrohales. There is a surprising orange zest the pops up and a faint creamy chocolate that lingers on the palate. The draw is a bit tight and as this third winds down the flavors remain unchanged.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)

Second Third

Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“As I progressed into the second third, the flavor of walnuts is still the dominant flavor. The smoky tobacco has toned down some and began picking up some leather in the mix. Not bad at all as flavors gel nicely. No spice or pepper detected in this third.” –Robert (NavyPiper)

“The pepper begins to fade from the finish a little bit into the second third, but leather and hay remain the primary flavors presented in the smoke. The strength starts to ramp up a little bit in the second third and we move from medium to a little closer to the medium-full range by the time the second third is finished.” –Dave (mdwest)

Final Third

Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium

“The final third of this cigar has the espresso flavor deepening and the cream fading away. The wood note has remained throughout the whole cigar but has never been overpowering or unpleasant. Surprisingly, the smoke has warmed a bit but there is no bitterness. After slowing down my puffs, the cigar cooled and the creamy flavor returned…I like it!” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)

“The final third is more of the middle third with the leather as the prominent flavor. There is more tobacco and some nutmeg like flavor. However, the nuttiness that I enjoyed in the initial third is not present. The cigar is definitely getting stronger now. The burn seems to have straightened out well. No issues with the draw or the smoke production. Mostly a pleasant smoke but definitely lacking in the complexity.” –Sandeep (Djangos)

Overall Impressions

Draw: 90

“From lighting to the end, the draw was very nice. Not too hard and not too easy.” –Robert (NavyPiper)

Burn: 87

“One minor touch up was required at about the half way point, but this very well could have been due to the high winds I was experiencing while sitting on the beach enjoying this smoke. Other than that, the burn was very good from start to finish.” –Dave (mdwest)

Construction: 91

“I tried to find an area to criticize in the construction but simply could not. This cigar looks, feels and performs extremely well. The ash was bright white and only fell off when I wanted it to.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)

Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Overall Experience: 89

“Overall, it was good. Draw was really nice and the burn stayed wavy the whole time. Flavors were interesting, but can’t say it was really what I look for. Would I have another, sure, but probably wouldn’t look to load my stock with them. Seemed to burn quicker than usual.” –Robert (NavyPiper)

“This is what a medium body/strength cigar should be, in my opinion. Nice flavor, excellent performance and just a damn nice cigar to look at. This is something that I could smoke a lot of.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)

“A mild cigar that would be nice in the morning. The high humidity and tight draw hindered my smoking experience, although I can’t blame the cigar for all of the issues. While the predominate profile was somewhat one dimensional, there were some subtle flavors that added a bit of interest. I only wish there were more of them.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)

“I’d be interested to give this stick another try somewhere down the road under better conditions. This one was smoked in high heat (high 80’s) and humidity (high 80’s again) with a lot of wind. I wonder if things might have turned out differently. This was not a bad experience by any means, but I think if conditions were better it might have been a more pleasurable smoke.” –Dave (mdwest)

“The cigar was mostly a pleasant experience, but I was left wishing for more complexity. Overall, I would smoke this one again, but may not go looking for one.” –Sandeep (Djangos)

Smoking Time (in minutes): 62

Total Score: 89 (Good)

Edit

Reviewer	Appea-rance	Aroma	1/3	2/3	3/3	Draw	Burn	Constr.	Overall
Robert	88	88	88	88	88	90	85	85	88
Jason H.	95	95	92	95	95	97	97	97	95
Gregg	90	93	90	90	90	88	87	90	90
Dave	88	88	88	90	88	90	87	88	88
Sandeep	95	95	95	90	90	97	87	95	90
Overall	88	94	89	90	89	90	87	91	89

To view the complete scores and notes, click here.

Blind Cigar Review: Don Lopez | El Toro