Most tobacco grown in the U.S. in premium cigars comes from Connecticut or Pennsylvania. Recently, Kentucky has become more prominent as a cigar tobacco region, due to the addition of fire cured tobacco. Now, Florida is making its way into premium cigars.
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.
Jeff Borysiewicz is best known as the owner of Corona Cigar Co., a collection of Orlando-based retail stores that are renowned for both their cigar and alcohol collections, but he’s now found a new project: tobacco grower. In 2012, Borysiewicz planted a test crop of tobacco on his farm in Claremont, Fla. A few crops and a couple years of aging later, the tobacco, known as Florida sun grown tobacco, is starting to find its way into cigars.
The FSG blend features Florida Sun Grown tobacco as an accent tobacco, which adds nuance and depth to the blend, but also features select Nicaraguan fillers. The binder is a Habano seed tobacco from Honduras and the cigar is finished off with a lush Brazilian wrapper.
The first of these is FSG, a line of four-size regular production vitolas and one limited edition size, all produced by Drew Estate that uses the Florida tobacco in the filler. It was released in June and is available at Corona Cigar Co. as well as the Davidoff of Geneva since 1911 Tampa location, which is also owned by Borysiewicz.
Robusto (5 x 54) — $11.50 (Boxes of 20, $230), Toro (6 x 52) — $13 (Boxes of 20, $260), Belicoso (6 1/2 x 54) — $14 (Boxes of 20, $280), Sixty (6 x 60) — $15 (Boxes of 20, $300), Limited Edition Toro (6 x 54) — $15.
There will also be a Limited Edition Trunk-Pressed Toro (6 x 54) with an MSRP of $150/10ct box. This limited edition size will feature its own unique blend, which utilizes a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Mexican binder, and Florida Sungrown filler tobacco, along with fillers from Nicaragua and Honduras.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Brazilan Arapiraca Maduro
Binder: Honduran Habano
Filler: Florida Sun Grown & Nicaragua
Factory: La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate
Blender: Willy Herrera & Jeff Borysiewicz
Number of reviewers: 5 – John A. (John A.) Mickey T. (irratebass) Eric (smalls29) Dave W. (mdwest) David (dfafjf)
Price: $13.00
Age: 3 Months
Release Date: July 2017
Contributed by: Drew Estate
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 87
“A nice dark brown wrapper and a solid build.” –Eric (smalls29)
Aroma: 88
“I’m getting a nice dark baking coco smell precut. ” –David (dfafjf)
First Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Off the bat I am hit with sweet tobaccos, light roasted coffee, and tons of creaminess and nuttiness. This mixture mellows out throughout the portion of this stick with an additional subtle spiciness. Razor sharp burn, great draw and ample smoke output compliment this cigar. ” –John A. (John A.)
“The first third starts off very nicely. The smoke is smooth and creamy with no harshness to it at all. Flavors are a little lighter than expected, but what is present is very enjoyable with some mild cocoa and some bread type notes. ” –Dave W. (mdwest)
Second Third
Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“A honey sweet and peppery cedar like flavor reveal itself. Dry cocoa and almonds develop towards the back end with the creaminess and nuttiness. A great smoke so far. ” –John A. (John A.)
“A heavy walnut flavor with graham cracker & wood on the finish. ” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
Final Third
Flavor: 92
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Not a lot of change moving into the final 1/3. Flavors seem to actually mellow out and the original coco flavors picks back up. No complaints at all throughout this cigar. ” –David (dfafjf)
“A raisin like sweetness begins along with flavors of spicy chocolate. A dry maltiness profile developed toward the end this fantastic cigar. While trying not to burn my fingers finishing every bit of this delicious Cigar, sweet anise/licorice flavors satisfy the palate. ” –John A. (John A.)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 92
“Good draw, not too open and definitely not too tight, dare I say it was perfect? Nah, but it did me just right.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
Burn: 93
“This one burned nice and easy. A bit uneven but a nice burn.” –Eric (smalls29)
Construction: 95
“Excellent construction on this cigar. Great roll, even burn, wrapper is solid the whole time. ” –David (dfafjf)
“Well I had my doubts in the beginning this stick ended up being a very delicious smoke. The first third was good but then the second and then the third part of the cigar got better and better the longer it smokes, eventually not bring it down to nearly nothing. Definitely box worthy, go out and buy it now!” –John A. (John A.)
“This actually turned out to be a really good smoke, ok fine it was an amazing smoke, lots of dirty, earthy flavors then walnuts and graham cracker sneaked in. Very curious to see what this was, so i can get some more. ” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“A very nice start but a sad ending. The old fasion taste and smell were ncie. The black licorice was anice with notes of spices and wood added to the experience. However, as time went on, the black licorice became the dominant flavor but soon turned bitter and sour. Even the aroma went sour. NOt a good end in my opinion.” –Eric (smalls29)
“While a bit uni-dimensional for a larger vitola for me, I think this cigar would probably be stellar in a robusto or corona format. I’d definitely be interested in giving it another try in a shorter smoke size. ” –Dave W. (mdwest)
“I really enjoyed the dark bitter coco flavors that were found throughout this cigar. This cigar only improved the more I smoked it. Not very complex but all the flavors really impressed. ” –David (dfafjf)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 78
Reviewer
Apr
Aro
1/3
2/3
3/3
Draw
Burn
Const
Ovr
All
John A.
87
90
92
92
95
97
100
97
95
Mickey T.
87
88
88
90
90
88
95
95
90
Eric
87
88
88
88
85
88
90
90
88
Dave W.
85
88
90
90
90
95
90
93
90
David
95
95
92
92
92
92
95
95
95
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.
"Well I had my doubts in the beginning this stick ended up being a very delicious smoke. The first third was good but then the second and then the third part of the cigar got better and better the longer it smokes, eventually not bring it down to nearly nothing. Definitely box worthy, go out and buy it now!" -John A. (John A.)
