Cigar Info – Grunt Rolls Ink Stick Oscuro Gordo
Grunt Rolls was created by U.S. Marines Jordan Guinn and Jake Moore. Based in South Carolina, the company is focused on a military theme, bringing military precision to cigar making, as well as providing cigars for troops. Through their Salute the Troops program, you can donate boxes of cigars to deployed military members. Grunt Rolls has a variety of blends ranging from flavored to premium. Today we will be looking at the Ink Stick Oscuro Gordo.
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.
Ink stick is military slang for a plain black pen. The Ink Stick Oscuro cigar comes in only one size, a 6 x 60 Gordo. The blend uses a Connecticut Broadleaf Oscuro wrapper from the Connecticut Valley, Dominican binder, and Dominican Criollo 98 and Nicaraguan Ligero filler. Their website describes this as “The perfect cigar for veteran smokers who can handle the kick!”
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Double Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 60
Country of Origin: Undisclosed
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf Oscuro
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua
Factory: Undisclosed
Blender: Undisclosed
Number of reviewers: 4 – Vance T. (Vance) Kevin A. (Kevin A.) Matt Cade (CadeTNCC) Sean F. (fullermaine)
Price: $6.95
Age: 2 Months
Release Date: 2019
Contributed by: Grunt Rolls Cigars
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 86
“Ok, this thing is big. Oily medium brown wrapper with lots of mottling. There are visible veins running throughout, as well as a few larger raised ones. The surface of the cigar also has quite a few bumps. The seams, including those for the cap, are mostly invisible.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
Aroma: 87
“The pre-light aroma has a nice note of cool, damp hay and the cold draw has a nice peppermint note right upfront which I don’t see every day but really enjoy.” –Vance T. (Vance)
First Third
Flavor: 86
Strength: Mild
Body/Complexity: Light
“The very open cold draw reveals flavors of slight mint and sweet earth. Upon setting the cigar on fire, there’s a warm but not overpowering pepper through the nose and a bold cedar note present on the draw. The smoke production off this cigar is impressive, the thick white smoke travels lazily up the body of the stogie – it’s sexy. The pepper spice dies down considerably by the one inch mark and it’s replaced by an earthy component.” –Matt Cade (CadeTNCC)
“The oak notes stick around and make it an enjoyable start.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)
Second Third
Flavor: 86
Strength: Mild-Medium
Body/Complexity: Light-Medium
“I am getting corn flakes like cereal notes in the second part of the cigar, with an undertone of grass and damp cedar. The draw is still tight, and the head of the cigar is starting to get very spongy, making the draw worse.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
“A lot of different notes on this go around. Tea notes return with hints of hickory, licorice, and black pepper. A very interesting combo.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)
Final Third
Flavor: 84
Strength: Mild-Medium
Body/Complexity: Light-Medium
“When the draw is too open, things tend to burn a bit hot and that’s, unfortunately, the case here. That hot draw now is pure cedar and mineral and the retrohale has just a faint sense, again, unfortunately, of that pepper (I wanted more) and the earthiness that was so much more prominent in the first third. Other than the too open draw, construction is good.” –Matt Cade (CadeTNCC)
“Final third gave some notes of black pepper and had a harsh charred wood note to it. There was a faint hint of coffee as well. The draw improved slightly towards the end but was still quite tight.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
Overall Impressions – Grunt Rolls Ink Stick Oscuro Gordo
Draw: 83
“The draw is too open for my taste and this caused the cigar to burn very hot in the final third.” –Matt Cade (CadeTNCC)
Burn: 87
“Slight touch up was needed at the beginning, but a nice even burn with a dark gray flowering ash. Once the flowering ash left, it mixed in with white ash.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)
Construction: 85
“The overall construction was good, although a wide-open draw cost this cigar some points.” –Matt Cade (CadeTNCC)
Overall Strength: Mild-Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Light-Medium
Experience Overall: 83
“Tried multiple times to light and re-light but it wasn’t happening. Very unpleasant.” –Vance T. (Vance)
“I am not a fan of large ring cigars. If they deliver a favorable experience, I will give them a go from time to time. This is a cigar I will steer clear of, as it did not deliver in the flavor or enjoyment department at all for me.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
“I wish this cigar hadn’t burned so hot towards the end because it had some pleasant things going for it. But instead, we get bold cedar and a mineral-heavy, peppery retrohale through the finish line. It’s a good cigar, not a great cigar, and there’s certainly a place in the market for good things at a good price point.” –Matt Cade (CadeTNCC)
“What started out as a good cigar ended poorly. Enjoyed the variety of notes that came through. Towards the end, the wrapper split and unraveled. Draw became hard and the cigar became spongy. Touch-up was needed at the beginning and two re-lights were needed at the end. A 50/50 cigar. Never know which half will be enjoyable.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 84
| Reviewer | Appear. | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall Experience |
| Vance T. | 85 | 92 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 70 |
| Kevin A. | 87 | 85 | 83 | 80 | 80 | 78 | 87 | 85 | 83 |
| Matt Cade | 87 | 87 | 87 | 90 | 85 | 85 | 87 | 87 | 87 |
| Sean F. | 85 | 87 | 87 | 87 | 87 | 85 | 85 | 83 | 80 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.