T The Hiram & Solomon brand is run by Fouad Kashouty and George Dakrat’s and is a relatively small production company. The company makes a variety of lines, all Masonic themed. Today we are reviewing the Hiram & Solomon | Entered Apprentice Toro.
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.
The Entered Apprentice was released in 2015 and comes from the Placencia S.A. factory in Nicaragua.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade
Binder: Connecticut Shade
Filler: Habano Ometepe, Pennsylvania, Paraguay
Factory: Placencia S.A.
Blender: Undisclosed
Number of reviewers: 5 – Mickey T. (irratebass) Ryan H. (Ryan H.) John A. (Bostoneo) Isaac M. (The Nothing) Dave W. (mdwest)
Price: $9.75
Age: 5 Months
Release Date: Unknown
Contributed by: Hiram & Solomon Cigars
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 93
“This cigar sported a great oily sheen on top of a wrapper that already had a nicely golden hue. Veins were minimal at most and the seams were obvious. ” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Aroma: 91
“On the body I get a faint sweet syrupy aroma with cedar and some nuts. On the nose I get heavy molasses. ” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
Flavor: 91
Strength: Mild-Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Using my v-cut I pick up lots of cedar and some salt mixed in on the cold draw. The cigar starts out with lost of cream, wood and an undertone of spice to really balance it out. The retro is very smooth mostly wood up front and cream to follow. This is right in the mild to medium wheelhouse so far.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“Starts out very light in strength, even though it is light it is packed full of flavor and very unique at that bourbon creamed coffee draw is near perfect burn is performing very well also” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
“Not much change in the flavor profile. Still getting plenty of cream, and wood. The cigar is
burning nice and slow, but the ash is a bit flaky…….no complaints. ” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“The cigar provides a slightly oily mouthfeel which compliments the herbal and floral flavor profile well. Not much change is noted in the second third other than flavors are a little bit less bold now than they were in the first third. ” –Dave W. (mdwest)
“All coffee becomes absent leaving only cream and honey.” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
“The last bit ends in similar tastes of wood, leather and cream. No changes in complexity here, but a solid tasty cigar that has been a delight to enjoy.” –John A. (Bostoneo)
“Really no room for improvement here. The draw was simply excellent. ” –Dave W. (mdwest)
Burn: 93
“The burn was solid from start to finish. Once lit, the lighter went into my pocket and remained there the rest of the night. ” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Construction: 89
“Zero performance problems were experienced while smoking this cigar. The stick was aesthetically, and required no attention at all while smoking. Obviously well built. ” –Dave W. (mdwest)
Overall Strength: Mild-Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Experience Overall: 90
“This was a good cigar if you want something to begin your day with a cup of Joe. It really didn’t have too many flavor complexities to hold or catch my attention. There was plenty of wood, cream and some spice, but that was about it. I would like to try this cigar again, but in a corona or robusto size. ” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“Its not often that i have an extraordinary cigar experience especially with a cigar as light as this. I would buy boxes of this cigar and always have some laying around to smoke.” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
“Overall this was a pretty darn tasty cigar! Light and medium in body/strength, it offered a flavor profile that was quite enjoyable, however it lacked complexity as it’s own con. Again I want to stress this was a good cigar though! The only other qualm I had was that it didn’t hold ash very well at all as I got bombed quite a few times! Buy some!” –John A. (Bostoneo)
“For somebody who’s into mild cigars this would be a solid choice. It has a good nutty flavor to it that would accompany a nice mild, low acidity coffee first thing in the morning. Beyond that I don’t see that it has enough flavor to really satisfy anybody that’s really into the the medium to full-bodied cigar.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
“I’m not a huge fan of “big” cigars. Neither large ring gauge or smokes longer than about 5″ are appealing to me very often. This cigar was an exception though. It provided a pleasant smoking experience and was something I would gladly smoke again in the future. I’m betting if I tried it in a robusto or a corona I would have liked it even more. ” –Dave W. (mdwest)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 95
Reviewer
Apr
Aro
1/3
2/3
3/3
Draw
Burn
Const
Ovr
All
Mickey T.
95
90
88
88
85
90
95
92
88
Ryan H.
93
95
92
90
88
95
95
95
97
John A.
93
92
92
90
90
100
100
88
92
Isaac M.
93
90
88
88
88
85
93
88
90
Dave W.
88
90
92
90
90
95
90
90
90
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.
"This was a good cigar if you want something to begin your day with a cup of Joe. It really didn't have too many flavor complexities to hold or catch my attention. There was plenty of wood, cream and some spice, but that was about it. I would like to try this cigar again, but in a corona or robusto size. " -Mickey T. (irratebass)
