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: 7″
Ring Gauge: 60
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Brazilian Maduro
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan
Factory: Undisclosed
Blender: Undisclosed
Number of reviewers: 5—–Robert (NavyPiper) Craig (WyldKnyght) Brian (B-daddy) Gregg (McGreggor57) Dave (mdwest)
Price: $8.50
Age: 3 Months
Release Date: 2009
Contributed by: Flatbed Cigar Company
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 90
“A nice, slightly mottled medium brown wrapper with just a touch of an oily sheen on it. Medium tooth and only a few prominent veins. A nice looking cigar.” –Dave (mdwest)
Aroma: 90
“A nice aroma of sweet grass with a hint of spice for pre-light aroma.” –Robert (NavyPiper)
First Third
Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Straight tobacco with some cane sugar sweetness on the draw. A touch of leather comes in on the finish. Flavors are relatively light/mild but nice. Similar to the last very large format cigar I reviewed for BMP, this is a gentle giant. Flavors are soft and tend towards the sweet side throughout the first third. Although the profile is pretty one-dimensional, I wouldn’t call it boring. I’m enjoying it. I’m smoking this in the morning after a pretty big breakfast and the strength is unremarkable.” –Brian (B-daddy)
“Mostly dark roast coffee and leather with a ground coffee bean finish on the palate. No spice to speak of on the retrohale. The draw is a bit airy so far, making it difficult to pull a lot of flavor.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)
Second Third
Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium
“After a few puffs into this third, got a good blast of pepper for a couple of minutes, drowning out everything else. Following this, the original flavors returned (tobacco and leather) as well as the spice, but again still muddy. The flavors slowly improved over the course of the third, with the mustiness/muddiness finally disappearing about half way in, with the flavors starting to become cleaner and more defined. Just prior to entering the final third, the pepper returned but no where like it was earlier.” –Robert (NavyPiper)
“Not much of a change in profile from the first to the second third. Hints of leather are now making their way in, and the pepper from the first few puffs is back, but other than that, it’s largely the same.” –Dave (mdwest)
Final Third
Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium
“This third is where the stogie came to life for me. Flavors of tobacco, leather and peppery spice are well defined, and not fighting with each other. Nice heat on the lips and tongue between puffs. This was a very enjoyable third, and really quite good.” –Robert (NavyPiper)
“In the final third, the core flavors remain the same as the previous third. The straight tobacco, slight general sweetness and a little leather are all still here on the draw. A slight bitterness, maybe like burnt toast, starts to creep into the finish. The retrohale is pretty mild and the toast flavor (scent? sensation?) is there too. At the band point, the bitterness gets stronger. No sweetness anymore. Stick and smoke stay cool to less than an inch.” –Brian (B-daddy)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 89
“Very good draw, nothing wrong with it.” –Craig (WyldKnyght)
Burn: 91
“Very good burn, pretty much even from start to finish. The ash was flaky.” –Craig (WyldKnyght)
Construction: 91
“Well built. A nicely applied cap, firmly packed throughout and no visible seams on the wrapper. This stick was put together the right way.” –Dave (mdwest)
Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Overall Experience: 88
“Overall, I’m gonna say ‘fair’, mainly because it seemed like the first two thirds suffered from multiple personality disorder. It just seemed like it couldn’t figure out what to do, or who was in charge. Cigar came to life towards the end of the second third and through the third until the end, with good clear flavors. Would I try another one, sure why not. I’d like to know if I had a fluke and see if this would be one I’d like to ad to the stable.” –Robert (NavyPiper)
“I’m sure someone likes this flavor profile, but it was not me. This cigar started out with promise, but fell well short of my expectations. Mostly from the smoked wood flavor which I disliked.” –Craig (WyldKnyght)
“The performance of this stick was really impressive. The burn/construction was top notch. The flavors were pretty one dimensional but enjoyable. I just don’t think I’d be that interested in spending 2+ hours on a cigar that was ok but not really special. If this were a 1+ hour robusto, I’d giver it another go. If you want a cigar with a long smoke time, great performance and consistent enjoyable flavors, then this might be for you.” –Brian (B-daddy)
“The first third showed some real promise with the rich roasted coffee flavors. Sadly, nothing much materialized leaving the smoke very one dimensional. By the end of the cigar the only consistent flavor was tobacco.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)
“Overall a very good stick. The predominant flavors blended well, and while not overly complex, the stick changed things up enough to keep things interesting. I do think this one would have been much better had it had the benefit of “aging” for several more months in the humidor. While the flavors were nice, the smoke lacked any creaminess and stayed fairly harsh throughout the entire experience. I’d be curious how a little more rest would have changed the outcome.” –Dave (mdwest)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 104
Total Score: 89 (Good)
| Reviewer | Appea-rance | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert | 90 | 88 | 85 | 88 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 85 |
| Craig | 90 | 88 | 88 | 85 | 85 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 85 |
| Brian | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 88 | 88 | 97 | 95 | 90 |
| Gregg | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 88 | 88 | 90 | 90 | 88 |
| Dave | 92 | 90 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 92 | 93 | 92 | 90 |
| Overall | 90 | 90 | 89 | 89 | 88 | 89 | 91 | 91 | 88 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.