Draw: Perfect
Pre-light flavor: woody-leathery
Toasting & Light: Toasted-up quickly and evenly. First puff, VERY smooth and creamy with some sweetness, plus some “herbal” flavor that was very appealing. Strength was on the medium side up-front. Off to a very tasty start. Finish had a note of pepper on it.
Base flavors: wood, earth, sweet tobacco, spice
Retrohale: Very smooth and creamy. Picked up a note of vanilla.
Aroma: Earthy and sweet.
Burn / Ash Quality: Burn was right on all the way through. The ash mostly light grey and firm enough to hold on for about 3/4 of an inch for the first nugget. The remaining ashes were smaller, and thankfully, none wound up on my lap.
Balance of flavors: Beautiful.
Consistency: Excellent
General Observations: Very interesting flavor combination. Complex from the start. The finish is long with a snap of pepper. Flavors bloomed well with excellent balance. Each puff was delicious and only got better as the cigar smoked onward. During the last inch or two it became a little bitter, but the cigar never required a relight.
Summary: Another cigar that’s listed as “full,” that I would place more in the medium-full category. “Younger” cigar smokers will very likely find it full. Though they may miss some of its more subtle nuances the first time around, unlike some more potent cigars out there, since it was not overpowering, I would not dissuade them from giving it a whirl. The cigar wasn’t overly sweet or spicy, either. It seemed to have just the right amount of everything. Based on the Toro this brand shows great promise.
Rating: ????
===============
Rating scale
? = Fair to Middling
?? = Good
??? = Very impressive
???? = Excellent
????? = Spectacular!
Executive Editor
Gary Korb has been writing and editing content for CigarAdvisor.com since its debut in 2008. An avid cigar smoker for over 30 years, he has worked on the marketing side of the premium cigar business as a Sr. Copywriter, blogger, and Executive Editor of Cigar Advisor. A graduate of the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, prior to his career in the cigar business, Gary worked in the music and video industry as a marketer and a publicist.
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