Vitola:Toro 6x60
Filler
:-)ominican and Honduran
Binder:Nicaraguan
Wrapper:Brazilian dark natural
I've had this resting until I figured there was enough time to review it well, about 4 months. I have tried the perfecto size and really enjoyed it. The wrapper is oily and blotchy, very similar to CAO Brazilia's appearance. It is very firm and well filled with no soft spots and a few prominent veins in the wrapper. The aroma of barnyard and earth from the wrapper, hints of pepper and cocoa from the foot which was also present in the pre-draw.
It took quite awhile to toast it with my Ronson. Nice pepper and wood from the start with a sweet maduro earthiness. Lots of thick rich smoke. The first third was very spicy and full. Some hints of cocoa with a strong cedar finish. The ash was kinda flaky and soft. It didn't hold very well for the first third. Burn was slightly uneven as well.
The second third, the pepper really picked up. Smoke was very smooth and sweet. There was definite cocoa flavors and I think I picked up some anise? Finish was pepper with some wood. The ash maintained some size and had a bright white color with some black specks. No touch ups needed so far.
Final third was pretty consistent with the second. The body went from medium to full. The sweetness faded to more earthy and wood. Still some cocoa and cedar, with a very strong but pleasant pepper finish. I needed to keep a steady cadence of puffing to keep an even burn. This never caused the smoke to heat up or the taste to become bitter. A couple times I was tempted to touch up but the burn was never that bad. I set it down with about 1 1/2" left.
I think this one was about $6 or so. Not bad for the size and quality IMO. I would definitely buy a couple more just to keep around for some variety. I would recommend it to any Gurkha fan or maybe even an open minded Brazilia regular looking to try something new.
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