Hello all!

I just got back from my local B&M shop where I sampled an Olde World Reserve Toro Maduro, and I have to say that I was impressed. Visually, it was a beautiful cigar. It looked like a dark chocolate bar, and it had a good oily sheen. I went with a 8mm punch rather than a straight cut, and the pre-light draw seemed about right.

After I toasted the foot, I lit it off, and the first draw was a decent blast of pepper. I'm not one for really peppery cigars, so I thought that I might have made a bad choice. After a few puffs, it settled down, and I really got a good taste of dark chocolate and some coffee notes, too. When I got into the middle of the cigar, there were some notes of wood, but the chocolate/coffee flavors were still dominate. Every once in a while, I would still get a wave of pepper, but they came and went fairly quickly. In the first 1/2, I would put this cigar in the medium-full category.

In the last 1/2 of the cigar, the strength really picked up. I started to get more pepper and wood flavors, but the chocolate/coffee flavors were still present. I could feel the nic-buzz start to hit me in the last 1/3 as the strength really started to build. It was still a very pleasant smoke.

Overall, this was a great smoke, and I enjoyed the flavors throughout the stick. I could have done without the pepper, but that definitely added character. I probably won't buy a box, but I might buy a couple to throw in my humidor to add. Maybe they will mellow with time.

Enjoy!
Nick
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