Indian Tabac Co. (ITC) 10th Anniversary Toro by Rocky Patel
Size – 6,.5 x 52
Age – 3 months
Cost – $7
Wrapper – Corojo (Nicaragua)
Construction – Flawless construction as I have come to expect from RP. The wrapper was smooth and had a very nice sheen in the light. The cigar felt a bit light for its size, but did not have any soft spots or a spongy feel. Unfortunately the tightly wrapped bottom band created a small wrapper tear when it was removed.
Burn – The burn started very straight but eventually became somewhat uneven and had a bit of stair-stepping. No relights were required, although it did need a couple of quick touchups. I did purge the cigar one time, as I normally do with a toro.
Ash – Very light grey and compact. Held in 1″ pieces.
Draw & Smoke - Draw through a v-cut cap was perfect. There was not a whole lot of smoke per draw, but it did increase as the cigar progressed.
Flavor – Prelight aroma was leather and earthy tobacco. Upon lighting, however, I was pleasantly surprised by a good amount of smooth corojo sweetness mixed with subtle peppery spice and some leather notes. Progressing into the second half, the cigar picked up in spice, including red pepper, but also remained creamy and smooth. A very slight harshness crept into the second half, but it was still balanced by the sweet corojo tobacco flavor. The finish throughout was slightly woody and dry.
Strength – Medium
Rating – 8/10
Value – 6/10
Drink – Water
Notes – This is another tasty stick from RP. Rocky has proven that he can blend some fine cigars at the $5-6 price point and this is no exception. I was comfortable overlooking the band-caused wrapper tear, which really did not impact the smoke, and found a nice cigar that has a good, balanced array of flavors and a medium body suitable for a day or nighttime smoke.
Reviews
52 Ring, 9/10, Cigar Review, Corojo, Medium, Rocky Patel, Toro
Rocky Patel Olde World Reserve Corojo Toro
Size – 6.5 x 52 boxpress
Age – 3 months
Cost – $11 online
Wrapper – Corojo
Construction – Very well constructed with a single noticeable vein in the wrapper and an attractive label and paper sleeve on the foot.
Burn – Quite even throughout the cigar. The wrapper did begin to come unraveled in the last third.
Ash – Very light grey and compact. Held firm with no flyaway ash on the laptop keyboard (my pet peeve)
Draw & Smoke – A slightly stiff draw produced a copious amount of smoke per puff.
Flavor – The Olde World Reserve is not exactly a dainty cigar. This is a full bodied, full flavored smoke that starts off immediately with layers of rich flavor including wood and earthy tobacco. I was expecting just a bit more sweetness on the finish from the corojo wrapper, but the maduro version of this cigar better provides that. The finish was dry and had just a hint of black coffee. Despite the body of the cigar being full, I was interested to see the absence of the typical black pepper tingle on my whole palate, although a small amount was there tickling just the back of my tongue and throat.
Strength – Full
Rating – 7/10
Value – 4/10
Drink – The first half of the cigar was accompanied by a hot earl grey tea. The second half, Meyers dark rum. The rum made a good pairing.
Notes – I think I was expecting just a bit too much of this cigar simply due to its $11+ price tag. While I liked the core flavors, the finish was not quite as smooth as I would have liked. If you get an OWR in a sampler or as a gift, by all means enjoy it! However, I wouldn’t make a special trip to the local shop for this one. The maduro version of this cigar is excellent.
Reviews
52 Ring, 7/10, Cigar Review, Corojo, Full, Rocky Patel
Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic (Black Label) 1977 Corona
Size – 5.5 x 38
Age – 1 month
Cost – $6
Wrapper – Corojo (Nicaragua)
Construction – Expertly constructed with a beautiful wrapper, no flaws and great symmetry.
Burn – An even burn was interrupted in the second third by a wrapper split, possibly due to slight over-humidification although no other sticks from the same humidor have had this problem.
Ash – A firm salt and pepper ash
Draw & Smoke – Draw was very tight on this cigar, making it difficult to produce a puff full of smoke. Improved slightly in the final third.
Flavor – Prelight aroma was a very rich and earthy tobacco smell. After lighting I was treated to a bold blend of cedar, deep earthy tobacco and some black pepper. As the small cigar moved along at a fairly brisk pace, the core flavors of wood and tobacco persisted while the pepper become a bit more muted. At about halfway, a really pleasant aftertaste + aroma combination teamed up to enhance the cigar even further. The Black Label’s aroma was excellent, a rich sweet tobacco smell.
Strength – Med/Full
Rating – 7/10
Value – 4/10
Drink – Water
Notes – I plan to buy some more of these cigars and age them a bit longer; they deserve to be revisited for review, possibly in a different size. I think this really is a 9/10 stogie but the wrapper split, the very firm draw and low smoke volume all diminished the experience. Otherwise this is a cigar with a great flavor profile and an intoxicating aroma. The $6 price tag for a 38 ring stick does move it out of the value range.
Reviews
38 Ring, 7/10, Cigar Review, Corojo, Don Pepin Garcia, Med/Full
Victor Sinclair Triple Corojo Toro
Size – 6 x 50
Age - About 1 month
Cost – $2.25 online
Wrapper – Corojo (Dominican Republic)
Construction – Construction was fair with no wrapper tears or holes. There was a significant vein in the wrapper leaf. (5/10)
Burn – The first third was uneven but it leveled up and burned reasonably well for the rest of the cigar.
Ash – Dark grey and held for 1″ at a time. There was some flowering and bits of ash falling from the medium-to-loose ash.
Draw & Smoke – Draw was firm but not difficult and produced a moderate amount of smoke per puff.
Flavor – This cigar is named because the filler, binder and wrapper are all corojo leaves. This results in a powerful spicy and earthy flavor that is fairly well balanced by some creaminess and a bit of sweet spice in the finish. Prelight moistening gives a tingly zap to your lips and you know you’re in for a pretty full-bodied smoke. The red pepper zing hangs on the back of your palate throughout the smoke and I found it to be just a bit annoying by the end. Overall this is a rich, flavorful cigar with a nice room aroma but not a lot of complexity in flavor.
Strength – Full
Rating – 7/10
Value – 8/10
Drink - Hot herbal tea – a nice refresher between puffs of this cigar.
Notes - I’m a big fan of corojo wrappers but I didn’t think a cigar made entirely from corojo tobacco would be a nice experience. However, I found the VS Triple Corojo to be a solid value with some nice bold flavors and a great room aroma. Anyone looking for a new and interesting corojo (and willing to accept a few burn and construction inadequacies) can do a lot worse than the $2-3 the Victor Sinclair Triple Corojo will cost.
Reviews
50 Ring, 7/10, Corojo, Full, Toro, Victor Sinclair
Don Pepin Garcia Blue Label Toro
Size – 6 x 50
Age - Less than 1 month
Cost – $7 online
Wrapper – Corojo (Nicaragua)
Construction – Good construction except for 2 small tears in the wrapper edges and a slightly splayed foot. (7/10)
Burn – The burn started uneven and stayed that way. While there was no tunneling or relights, the ash was defined by a fairly scraggly line around the cigar. (7/10)
Ash – The ash is medium to light grey and very compact; it held snug for 2″ and would probably have gone longer had I not bumped it off.
Draw & Smoke – An somewhat tight draw yielded lots of billowing white smoke in each puff.
Flavor – The Blue Label starts of with a nice shot of peppery spice. Strong but balanced flavors then layered on: leather, coffee and sweet spice. This is a cigar with plenty of flavor and a lot of body. The corojo wrapper produces a nice rich, sweet room aroma. The second half did not differ much from the first; the Blue Label starts off strong and follows through.
Strength – Full
Rating – 9/10
Value – 6/10
Drink - 12-year Glen Livet scotch, neat. A great pairing as the earthy flavors complimented this full body cigar quite well.
Notes - There’s not much new to say about the DPG Blue – there is a reason this line has generated so much discussion online (and most certainly in local shops). It’s a great showcase for one of the all-star blenders in the cigar world – a tasty, rich full bodied cigar that’s a wonderful way to spend an evening. I was a bit disappointed by the construction and burn issues. Hopefully this is only the case with the one cigar I picked out of the coolidor for the review. I’m guessing some time at the bottom of the humidor will make this smoke even better.
Reviews
50 Ring, 9/10, Cigar Review, Corojo, Don Pepin Garcia, Full
The UPS person came by today with a package for me – inside was a bunch of low price/value stuff I had bought on Cigar Bid! So the humidor gets a lot of new stuff and is pretty much full for now. I’m hoping a lot of the stuff I have in there will age well.
The total order:
- 20 Cu-Avana Maduro Toro
- 20 Petrus Reposado No. 6000 Torpedo
- 20 Victor Sinclair Corojo Robusto
- Victor Sinclair mega sampler (5 Connecticut Yankee Toro, 5 Primeros Toro, 5 Triple Corojo Toro, 5 Vintage Select Toro),
- CI Mild/Med sampler (2 Perdomo Lot 23 Churchill, 2 Fonseca 5-50, 2 Gurkha Doble Maduro, 2 RP Connecticut Toro, Perdomo Reserve Champagne Epicure)
Humidor
Cigar, Cigars, Corojo, Cu-Avana, Gurkha, Humidor, Maduro, Natural, Rocky Patel, Victor Sinclair
La Aurora Leoninos Robusto
Size – 5 x 50
Age - Less than 1 month
Cost – $2 or less online
Wrapper – Corojo (Dominican Republic)
Construction – A nice looking robusto with no imperfections. The corojo wrapper was slightly leaf-textured and veiny, and lacked the reddish hue from which they get their name. (7/10)
Burn – A very uneven start which corrected itself within the first third. Pretty even for the rest of the cigar. (7/10)
Ash – Medium grey, held for about 1.5″
Draw & Smoke – Somewhat loose but not unpleasant. A moderate amount of smoke produced per puff.
Flavor – This cigar starts off with a bang, as tons of red pepper and tingling spice hit my mouth immediatly after lighting. I’m not certain if my palate dulled a bit or it mellowed out, but the effect faded somewhat by the end of the first third. The rest of the cigar produced spicy, peppery and earthy tobacco flavor with a tiny bit of sweetness and a lot of body to back all this up. Room aroma was nice with a slightly sweet tobacco smell.
Strength – Med/Full
Rating – 7/10
Value – 9/10 Let’s be clear here: this is a $1.50 cigar. At that price point, if it tastes ok, burns ok and doesn’t kick your dog then it’s a pretty darn good value. Luckily this cigar is better than ok and winds up being an excellent value.
Drink – Raspberry tea – I was expecting my frou-frou drink to get completely overwhelmed by this cigar but it actually made a very nice pairing as it was able to rest and cleanse my palate between puffs of the spicy Leoninos.
Notes – This Med/Full cigar tricks you into thinking you’re in for a wallop of full body. Even moistening the cap so I could clip it I got a tingle like a 9 volt battery on my lips and mouth. Let this one go past the first inch, however, and you’re in for a tasty and spicy cigar that is also a really good value. I’m looking forward to seeing how this smokes in 6 months.
Reviews
50 Ring, 7/10, Cigar Review, Corojo, La Aurora, Med/Full
