Victor Sinclair Vintage Select Toro
Size – 6 x 50 boxpress
Age - Around 2 months
Cost – $2 – 2.50 online
Wrapper – Maduro (Brazil)
Construction – A nice wrapper marred by a couple of small spots. Sharp boxpressed shape with fair symmetry except for an uneven cap. The bands are unattractive with an awkward font and spacing in the text, and were put on poorly. (5/10)
Burn – Other than an early lopsided burn caused by a vein the wrapper, burn was even and slow. (7/10)
Ash – The ash was medium grey and held for about 3/4″ at a time with an unruly flowering that left bits of ash on my lap and the floor.
Draw & Smoke – The draw was looser than I expected from such a sharp boxpress. It was just right and resulted in a medium volume of smoke.
Flavor – The Vintage Select is a cigar with a smooth and mild flavor. While no distinct flavors “popped” from this smoke, it has a nice earthiness and was complimented by the common maduro smells of sweet tobacco, chocolate and a bit of raisin. On a few puffs I did note a very slightly sour flavor up front but the finish was smooth (if a bit short) throughout the cigar.
Strength – Medium
Rating – 7/10
Value – 8/10
Drink - English black tea
Notes - I believe this is currently an exclusive to Cigars International, or maybe a line that just the largest online stores carry. It’s not even mentioned on the Victor Sinclair website. This is a solid value cigar with ok construction, great aroma and a mellow flavor profile. Take off the tacky gold bands and ribbon and enjoy this $2 maduro.
Reviews
50 Ring, 7/10, Cigar Review, Maduro, Toro, Victor Sinclair
Victor Sinclair Primeros Toro
Size – 6 x 50
Age - 2 months
Cost – $2 online
Wrapper – Connecticut (Ecuador)
Construction – This is a very well constructed cigar with a nice firm springy feel, a pretty connecticut wrapper with very few veins and a well made cap. The label and matching ribbon on the foot are nice. (8/10)
Burn – Burn was even and slow. (9/10)
Ash – Ash was very light grey but loose and a bit flaky. Ash held for 3/4-1″ at a time.
Draw & Smoke - The draw was slightly firm and produced a medium volume of smoke per puff.
Flavor – I’m not sure if it’s a limitation of my still-developing palate or just a characteristic of mild cigars but I have a difficult time identifying individual flavors in some mild-med sticks, especially those with connecticut wrappers. This cigar has a pleasant flavor with a woody and creamy taste and a buttery mouth feel. The mouth feel does become a bit heavy and I found myself drinking more of my beverage than I would with most other cigars. The aroma was nice with a bit of sweetness and a smooth tobacco smell.
Strength – Mild/Med
Rating - 7/10
Value - 7/10
Drink - Hot English blend tea. Would go well with iced tea as well. For an alcoholic drink I’d pair this with a gin and tonic.
Notes - One of my pet peeves is cigar ash that is not compact and winds up flaking off bits of ash all over the place, particularly on my laptop. I nearly knocked this smoke down another point due to the unruly ashes in the first half, but it’s really a pretty nice value cigar and one that you can share with your newbie friends. Once the weather warms up I can see myself on the porch with this cigar, a cold drink and a book.
Reviews
50 Ring, 7/10, Cigar Review, Connecticut, Mild/Med, Toro, Victor Sinclair
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
Victor Sinclair Connecticut Yankee Toro
Size – 6 x 50
Age – Less than 1 month
Cost – $2-2.50 online
Wrapper – Connecticut
Construction – Good construction but a very rustic looking wrapper with pronounced veins and a somewhat uneven shape. (7/10)
Burn – A rocky start but evened out fairly well. (7/10)
Ash – Very light grey, held tight for 1-1.5″
Draw & Smoke – Nice easy but not loose draw, yielding a good volume of smoke per puff.
Flavor – The first minute of this cigar was pretty bad. I was almost ready to write it off as the first few draws delivered slightly sour and cheap-tasting tobacco flavor, like a gas station cigar. This very quickly disappeared, thankfully, and was replaced with a satisfying toasty tobacco flavor with some cocoa and a nice creaminess on the palate. Room aroma reminded me of a corojo leaf, a pleasant sweetness and toasted tobacco smell. Not a whole lot of changes between the first and second halves.
Strength – Mild/Med
Rating – 7/10
Value – 8/10
Drink - Since this was a daytime cigar, I just had a regular Pepsi to go along with it. Nothing special.
Notes – The Connecticut Yankee Toro is part of a pretty big sampler of VS cigars that I picked up recently, and based on the first couple I’ve had, I think they make a nice addition to the humidor. Another stick that you’re not worried about giving to a friend and having them set down and forget, but you wouldn’t be hesitant to hand to someone who enjoys good cigars. The construction was an issue but the flavors were tasty and satisfying.
Reviews
50 Ring, 7/10, Cigar Review, Connecticut, Mild/Med, Victor Sinclair
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
