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Red Lion Maduro Toro Gordo, 60 ring gauge 6 inches, Nicaraguan.
Wrapper : Connecticut broadleaf maduro
Binder : Brazilian
Filler : Dominican, Nicaraguan, and Honduran
Cutter: Xicar Xi. Lighter: vintage Dunhill rollagas. Smoking time: 3 hours.
As it was a nice day today I took a little ride out on my motorbike to visit Farrant's in Cobham, mainly to pick up a couple of Rocky Patels, the staff in Farrant's are always very helpful and knowledgable, so when the chap suggested I try the Red Lion as he rated it highly I thought why not. It I quite expensive (?16-17, I'm not sure exactly) for a NC from a relatively unknown brand so I had high expectations.
An imposing monster of a cigar, its wrapper is beautiful, oily and dark with some light veins on the surface and a nicely applied cap. The cigar is somewhat uneven and lumpy along its length, but still a fine looking stick with no hard or soft spots to speak of. The band's design is very much for the American market, proclaiming itself 'King of Cigars', however it loses a little of its visual impact as the black background gets a little lost against the dark maduro wrapper.
The pre light aroma of spices and hay, with a little aniseed was very pleasant, the cap cut cleanly despite its large gauge. An easy pre light draw showed spice and aniseed flavours evident.
I gave the foot a thorough warming until it started to char then lit the cigar, first thing to strike me about the flavour was how smooth yet full bodied it was, again spices but on lighting the aniseed was replaced by leathery notes with a little coffee thrown in for good measure the smoke was creamy and thick and there was a very pleasant, but not overpowering, aftertaste of coffee. As the first third developed, coffee and dark chocolate flavours took over, although subtle spice flavours were still present. The burn remained fairly even and the slightly flaky ash was a dark grey colour and remained strong and thick, eventually falling around 2 inches in.
Into the second third and the flavour developed a sweeter side with woody notes coming through, there was a little unevenness in the burn but nothing approaching unmanageable, it evened itself out quickly without needing any help or touching up. The smoke remained thick and cool with a lingering aftertaste of cinnamon and coffee. Just after the halfway mark I removed the band - big mistake, I guess they were a little enthusiastic with the glue in the factory as it cracked the wrapper a little and it opened up a touch.
The final third and flavours intensified, there was a pleasing oiliness to the smoke and the crack in the wrapper didn't affect the smoke too much, the spiciness continued right up to the finish without any harshness or unpleasant bitterness.
As a fan of big cigars, and maduro cigars in general I would rate the Toro Gordo highly, it doesn't have quite the intense nicotine hit of some similar sticks and makes for a very manageable smoke for such a monster. All in all a very enjoyable way to spend a Sunday evening. I will try one again, and see if they are consistent but I could see myself buying a box in the future, particularly if I can find a good deal somewhere.
Wrapper : Connecticut broadleaf maduro
Binder : Brazilian
Filler : Dominican, Nicaraguan, and Honduran
Cutter: Xicar Xi. Lighter: vintage Dunhill rollagas. Smoking time: 3 hours.
As it was a nice day today I took a little ride out on my motorbike to visit Farrant's in Cobham, mainly to pick up a couple of Rocky Patels, the staff in Farrant's are always very helpful and knowledgable, so when the chap suggested I try the Red Lion as he rated it highly I thought why not. It I quite expensive (?16-17, I'm not sure exactly) for a NC from a relatively unknown brand so I had high expectations.
An imposing monster of a cigar, its wrapper is beautiful, oily and dark with some light veins on the surface and a nicely applied cap. The cigar is somewhat uneven and lumpy along its length, but still a fine looking stick with no hard or soft spots to speak of. The band's design is very much for the American market, proclaiming itself 'King of Cigars', however it loses a little of its visual impact as the black background gets a little lost against the dark maduro wrapper.
The pre light aroma of spices and hay, with a little aniseed was very pleasant, the cap cut cleanly despite its large gauge. An easy pre light draw showed spice and aniseed flavours evident.
I gave the foot a thorough warming until it started to char then lit the cigar, first thing to strike me about the flavour was how smooth yet full bodied it was, again spices but on lighting the aniseed was replaced by leathery notes with a little coffee thrown in for good measure the smoke was creamy and thick and there was a very pleasant, but not overpowering, aftertaste of coffee. As the first third developed, coffee and dark chocolate flavours took over, although subtle spice flavours were still present. The burn remained fairly even and the slightly flaky ash was a dark grey colour and remained strong and thick, eventually falling around 2 inches in.
Into the second third and the flavour developed a sweeter side with woody notes coming through, there was a little unevenness in the burn but nothing approaching unmanageable, it evened itself out quickly without needing any help or touching up. The smoke remained thick and cool with a lingering aftertaste of cinnamon and coffee. Just after the halfway mark I removed the band - big mistake, I guess they were a little enthusiastic with the glue in the factory as it cracked the wrapper a little and it opened up a touch.
The final third and flavours intensified, there was a pleasing oiliness to the smoke and the crack in the wrapper didn't affect the smoke too much, the spiciness continued right up to the finish without any harshness or unpleasant bitterness.
As a fan of big cigars, and maduro cigars in general I would rate the Toro Gordo highly, it doesn't have quite the intense nicotine hit of some similar sticks and makes for a very manageable smoke for such a monster. All in all a very enjoyable way to spend a Sunday evening. I will try one again, and see if they are consistent but I could see myself buying a box in the future, particularly if I can find a good deal somewhere.
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