While the Davidoff Limited Edition 2022 Gran Toro performed well and I thought solid flavors were delivered, I don’t think the blend did a great job of capturing the three “Black Label” brands. With that, there was nothing wowing to this cigar that justified the limited title and high price. Balanced cigar with a nice increase in strength and body. Very well constructed. Came off as a less Brazilian Davidoff Escurio.
I really enjoyed the Warped Companion de Warped. The profile grabbed my attention throughout, and I liked how it went back and forth between sweet and spicy. The sweet fruit bread, coffee and cocoa qualities were great. It had a nice strength and body level as well. Burn was not as good as I would have liked, but overall, not a major issue. A nice blend that caught me by surprise.
The Cohiba Serie M Corona Gorda is a great cigar, and a nice follow up to the initial release. It is close in quality and flavors to the original, and different in it's own way because of the vitola. I felt this offering was slightly more intense, with flavors and strength, and I am not surprised based off the smaller ring gauge.
I don’t know what I am doing here, but I dug this CAO Pilón Añejo Robusto! Some cool flavors here and there with a solid core of cocoa, leather, floral and herbal qualities. Great construction! Final third was not as good as the first two thirds, but overall, I thought this was a good cigar.
If you are looking to smoke a cigar that tastes like rocky road ice cream, then this Jas Sum Kral Munchies Rocky Road delivers that. It is stronger in flavor in the beginning, mellowing out in the end, but always delivering that rocky road flavor profile. Medium in strength and body throughout, you can really smoke this cigar in the morning or evening.
I enjoyed the VegaFina Year of the Tiger 2022. I thought the first two thirds were good, and the cigar would have been much better if it had a final third like the first. Still, a good cigar overall. Really good price! I liked the blend and the body and strength that came with that. Never too much, and in some ways scaled back while still having some flavors.
This Casa 1910 Cuchillo Parado was a really fun smoking experience, and I enjoyed the blend thoroughly as well. I loved the complexities and profile delivered. The body and strength were perfect with the blend, and the whole profile had this lightness. It never felt to be too much. Balanced and not overwhelming.
I felt this was a more modern Cameroon release from La Aurora and the Dominican Republic. Yes, it is using an Ecuadorian Cameroon wrapper and not an authentic African Cameroon, but the cigar has more strength, body and darker flavors than a lot of past Cameroon releases from the company. The almond, cream, currant and Chinese spice notes were great together.
Not mind-blowing, but somewhat enjoyable. I will say that the ATL Libertad Robusto is another example of recent releases from TABSA showing improvement. This was a good Nica puro for TABSA when looking at the past year.
This Tatuaje Cohete Reserva was a great little blast of Broadleaf. Shots of espresso with cojones. I loved the size and flavor profile from start to finish. It had strength, body and flavors. Complex flavors. Very enjoyable with amazing burn and construction. The espresso, oak, leather, earth, pepper and cocoa powder notes were great together. They often are, and Pete delivered on that dark Broadleaf profile.
