I was a fan of the La Flor Dominicana TAA 50 Segunda Edición Natural, but I tend to be a fan when LFD makes a Dominican blend finished with a Nicaraguan wrapper. I think the blend is balanced and it has an old school flavor profile that shows the quality of Dominican tobacco with a high quality Nicaraguan wrapper.
The Gurkha Nicaragua Series Toro was fairly average throughout and didn't provide much in the way of exciting moments. It's interesting to see an Aganorsa sourced blend for the brand and we'll see if this leads to more offerings. If so, I would be interested to try them, but for this cigar, it's not something I see myself returning to.
This cigar had the core main flavors that make up a good cigar. Sweetness, spice, wood and earth. The flavors themselves were good, but as a whole lacked harmony. Whoever blended this likes a heavier dose of strength and spice, even at times tipping the balance of sweetness and spice.
The Joya de Nicaragua Cinco Decadas Fundador was an enjoyable cigar from start to finish. The flavor profile was well balanced with varied flavor notes of bread, spices, cocoa, citrus, clover, cedar and earth. Each third presented its own take on the flavor combination which kept my interest the entire time.
The Zino Platinum Exclusive Series Washington D.C. was a great cigar and all the Zino Platinum Exclusive Series smokes have been. It is complex and balanced throughout and it has a nice body and strength level with the flavors. The cherry and oak qualities were lovely, and the pairing between those and the musty wood were quite enjoyable.
The Villiger Cuellar Black Forest Toro Gordo is a fantastic cigar and one of the best I have smoked from Villiger in a while. They really got a great blend out of Tabacalera Palma and what a nice Mexican San Andres offering. This is definitely a maduro I will come back to down the road and one I would highly recommend.
The Kristoff JT Signature Series was a good smoking experience. Significant amount of flavor complexity through the first and second third, and average smoking experience in the last third. Strength and flavor intensity were both medium-full, so this cigar will very much appeal to the fuller bodied cigar smokers.
The Balmoral Serie Signaturas Paso Doble Gran Toro was complex, showing transitioning from start to finish and always possessing depth. On top of that, the body, strength and flavors played well off of one another and left me entertained and keeping my attention throughout. Job well done!
The first third of the Plasencia Alma del Fuego Concepción really reminded me of Christmas for some reason, but after that, things became average until the final third when creamy coffee rescued the cigar from continuing to be average. I'm interested to smoke this in another vitola in hopes of seeing that first third profile last longer as I really enjoyed it. I would smoke this again and see this as a nice addition to the company portfolio.
The J.C. Newman The American No. 2 is a pretty anticipated cigar and I felt it gave a good showing. Burn issues aside, I enjoyed it and would definitely smoke it again. The price point is fairly high, but can be expected with an all U.S.A. build. The smoking time was quite lengthy, so it does provide some value there.
