Pre-light Experience

Seth: The ATL La Carrousel 1960 Gran Toro is a large cigar with a dark Natural wrapper. It is firm throughout and has a smooth texture. Not too silky, and not oily. It sports small to medium sized veins throughout and is finished with a lovely cap. The aromas are that of spices, pepper, tobacco, leather and earth.
John: The ATL La Carrousel 1960 Gran Toro has a Colorado Maduro wrapper. The vitola appears to be Toro sized, and the wrapper has a consistently smooth appearance throughout with a very well-applied cap. I weighed the cigar at 20.5 grams and measured the humidity at 55.3% with the HumidiMeter Pro. Aromas from the wrapper included sweet tobacco, fresh wood and mild barnyard. From the foot, I was getting a more wood-forward aroma.
Jiunn: The ATL La Carrousel 1960 Gran Toro is a survivor of another redwood forest fire given its Colorado Red background with marks of darker Colorado Maduro. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and the head is well wrapped and capped. Pre-light aromas tell of roasted nuts and barnyard.

ATL La Carrousel 1960 Gran Toro

First Third

Seth: The first third begins with hay, tobacco and earth qualities. There are some spice aspects present, and it has touches of red and black pepper. Medium in strength and body.
John: The first third begins with creamy mild wood followed by light dry wood leading into the post draw. Through the retrohale, tobacco sweetness leads with wood joining it and light spices breaking into the post draw. As the cigar continues, some light chocolate moves into the retrohale. As it settles in, the post-draw spices quickly intensify to medium-minus strength, eventually becoming more defined as raw black pepper. The intensity of the pepper and the dryness from the wood throw the balance off as the cigar continues. At roughly the one-inch mark, the pepper backs off to light, almost mild levels through the post draw. As the cigar continues toward the halfway point, the creamy sweet tobacco component leads the profile, with wood defining the center and light-plus black pepper making up the post draw between each puff.
Jiunn: The first third’s flavor profile consists of black coffee, anise, cedar wood and trailing dry leather. Retrohaling gives amped up coffee and anise. The finish is dry with leather and dirt. Strength and body is medium.

ATL La Carrousel 1960 Gran Toro

Second Third

Seth: The second third delivers a more pepper forward profile that is paired with the hay, tobacco and earth. The spices are more pronounced in this third, and it is smoking at a level just above medium.
John: Through the second third, creamy sweet tobacco combines with dry wood at the front of the profile. The black pepper moves into the center of the profile and lingers well into the post draw. As the second third settles in, the black pepper gives way to lingering wood all the way into the post draw. The profile continues to simplify as it moves toward the halfway point and is largely defined by sweet tobacco and mildly spicy wood. Light-plus baking spices remain present through the retrohale and are balanced by sweet tobacco notes.
Jiunn: The second third has a very similar profile as the first third. The same flavors are still there but the profile is noticeably grittier with dirt and dry leather. Strength and body continues to be medium.

ATL La Carrousel 1960 Gran Toro

Final Third

Seth: The final third continues to deliver a pepper and spice forward profile. More pronounced than the second third. Earth, hay and tobacco notes are still present. Like the second third, just above medium in strength and body.
John: The last third begins with wood and medium-minus strength spices taking the lead, with both lingering into the post draw and sitting on the palate between each puff. I find the profile quite satisfying in terms of smoke production, with some mild bitterness and tannins showing on the finish as it continues. Overall, the final third becomes quite linear as it reaches the halfway mark, with the bitterness intensifying through the bottom half as the cigar begins to heat up.
Jiunn: No changes to the final third as the same set of flavors are there (black coffee, anise, cedar wood, trailing dry leather) but the profile is still quite gritty and dry with dirt and leather. Strength and body finishes the same medium.

ATL La Carrousel 1960 Gran Toro

Burn

Seth: The burn is off at times throughout the cigar.
John: As with every review, I lit the cigar with my Xikar Tactical single torch lighter. The burn started straight but developed some unevenness as it continued. That uneven burn continued into the second third, where I touched up the unburned strip of wrapper. The burn was relatively straight for the rest of the review.
Jiunn: Burn performance was great, providing an even burn, tight ashes, good smoke production and cool burning temperatures.

ATL La Carrousel 1960 Gran Toro

Draw

Seth: The draw is very good from start to finish.
John: As with every review, I used my Colibri SV to make a V-cut. I measured the draw with the Cigar Medics draw machine at 32 inches of water. Subjectively, it was between a half and one notch towards the resistant spectrum, putting it in the ideal range for a perfect draw.
Jiunn: The draw was also great, providing ideal air flow and resistance.

Overall

Seth: The ATL La Carrousel 1960 Gran Toro is not a wowing cigar, it’s quite one-dimensional, and the larger vitola offering does not help. I could see this being a price friendly cigar based off the flavor profile, and I believe it to be a multi-nation blend.
John: Blind Cigar #1603 started out with a promising combination of creamy sweet tobacco, mild wood, light spices and a touch of chocolate through the retrohale. There was a good amount of layering in the first third, although the cigar briefly lost some of its balance when the black pepper and dry wood intensified. Thankfully, the pepper backed down fairly quickly, allowing the creamy sweet tobacco to reassert itself and provide a more balanced profile. The second third was where the cigar began to simplify. Sweet tobacco and wood remained enjoyable, and the baking spices through the retrohale provided some additional character, but the evolution was fairly limited. The black pepper that had previously been prominent eventually gave way to lingering wood, leaving the cigar with a much more straightforward profile. The final third continued that trend. Wood and spices provided a satisfying foundation, and the smoke production was quite good, but the profile became increasingly linear. Mild bitterness and tannins appeared as the cigar heated up, and by the bottom half they had intensified enough to detract somewhat from what had been a fairly pleasant experience earlier in the cigar. Construction was a strong point. Although the burn required one touch-up to correct an unburned strip of wrapper, it remained relatively straight afterward. The draw was excellent at 32 inches of water and provided exactly the level of resistance I look for. Overall, the ATL La Carrousel 1960 Gran Toro was a solid but ultimately uncomplicated cigar. The first third offered the most complexity, particularly with the interplay between sweet tobacco, wood, chocolate and evolving pepper. The cigar never fell apart, but it gradually became more linear as it progressed, with bitterness and tannins becoming more noticeable toward the end. There was enough quality in the smoking experience to make it enjoyable, but not quite enough development or consistency to move the overall rating beyond Average. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 37 minutes.
Jiunn: This ATL La Carrousel 1960 Gran Toro was just an average experience. The biggest issue I have is the dry grittiness of the profile. The flavors in themselves are great but that mouthfeel makes it unpleasant. It’s a pass for me. My guesses, wrapper: Pennsylvania Broadleaf because it has that profile and it looks just like the wrapper from the recently reviewed La Aurora. Country of origin: primarily Nicaragua.

Seth Geise

SCORE

5.30

Cost/Point

$2.79

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

6.00

Cost/Point

$2.47

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$2.57

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: ATL La Carrousel 1960 Gran Toro