Pre-light Experience

The wrapper is medium brown with some slightly darker marbling. There are a couple of decent sized veins and the seams are slightly visible due to the wrapper color variations. The head is finished off with a very well applied triple cap. There are two bands, both using the same combination of dark copper and black. The primary band has the brand and line name along with some keywords while the foot band has just the line name and similar keywords about the blend. Smelling the wrapper gave a mix of leather and baking spice while the foot brought leather and stone fruit sweetness. The pre-light draw brings a slightly sweet hay and a bit of spicy tingle to my lips.

Pre-light Experience

The cigar is fairly firm in hand with a small soft spot located just on the back of the band. There is a solid cap applied to the cigar and the wrapper sports a few veins here and there throughout the cigar. It has a slight rough texture with some silky aspects as well. The coloring is that of a solid Colorado in my opinion and it has some touches of dark Natural present. It really captures this dark red clay appearance and it is a nice color. The foot is giving off this sweet aroma and it is delivering rum, oak raisins, earth and sweet spice. The wrapper is showing more spice and leather notes, and I am getting some oaky qualities there as well.

Pre-light Experience

The Camacho Nicaraguan Barrel Aged Toro has a smooth and slick, oily, medium brown wrapper. Veins are well pressed and seams tight. Bunch and roll feels spot on as there is a uniformed spongy give throughout with no soft or hard spots. The parejo head is finished off with a well adhered triple cap. Nosing the wrapper tells namely cedar followed by soft pepper spice. Nosing the foot gives a great mixture of sweet raisins and white pepper. Cold draw tells cedar and sweet raisins.

First Third

Initial draws bring wood and a baking spice that’s not quite cinnamon. At a quarter inch in, the baking spice seems a bit muddled as it’s not very defined while the wood note remains. At a half inch in, the wood and muddled spice continue, but now there is a very long black pepper finish. The retrohale is a mix of wood and black pepper. At an inch and a half, the long pepper finish has subsided and I begin getting hints of floral notes from time to time. The strength in this third was slightly below medium.

First Third

The first third begins with a nice flavor profile and it has this sweet rum and oak flavor with some creamy aspects present as well. There is a nice bit of black pepper present and it has some leather and chocolate on the finish. It has a nice complexity and it is very smooth. The draw is perfect and there is a great bit of smoke being produced with that. The construction is top notch and it is producing an even burn line with a light charcoal colored ash on the end that is holding on firmly. In terms of strength I would say the cigar is around medium and the body is there as well. It is not a full strength and body cigar, and I would say the flavors are not full as well. This is a medium, smooth and complex flavor profile cigar.

First Third

First third gives a mixture of dry wood, baking spices, leather and generic semi-sweet cream. The finish lathers the palate with long and lingering leather, baking spices and black pepper. Retrohaling gives a good dose of stinging black pepper, heightened generic semi-sweet cream and mixed nuts. Strength is nearing medium-full while body is at a consistent medium.

Second Third

As the second third begins, wood with a mild baking spice continues. There are still floral notes that pop in from time to time. At a quarter inch in, the wood and spice become much more intertwined while a slight wood bitterness joins the profile. At an inch and a quarter in, the spice is largely gone, leaving wood that is slightly drying. As the third comes to a close, a slight baking spice reappears to mix with the wood note. The strength in this third was right at medium.

Second Third

I am in the second third of the cigar now and finding there to be some nice transitioning from the first third with that nice level of complexity. There is an emergence of nutty qualities and it is paired with that sweet creamy oak flavor profile. It still has that earth, black pepper and leather quality also, and this is an enjoyable second third. I would say the cigar is remaining at that medium level in all three categories and it really works for the cigar. I think if this cigar was stronger it would lose what it is delivering so successfully. With that, the construction is top notch and I am getting an even burn line and that solid light charcoal ash holding on firmly at the end. The draw is cool and with that is a nice bit of smoke being produced with each draw.

Second Third

The second third transitions in a couple of ways. For one, the baking spice is amplified such that the palate creates a fizz-like sensation. Further, the sweetness is also increased at times tasting almost like a rum like sweetness with a jammed stone fruit characteristic. Other mouth draw flavors such as black pepper and dry wood is still very prevalent. Per usual, retrohaling is my favorite part as there is increased notes of black pepper, mixed nuts and a consistent jammed stone fruits. The finish continues to be long and lingering with leather and black pepper. Strength still nears medium-full and body medium.

Final Third

As the final third begins, the smoke becomes chewier with a mix of wood and slight baking spice. There are still pockets of slight bitterness present. The retrohale carries a very smooth wood note with a slight creaminess. At a half inch in, a slight mintiness joins in as the cigar begins to heat up. This is the profile that the cigar finishes with. The strength in this third was slightly above medium.

Final Third

When I get into the final third of the cigar I find more transitioning taking place and it has a nice soft finish. The cream, oak and rum sweetness are still present from before, but the black pepper and leather qualities have scaled back some. They are still present, but nowhere near where they were initially. The nutty and earth flavors are still present and making more of a presence and I am getting some soft chocolate powder flavors with that. It is remaining at a medium level in terms of the body, strength and flavors but it works perfectly with what the blend is delivering. Anything stronger and this cigar would not be what it is. The construction is top notch as it has been throughout and I am getting an even burn line with a light charcoal colored ash on the end. The draw is cool and I am able to smoke the cigar down to the nub.

Final Third

The last third reverts to the first third such that the sweetness is of a generic sweetened cream. The core profile is heavily baking spice, leather and dry wood dominant with a lingering black pepper for minutes. Retrohaling is where it’s at, providing a rich deep black pepper, stone fruit and creamed mixed nuts. The finish is still very long with a mixture of baking spices, dry wood and black pepper. Strength finishes out towards medium-full and body medium.

Burn

The burn was slightly wavy at times and razor sharp at others. The ash held on in just over one inch increments.

Burn

From beginning to end, the cigar had a great burn line and presented no problems. I never had to touch up the foot and the ash held on firmly. It had a nice light charcoal color too and there was a nice amount of smoke production.

Burn

Given three samples smoked, all samples had difficulty with wrapper burn. As such, two touch-ups were required. Further, ashes were fairly flowery. Aside from that, the cigar burned slow and cool.

Draw

The draw was just slightly tighter than I prefer but didn’t cause any issues with the smoking experience.

Overall

I was really hoping to gain some rum notes in the blend, but to no avail. Like the American Barrel Aged, I didn’t get much, if any, of the barrel aged notes. It could also be that they were so subtle I didn’t pick them up. The profile in the first third was good, then starting in the second third the profile was pretty average. Good construction helped, but isn’t the primary factor in the enjoyment of a cigar. I’d like to smoke another to see if I get a better representation of what the blend was going for, but at this point, it’s just not something unique enough for me to seek out.

Draw

I actually loved the draw on the cigars I smoked for this review. They were at the perfect level for me, meaning they were not loose or tight. The draw on the cigar is quite important to me and it may be one of those categories that is truly overlooked by many.

Overall

This is a cigar that you need to smoke quite a bit to get an understanding of what they are doing and what is being delivered. You have to put Camacho ABA out of your mind when you smoke this and in some ways not even think about the name Camacho. This is not meant to be a powerhouse or deliver this massive Honduran Corojo flavor, but instead be subtle and complex. The cigar has definitely grown on me since I first smoked it and I am really appreciating the flavors being delivered. In some samples, the rum barrels are more pronounced and those tend to be sweeter and creamier, but even samples which are less pronounced still deliver that flavor at a softer, less sweet level. This is really an enjoyable cigar that you need to spend some time on.

Draw

The ideal amount of resistance and air flow. Perfect.

Overall

Reading through the literature of the Nicaraguan Barrel Aged, I was highly interested in trying this release. I imagined a spicy and bready Corojo wrapper paired with a molasses stone fruit like sweetness that a good dark rum delivers. Unfortunately, the cigar did not fully deliver on my expectations. If I did not know the background of the cigar, I doubt I would have guessed it was aged in rum barrels (or any type of barrels). I would have enjoyed a greater depth of rum influence especially on the mouth draw flavors. I’d like to try the cigar in a smaller ring gauge in the hopes of tasting more of the rum influence if Camacho ever makes one.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.85

Cost/Point

$1.88

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

7.78

Cost/Point

$1.41

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

5.90

Cost/Point

$1.86

Scoring System

Contest

We are going to make this a pretty simple contest. There are two ways to enter. One way to enter is to share this review out on Facebook and tag Developing Palates and Camacho. The second way to enter is to post this review to Twitter and tag @DevelopPalates and @camachocigars

Don’t forget this part. Once you have posted to either or both, make a comment here stating where you posted the review and then we will pick a winner on Tuesday, September 5th. You get an entry into the contest for a Facebook post and you get an entry for a tweet, so the possibility of two entries if you post to both.

The prize is a five (5) pack of Camacho Nicaraguan Barrel Aged Toro’s.

CONTEST RULES

1. You must be 21 years of age or over (Age verification will be conducted with winners).
2. You must be a resident of the continental United States.
3. Prizes will only be shipped to addresses in the continental United States.
4. Prizes have no cash value.
5. Developing Palates is not responsible for prizes damaged or lost in transit.
6. Occasionally cigars/prizes go missing, get damaged before we ship or other natural disasters occur, we reserve the right to replace a prize winning with something of equal or more value. In the event of replacement, winners will be notified before replacements are shipped.
7. In order to enter the contest you must post that you have tweeted/posted to Facebook in the comment section of this post.
8. Winners will be contacted via email on the designated date for when contests end. Winners must respond via email within 72 hours. It is all participants’ responsibility to determine if they have won. Process must be completed by 11:59PM PST 9/8/17
9. Unless otherwise specified, you can only enter each contest a single time. Multiple entries will be disqualified.
10. All winners for random contests will be chosen randomly. Contests where winners are not selected at random will be specifically noted.
11. Additional rules beyond what is stated on this page will be explicitly stated on contests where additional rules apply.
12. By entering a contest, you accept the terms and conditions stated above.
13. Developing Palates will only ship winner’s cigars if they follow the above steps and email the appropriate e-mail address.
14. Developing Palates reserves the right to change these rules at any time.

Team Cigar Review: Camacho Nicaraguan Barrel Aged Toro