Pre-light Experience

The Florida Sun Grown Limited Edition Trunk-Pressed Toro has a rectangle press and is covered in a mottled dark brown wrapper. The veins are all well pressed and the seams are visible due to them being slightly raised. The head is finished off with a well applied triple cap. The band is the traditional design for the line. The aroma from the wrapper is a dark, spiced wood. The foot brings wheat bread with a slight sweetness and a bit of anise. The pre-light draw brings that same wheat bread and anise combination that I got from the foot.

Pre-light Experience

The Florida Sun Grown Limited Edition Trunk-Pressed Toro has a nice marbled brown wrapper that is a dark Colorado, light Maduro in coloring. It is smooth and silky in texture and there are a few medium sized veins throughout. It is firm in texture with a nice give present as well. The foot is giving off rich earth, chocolate, raisin, nuts and spice qualities and the wrapper has some spices, tobacco, earth and chocolate.

Pre-light Experience

The Florida Sun Grown Limited Edition Trunk-Pressed Toro has a dark wrapper, with a soft box press. The cellophane has a rip tab designed to leave the UPC intact when the cellophane is opened. It’s no surprise that a successful retailer has put thought into small details like this that a retailer appreciates. The cigar has a primary band with gold FSG lettering against gold accents on a green background. Aromas from the wrapper were spices, cedar, dank barnyard and seaweed. Nosing the foot revealed a mild, sweet raisin along with tobacco.

Pre-light Experience

The Florida Sun Grown Limited Edition Trunk-Pressed Toro has a gorgeous Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper showing traces of fine tooth. Bunch and roll is even, veins neatly pressed, seams tight and head with a single deep cap. Aromas from the wrapper tell strong cedar and minerals. Aromas from the foot tell cedar and black pepper. Cold draw tells hay and cedar shavings.

First Third

The cigar begins with a mix of wood and dark earth. At three quarters of an inch in, a mild black pepper joins the profile. The retrohale brings the white part of the orange peel, which I typically get when smoking this line, up front with the wood and dark earth behind it. At an inch and a quarter, some mustiness joins the profile. As the third comes to a close, the white of the orange peel and mustiness are up front with some dark earth slightly behind it. The wood is very faint in the background. The strength in this third was slightly below medium.

First Third

The first third begins by delivering this sweet meaty spice and it is paired with some cinnamon and red pepper qualities. It has this maple syrup flavor as well and the finish is of cocoa powder and rich earth. I would classify the strength as medium while the body is at a medium-full level.

First Third

Sweet cocoa with a cedar finish that lingers into the post draw as the first third opens up. On the retrohale, creamy cocoa finishing with dark chocolate and mild spices and cedar. Some post draw earthiness begins to show up at a medium minus strength. There is some pepper at the front of the tongue at light plus, but building with each puff. As the first third settles in, earth mixes with the cocoa, and some citrus joins in mid palate at light plus strength. As the cigar continues to evolve, dark chocolate moves to the mid palate and increases in intensity to medium minus. At the halfway point of the first third, citrus steps up and brings creamy sweetness with it.

First Third

The first third has a profile centered around cocoa, minerals, baking spices and a very unique terroir mustiness/barnyard. Retrohaling has deeper notes of cocoa and a red pepper spice. The finish is pretty soft with a layered chocolate and cedar combination. Strength and body is medium plus.

Second Third

The second third continues on with the pith of the orange and mustiness as the dark earth and wood are fairly mellow in the background. At three quarters of an inch in, the pith of the orange has gone away as the mustiness, wood and dark wood are all at equal levels. The retrohale has the same profile, it is just quite a bit fuller. The profile maintains itself through the end of the third. The strength in this third bumped up to medium.

Second Third

I am in the second third of the cigar now and it is showing some prominent rich earth and dark chocolate notes. The dark chocolate flavors are not overly sweet, but it is sweetened with the maple syrup like flavors. There are some sweet spice flavors on the finish and a touch of red pepper with that. Like before, the strength is around medium with a body more at a level above between medium and medium-full.

Second Third

The second third begins with toasted earth and spices at a medium minus strength. Cocoa maintains in the middle of the palate, finishing with sweet creaminess. Sweet citrus begins to finish each draw and lingers into the post draw.

Second Third

The second third continues with having medium plus body and strength. In terms of flavors, there’s an overall spicy chocolate (cocoa mixed with baking spices and minerals) that I enjoy quite a bit. Further, there’s less focus on the barnyard/mustiness.

Final Third

As the final third begins, some char joins the profile. At a half inch in, the charred and dark wood are up front with the mustiness now in the background. The retrohale has the charred wood, dark earth and mustiness at equal levels. At an inch in, the dark earth is up front with the charred wood and mustiness slightly behind. The strength in this third bumped up to slightly above medium.

Final Third

I am in the final third of the cigar now and it has shown some transitioning from the first two thirds. It has a nice meatiness present now and with that is some strong and sweet spices. There is some cinnamon and anise present, and with that is some red pepper. I am getting some herbal and floral notes as well, and the finish is that of rich earth. I found the strength to be more at a medium-full level in this third, and it is right there with the body.

Final Third

Malty sweetness leads into the last third with sweet citrus finishing each draw. Mild hay and spices fill in the mid palate as the cigar settles in.

Final Third

Towards the latter half of the last third, there’s more minerals and baking spices. Important to note that the cocoa mixture is still there. Strength and body finishes medium plus.

Burn

The burn line was wavy throughout. It required one touch-up in the first third when the burn got too far off to correct itself. The ash held on in near inch and a half increments.

Burn

The burn was not spectacular throughout the cigar and it required some touch-ups here and there. The burn was wavy and uneven throughout, and while it did not take away from the cigar being enjoyable in terms of flavors, it did hurt the smoking experience overall.

Burn

The first third burned fairly even and became wavy in the bottom half. That uneven burn continued into the middle third, eventually requiring a touch-up. The burn was straight for the rest of the middle and final thirds. Ash had some slight flakiness to it, but held on well up to 2 inch increments.

Burn

Burn performance was good overall. The only negative was within the second third where for some odd reason, a few fairly major touch-ups were required due to canoeing issues.

Draw

The draw was perfect with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.

Overall

This limited edition is another good offering in the FSG line. It provides the nice orange pith note that I really like. The profile is pretty rich with the combination of wood and dark earth. If you like a darker, full flavored profile, then the Florida Sun Grown Limited Edition Trunk-Pressed Toro will hit that target. It’s something that you can enjoy with a nice brown spirit as well. I’d have no problem smoking more of these and would have no problem recommending it to others. If you haven’t tried an FSG before, this would be a good introduction.

Draw

In terms of the draw, the cigar had a solid draw and it was not too loose like some press offerings deliver. There was a good bit of tobacco present that helped in slowing down the smoking experience.

Overall

I have never been a big fan of the FSG even though I am a fan of the FSG tobacco. I have just loved the tobacco in other blends. With that being said, I love what the change in the blend does to the Florida Sun Grown Limited Edition Trunk-Pressed Toro and would even love to see this cigar in a different vitola and not even pressed. Give me a round Churchill or Lonsdale. It is rich and complex and produces some really enjoyable flavors that show sweetness and spice. The meatiness and maple syrup qualities are also enjoyable and that rich earth flavor really adds a lot as well. If the burn was better on this cigar, it would make the smoking experience even better. Definitely the FSG to smoke.

Draw

The draw had some slight resistance to it, maybe a half notch. Still what I would consider to be in the ideal zone.

Overall

The Florida Sun Grown Limited Edition Trunk-Pressed Toro was consistently good throughout the smoking experience. I was able to taste flavors of cocoa, cedar, creaminess, dark chocolate, spices, earth, citrus and some maltiness. Overall strength seemed to be consistently at the medium mark, and none of the components of the flavor profile overwhelmed my palate. Total smoking time was 1 hour and 51 minutes.

Draw

The draw was slightly towards the tighter end of the spectrum. Nonetheless, still considered very good.

Overall

The Florida Sun Grown Limited Edition Trunk-Pressed Toro was a well executed Connecticut Broadleaf wrapped cigar. The medium plus body and strength formula worked well with the darker flavors of cocoa, minerals, baking spices and a very unique terroir mustiness/barnyard. It’s good to know FSG can create a good broadleaf given how there is a lack of good ones out there. I would definitely recommend this.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

6.73

Cost/Point

$2.23

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

6.87

Cost/Point

$2.18

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

7.33

Cost/Point

$2.05

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

6.87

Cost/Point

$2.18

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Florida Sun Grown Limited Edition Trunk-Pressed Toro