Pre-light Experience

Seth: The Matilde Limited Exposure No. 3 Toro is a lovely cigar in hand. It is firm with a lovely wrapper that is Natural to Colorado in coloring. There are few veins throughout the cigar, and it is leather like in texture. Some oils are present. Rich aromas are present on the foot and wrapper of earth, leather, tobacco, spices and minerals. Barnyard notes are present as well.
John: The Matilde Limited Exposure No. 3 Toro features a Colorado-colored wrapper. I weighed the cigar at 14.5 grams and measured the humidity at 65.8% using the HumidiMeter Pro. Aromas from the wrapper included musty barnyard and wood, while the foot offered dusty wood and hay with some underlying mustiness.
Jiunn: The Matilde Limited Exposure No. 3 Toro has an even Colorado wrapper. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and the head cap is a bit sloppily applied. Pre-light aromas tell of cedar and hay.

Matilde Limited Exposure No. 3 Toro

First Third

Seth: The first third starts out with leather, herbal spices, wood, tobacco and dry dark earth notes. There are some coffee and cream notes, but they are subtle. Medium-full in strength and body.
John: The first third opens with wood and bread leading the profile, while baking spices occupy the center and linger into the post draw. Those baking spices gradually build to just above medium strength as the third settles in, while dry wood joins the finish. As the cigar progresses, the retrohale settles into a combination of sweet tobacco, baking spices and wood. Approaching the halfway point of the first third, a musty note joins the finish, adding another layer to the profile.
Jiunn: The first third has some enjoyable parts and not so enjoyable parts. Mouth draws give a nice mix of roasted nuts, cherry and minerals but I’m not a fan of the abundant dried nuts tannins and leathery finish. The finish is also lengthy, which is the opposite of what I want. Strength and body is medium.

Matilde Limited Exposure No. 3 Toro

Second Third

Seth: The second third continues with those leather, herbal spices, tobacco and wood notes. Coffee and cream qualities are on the rise with some richer earth notes. Like before, it is medium-full in strength and body.
John: The second third begins with creamy wood and bread at the forefront, while dry, tannic wood and baking spices provide supporting accents. The profile remains largely unchanged as the cigar moves toward the midpoint of the second third. Through the bottom half, the dryness and tannins in the wood move to the forefront, gradually becoming the defining characteristics of the experience.
Jiunn: The only minor difference between the first third and second third is the loss of stone fruit cherries. The key focus is still the lackluster long finish of dried nuts tannins and leathery finish. Strength and body remains medium.

Matilde Limited Exposure No. 3 Toro

Final Third

Seth: The final third delivers more leather, wood, tobacco and earth notes. Some mineral qualities begin to emerge, and they are not as pleasant, and they coincide with the imperfections in the burn line.
John: The final third opens with tannic wood firmly in control of the profile, while bread provides a minor supporting note. As the cigar progresses, the dry and tannic wood continues to dominate, offering little evolution and increasingly narrowing the flavor experience.
Jiunn: The final third proves to be a very consistent cigar because there are no changes from the second third. Still goodness in roasted mixed nuts and minerals with off-putting nut tannins and leathery finish. Strength and body finishes the same medium.

Matilde Limited Exposure No. 3 Toro

Burn

Seth: The burn was great in the first and second, with it going somewhat downhill in the final third. Very odd.
John: The burn was excellent throughout the review. It remained consistently straight across all three thirds, with the ash dropping cleanly in one-inch increments.
Jiunn: Burn performance was excellent as the burn was even, tight ashes, cool burning temperatures and ample smoke production.

Matilde Limited Exposure No. 3 Toro

Draw

Seth: The draw is perfect throughout the cigar.
John: The draw measured 42 inches of water on the Cigar Medics draw tester. Subjectively, it sat at most one notch into the resistant spectrum, placing it comfortably within the ideal range between open and resistant.
Jiunn: The draw was also excellent as it struck the ideal air flow and resistance.

Overall

Seth: The Matilde Limited Exposure No. 3 Toro is a good cigar. If it had a good final third, it might even be very good. What’s crazy is that the burn went downhill in the final third as well. I am thinking it might be a single cigar issue. The Matilde Limited Exposure No. 3 Toro has a good flavor profile throughout the cigar with a nice strength and body level. There is a nice bit of complexity and depth, and while the blend may not speak to all, it’s a good cigar. I would love to see it in other vitolas.
John: Blind Cigar #1562 starts with a profile that offers a reasonable amount of balance between bread, wood, baking spices and sweet tobacco. The first third shows the most promise, particularly through the retrohale where the sweet tobacco and baking spices help offset the drier characteristics that begin to emerge early in the experience. The musty note that develops later in the first third adds some additional character, though it never becomes a major component of the profile. Unfortunately, the cigar struggles to build on the initial third as it progresses. The second third becomes increasingly focused on dry, tannic wood, and while the bread and baking spices remain present, they gradually lose their ability to balance the profile. By the bottom half of the second third, the dryness has become the defining characteristic of the cigar. The final third continues this trend, with tannic wood dominating nearly every aspect of the experience. The bread note provides occasional relief, but there is very little evolution or complexity to counter the growing dryness. As a result, the final third feels linear and one-dimensional. From a construction standpoint, the burn is excellent from start to finish, and the draw sits squarely in the ideal range, making for a trouble-free review. In the end, the Matilde Limited Exposure No. 3 Toro is a cigar that performs exceptionally well mechanically but falls short in terms of flavor progression. While the opening third offers some balance and intrigue, the profile gradually collapses into a dry, tannic wood-forward experience that lacks the evolution needed to elevate it beyond an average overall rating. Total smoking time was 1 hour and 49 minutes.
Jiunn: It’s interesting the frequency of cigars I’ve reviewed this fiscal year in which the mouth draw flavors were pleasant but the finish wasn’t and therefore made the entire experience average. I’m curious to find out what this cigar is so that I can start making some connections on this. But as for this Matilde Limited Exposure No. 3 Toro, it’s no doubt a pass for me.

Seth Geise

SCORE

6.72

Cost/Point

$1.79

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.40

Cost/Point

$2.22

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$2.09

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Matilde Limited Exposure No. 3 Toro