Its been quite a while since I reviewed a cigar, but such a lot has been going on in my life, and I just did not feel I had time to do any reviews. This does mean I have a number of cigar reviews that I just need to write up, and I am hoping to do this over the next few weeks or so. Here is the first, my review of a San Lotano Toro, I have never had any of these cigars before, but I suspect it will not be my last.
Appearance 9.0/10
As you can see from the picture this is a great looking cigar, its a lovely mid brown colour, it has tight seems, great cap construction, and only a few small veins. The bands are smart, well printed, and give the cigar a very classy look. This is the Toro version so its a 6 x 54 ring, and it just looks and feels perfect in your hand.
Construction & Draw 9.0/10
The construction and draw of this cigar are as good as the appearance. As mentioned the cigar is heavy in the hand, this is not just due to the size but the amount of tobacco packed into the stick. I was worried about the draw, but it was pretty much perfect, cap construction was excellent as well, all in all the construction of this cigar was more than you should expect for a stick at this price. The burn on this cigar was pretty much perfect confirming the excellent construction.
Flavour 8.0/10
This is supposed to be a full strength cigar, normally a full strength cigar this large would hit me a little, but this cigar somehow did not hit me, indeed I would have classed it as mild to full strength, certainly not full.
Pre-light draw was earthy with a hint of sweetness. Once lit it started of mild to medium strength with a small amount of pepper, a strong tobacco flavour and a slight hint of sweetness.
As I got about an inch in I could detect some caramels and the sweetness intensified, there was also a rather nice earthiness to the profile.
By about half way through the cigar the strength had picked up to medium/full and there were hints of vanilla and coffee.
As I got into the last third the pepper I had originally tasted in the beginning came back and gave a nice little zing at the end. The final inch had an almond taste. What was nice about the cigar was that all the flavours stayed a long time on the palate allowing you to identify and enjoy them. Overall the cigar lasted around 2 hours
Value 9.0/10
This cigar retails at around 7.00 USD a stick, which I think for such a well constructed and large cigar represents excellent value for money, especially when you consider the burn time and flavour.
Summary 8.5/10
I could not decide if this was an 8.5 or 9.0 cigar, in the end despite the construction and price I decided on 8.5 but if I was to have another cigar it could go either way. I think for me even though there were flavour transitions there were only a couple and for a stick to be epic I expect a few more noticeable transitions. With this in mind I suspect the Robusto size would be perfect for this cigar, even so, I would absolutely recommend this cigar especially at the price, and this will be a contender for space in my humidor in future. As mentioned this was my first San Lotano cigar, it wont be my last.
UK Cigarnewbie 