Don Aguilera

• Date: 4/24/2024 • Cigar: Don Aguilera • Drinking: Kirk and Sweeney Reserva Rum • Weather: 70 F, calm with a light breeze • Smoke Time: 90 minutes¬ • Draw: Medium • Burn: Very easy to light, about 5 touchups to correct unevenness • Ash: Average • Mouthfeel: Medium body • Nicotine Strength: Medium • Unlit Flavors/Smells: Earthy, dark fruit sweetness • Smoking Notes: The first few puffs are spicy on the retrohale, but this mellows out very quickly. For the first quarter the dominant notes are earthy – hay, mineral, and graphite - along with the usual cedar and a small amount of leather. As it reaches the second quarter the leather becomes more pronounced while nut, coffee, dried fruit, and toasted bread notes appear. Smoking quicker obviously brings out the spiciness more. Halfway through and the flavors continue to develop, particularly the leather. In the second half, allowing the cigar to rest longer between drags reveals popcorn notes and allows the wood to shine. As it nears the band the spice is ratcheted up as is the coffee, particularly as an aftertaste at the back and sides of the tongue. • Conclusion: I’d had this cigar in a robusto last year and said “I wonder what it would be like in a longer format?” Giving it a 3 out of 5. Well, the toro was definitely better – the bitterness I found with the robusto was almost entirely absent, and it was more complex. We “smoke with our eyes” and many - myself included - tend to assume a darker wrapper to be fuller in flavor and spicier, however this is a mellow cigar. The room notes are pleasant and not overly pungent. The cigar develops predictably and satisfyingly throughout. The construction is slightly above average, requiring about five touchups throughout and with no unravelling and only a couple pieces of tobacco coming loose in the mouth. Solid for the $10.50 price paid. 3.5/5.