Toraño Loyal BFC

We've had a bit of a weird winter here in Tennessee this year with days reaching into the mid 60s and mild temps overnight around 50. As a result,  I decided to enjoy an unseasonably warm evening on my deck and try out the Toraño Loyal. I ended up auditioning the BFC,  something else a little different for me during this peculiar season.

Upon my initial inspection, the cigar had a few small to medium veins, but nothing unsightly. It was firm, but not hard and had an overall nice oily sheen on it's milk chocolate Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper. I detected some earthy notes and a bit of spice prior to lighting.  Once lit, I noticed the same in the first few draws as well. About midway through the first 3rd, I also picked up on some hay and cedar notes.

With plenty of smoke, I headed into the second 3rd of my smoke. The sweetness tapered off and revealed a bit more cedar and spice which was accompanied by leather. At this stage is when the cigar became fuller making it a solid medium bodied cigar. The ash held on for from between 1/2" to 3/4" pretty consistently.

Finishing up the cigar, I found that the preceding leather and cedar notes of the second 3rd falling away, introducing a nice cocoa taste. Additionally, I also detected the occasional coffee notes as I got into the back half of the final 3rd.  The smoke remained voluminous and the cigar never needed a touch up and kept an even burn throughout. 

The Loyal is a great smoke and at a very reasonable price. The Toraño family remains loyal to their customers in this regard, and as a result, customers remain loyal to the brand. I give this smoke an 89.

Perdomo Grand Cru Maduro

The other day, I was going through my cigars to find something different than what I had been smoking lately.  I came across a Perdomo Grand Cru Maduro Toro that I picked up about a year ago and thought I'd give it a shot.  I was heading to a club which is cigar friendly and decided to do a review of it there.  So I grabbed my camera and put in some new batteries, and headed downtown.  

When I got to the club I ordered a Crown on the rocks and took out my camera.  Wouldn't you know it, the "fresh" batteries I just put in the camera were dead.  Fortunately my phone has a built in camera, although the flash is a little harsh when used, but it'll do.

The Nicaraguan grown leaves from Cuban seeds made for a nice looking stick.  The chocolate wrapper had few veins, none of which were too large.  It's aroma was that of sweet tobacco and fresh cut hay.  The foot was neatly packed which worked well with the cigar being lit only once.

 

Upon lighting, my initial notes were that of the tobacco and hay that I encountered earlier with its aroma.  There was plenty of smoke with each draw without working hard for it.  As it burned, I noticed it was burning a bit uneven, as you can see below.  The ash held on well, falling about an inch to an inch and a half.

Entering into the 2nd third, the flavors changed a bit. I tasted leather, and a bit of coffee.  The smoke was still plentiful, but the burn still went uneven after a touch up.  Near the end of the 2nd third, I got more of a creamy flavor while the leather notes dissipated.

Into the final third, the creaminess remained strong, the coffee notes returned, and spice made itself known.  I felt this was the best of the entire cigar.  The smoke was still plentiful and the flavors were well balanced. And it paired well with the Crown.

Despite having a couple of minor burn issues with the cigar, the cigar was a good cigar.  It produced proper smoke, had pleasing aromas, and had nice flavors.  For an inexpensive cigar, I'd say it'll definitely be worth picking some up.  I'm rating this as an 88.