Bariay 1492 Cigars Black Label Toro in Review

BRAND: Bariay 1492
BLEND: Black Label

WRAPPER: Mexican San Andres Maduro
BINDER: Nicaraguan
FILLER: Nicaraguan

FORMAT: Toro (654)
ORIGIN: Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Medium/Medium-full
SPICE: 4/5

NOTES:

Mexican Hot Chocolate | Molasses | Espresso

A Mexican hot chocolate culinary reduction. Cayenne. Molasses. Leather. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Really pops, this blend. Not kicky, though, nor edgy. Dark vegetal salted bits underneath, on top of seasoned wood array and compost floor. Espresso, a mug of it, is what you wend the winds in. Anise. Chicory.

Excellent silver sheath of ash. Equally excellent draw. Even 'nuff by far burn-line. Fantastic build. The burn noses itself meatily-so, with a savory kick that meets the draw notes of the 2/3 and onward. Beef jerky. Darkly sweet room-note sits clean in the air. A fluid, leisurely smoke of a refined strength.

TASTE: A
DRAW: A-
BURN: A-
BUILD: A

FINAL GRADE: A
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79

::: very ::: 

HDA (Hermanos de Armas) Cigars Veiled Mutiny Toro in Review

BRAND: HDA
BLEND: Veiled Mutiny

WRAPPER: Ecuadorian Maduro
BINDER: Nicaraguan
FILLER: Nicaraguan

FORMAT: Toro (654)
ORIGIN: Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Medium
SPICE: 2/5

NOTES:
Brioche | Cocoa | Nuts & Raisin mix

Fairly straight-ahead, quite approachable blend. Brioche, where bread and pastry meet. A sugar-free hot cocoa packet with marshmallows. Not trail mix; just GORP (good ol' nuts and raisins). Soft leather, sweet earth. Black pepper through the nose, softly-so. Ginger on the tongue.

But enough about Gilligan's Island.

Burn needs a few retouches. Ash drops dryly. Smokes a bit like comfort food eats. Food doesn't eat. We eat food. I used to write better than Mike. That's an inside joke. This is an inside cigar, late night, feet up. Hooch on the side. Would pair well with a book, I wanna say Dickens.

TASTE: B+
DRAW: A-
BURN: B
BUILD: B+

FINAL GRADE: B+
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79

::: very ::: 

Bariay 1492 Cigars Red Label Toro in Review

BRAND: Bariay 1492
BLEND: Red Label

WRAPPER: Ecuadorian Habano
BINDER: Nicaraguan
FILLER: Nicaraguan

FORMAT: Toro (654)
ORIGIN: Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Medium
SPICE: 3.5/5

NOTES:
Honey | Sweet Spice | Cream Soda

Duck sauce, too, via progression. Sweet spices are hard to tease apart and label beyond orange/red. They also operate in a separate sweet grain, and again in a yeasty bit. Roasted orange turns into that duck sauce at mid-point. Crisp, complex, transitional; but also not super delineated.

Draw is snug, although it scans as by design in a super-stuffed barrel. Exceptionally tight near invisible seams. Nice Ash growth. Hints of praline. Maybe a rumor of pale floral notes. Ultimately a quite pleasant almost ingratiating profile. I'm getting images of mocktails and lemon twists.

TASTE: A-
DRAW: B+
BURN: B+
BUILD: A-

FINAL GRADE: A-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79

::: very ::: 

HDA (Hermanos de Armas) Cigars Descending Shadows Toro in Review

BRAND: HDA
BLEND: Descending Shadows

WRAPPER: Ecuadorian Sun Grown
BINDER: Nicaraguan
FILLER: Nicaraguan

FORMAT: Toro (654)
ORIGIN: Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Medium/Medium-full
SPICE: 2.5/5

NOTES:
Grapefruit | Spice Rack | Cocoa

Knock knock. Who's there? Interrupting grapefruit. Interrupting gr--YoU gEt ThE iDeA. For a predominantly dark blend, the constant grapefruit note, while interesting, is distracting and somewhat out-of-place. Hard to pull apart the spice array but anise and ginger(snaps) are present. Unsweetened chocolate.

Dries the palate a bit, making it seem thinner than it wants to be, neither egregiously-so. Imbalanced but consistent at least in the first-half, gives a sort of IPA feel. Olfactory is a notable patisserie treat throughout. A blonde java tries in at the second-half, is enough to steer towards but short of the smoke's goal.

Mexican Latte | Spice Rack | Grapefruit

TASTE: B
DRAW: A-
BURN: B
BUILD: B+

FINAL GRADE: B
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79

::: very :::