GTO Cigars
Pain Killer Maduro
WRAPPER: Dominican
BINDER: Dominican
FILLER: Dominican
FORMAT: Lancero (pig-tail cap)
ORIGIN: Tabacalera GTO Dominicana
INTENSITY: Medium-Full
WEBSITE: www.gtodominicancigars.com
The reasoning behind this redux is a switch from Robusto to Lancero vitola. The original Robusto review can be read at: https://bit.ly/3aoc8mz This 2d will not reference that 1t. You should read it anyway. It is superbly written.
Dark chocolate | Espresso | Molasses
The primaries all march along in a darkly toasted lockstep stride. Then it's also sultry. Weird. A charred oak wine cask delineates dark chocolate shavings & espresso from below. Below, beneath, but not very... superficial nuances. The depth is there but not deeply-so. The abyss stares back & I shrug. Pleasantly bittersweet via a somber & heady manner. Yet not abrupt nor ham-fisted...
The primaries all march along in a darkly toasted lockstep stride. Then it's also sultry. Weird. A charred oak wine cask delineates dark chocolate shavings & espresso from below. Below, beneath, but not very... superficial nuances. The depth is there but not deeply-so. The abyss stares back & I shrug. Pleasantly bittersweet via a somber & heady manner. Yet not abrupt nor ham-fisted...
Just not complex. Smokes a bit like a purito --- a look at a quite nice single leaf. Black walnut, anise, & pumpernickel flood the secondaries -- but do not expand them. A bit claustrophobic, say. Still, nicely balanced. Proportionate. Structured. Cherry cola sweetness w/ an underpinning crisp bitterness comes at mid-point & really does do well. Underbelly is roasted earth w/ a hidey savoriness which extends into a sweet long-lasting finish. A surprise almost minty refreshing roasted orange tail-end. Then clean.
Draws exceptionally smooth for its format. Ash clings well & pale, glistening at points. There is some crackling of top-leaf, dinging its cosmetics. Cap & shoulder hold fast, as do seams & density of roll. Very smoky, voluminously-so. Plumes, really. That said, a milder aroma than that'd foretell. Quite woody & peppery, that's there on the retro-hale, as well. How to succinctly relay the all in all? Imagine watching Eartha Kitt slip into her negligee, through the key-hole in her boudoir door. She purrs, you know.
FINAL GRADE: B+
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59
::: very :::