Toro Gordo (6 x 54) || L: 152.4, ø: 21.43 Factory: Tabacalera William Ventura Blenders: Henderson Ventura & Marcel Knobel Wrapper: US Connecticut Broadleaf Binder: Mexican San Andrés Filler: US, Dominican, Nicaraguan In Short: A full body still with a great extensive number of flavors to enjoy and a very slow smoke. Perhaps not box-worthy but certainly worth a trying a couple and seeing how your palate enjoys. Construction: Beautifully dark, Broadleaf wrapper with a touch of molting/marbling, a couple prominent veins and leathery, generic tobacco nose. Not much else to mention besides how well filled this blend is. The band is a gorgeous, stamped aluminum and painted a distressed copper. I thought it fitting to return to a similar background as the ‘Queen’s Pearls’. Cold/Hot Draw: Cold draw is very nice-not too open but a touch of resistance. Burn-line: A bit wavy but nothing to be upset about. It does however die out easily and needed several relights. Ash: Light to cement grey with great structure. Smoke: Billowing, thick and plentiful. ⅓: On light-up we step into a dark basement of old furniture, adjacent to a moist, mossy forest after a sprinkling of PNW rains. Emanations of leather impart into the wood, like luggae left atop the furniture. Deeply roasted chestnuts flicker back and forth on the center to rear of the palate but accompanied by a creamy cashew sidekick. Slight black/red peppercorn notes join in with wood and leather and a finish that’s slightly metallic and galvanized. Fresh walnut wood and dry cocoa powder added in as well. As the cashew cream intensifies so do these latter notes, dissipating much of the former. From here, gingerbread/graham cracker opens up, leading into a chocolatey cascade sprinkled with hazelnuts. Mossy oak and toasted brioche take us further into a delicious detour- drenched in cocoa, almost a milk chocolate with the creamy cashews in there. ⅔: Becoming bolder on charred walnut, she still retains some toasted brioche and chocolate in the mix but with touched of lightly charred oak, hazelnut with a subtle buttery aspect. Sitting on these notes for a pleasant duration. Turning back to heavily roasted chestnut, the dark, charred walnut, a funky hot dog water, and chocolate becoming dark-absent much of the previous cream. Moving toward a bitter walnut shell and leather-certainly getting darker to the point of charcoal paired with moss funk. Mellowing a tad, the walnut devolves into a lighter charred oak. Loading up with black pepper to end this third. ³⁄₃: Classic Connecticut Broadleaf funk, chocolatey hazelnuts, toasted bread, mossy and bitter charred oak to carry through to the end. Duration: 2hrs 28 mins MSRP: $14.⁸⁰ USD Ratings:
87/100
A heavy, full body smoke with a roller coaster of flavors. Certainly high in nicotine, be careful with how much you drink, or you’ll be spooling like a turbo. Although not my preferred profile, I can certainly get behind these Broadleaf blends.
Pairing: Barrell Dovetail Whiskey (finished in French Oak, Rum, Port & Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Barrels). An absolutely banger whisky that offers a touch of sweetness from the rum and cabernet barrels which I thought would compliment this stick well. This turned out to be an exceptional pairing! The Barrell pour isn’t the cheapest but I’m a fan of experimental approaches and this one lives up to the hype. Cocoa, marshmallow, honey, nutmeg, rose, mint and a touch of tropical fruit-between lychee, pineapple and orange. A heavy hitter for those seeking something unique. Neither step on each other and play very well together; I’d highly recommend this pairing.

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