Toro, 6" x 54 ring gauge / $14.99This cigar is Ernesto's newest release. After smoking the Core Line and really enjoying it I was very much looking forward to trying this year's Limitada release. This cigar is made up of a Nicaraguan binder, Dominican filler, and a Brazilian Habano wrapper. This cigar is billed as a full strength cigar. I smoked three of these cigars, including this one, for this review.
This cigar is very visually appealing. The color of the band contrasts nice to the greyish brown wrapper. It seems as though Ernesto is sticking with the same top band on all of his cigars with the second band being different, if it has one, to let you know what it is. The cap was a good looking triple cap. The wrapper was slightly lumpy to the touch but there weren't any soft spots. The wrapper also felt fairly oily to the touch. When I put my nose to the wrapper I got definite notes of barnyard, with notes of raisins coming from the foot. Once I clipped it and took a cold draw on it I was able to detect a spice on the back of my throat with some sweetness on the tongue.
As soon as I lit the cigar up the first thing that hit me was an intense spice on the tongue and on the retrohale. As I continued smoking it I was able to feel the spice going down my throat. Suffice it to say I was enjoying the cigar at the moment. The flavors of earth, cinnamon, herbal spice, wood, and maple all came through in the first third. The draw was pretty much perfect and produced a large volume of smoke. The ash was almost pure white and held on for about 1.25" before it needed to be tapped off. In spite of the rain and wind that was occurring at the time I smoked this cigar the burn was pretty much perfect. Throughout most of the first third the cigar was at the bottom end of full strength, but towards the end it went into the upper end of medium.
Progressing into the second third didn't see much change in the flavors. The spice was there and it almost seemed to vary from draw to draw how intense it was. Another observation is that it felt like my tongue was coated with something. I can't exactly describe it, but it wasn't an unpleasant experience. The construction continued to be pretty much perfect and didn't seem to be effected by the weather at the time. While this isn't the most complex cigar I've had I can definitely say that I was enjoying it.
The cigar continued on strong until the end. The flavors of earth, maple, cinnamon, wood, and spice were still there although the spice did continue to vary and built back up all the way to the end. By the end it was definitely a full strength cigar. This cigar is definitely a lot stronger than the Core Line.
To sum up my experience smoking this cigar; it was very enjoyable, had lots of flavors, had perfect construction and was full strength. The only downside in my opinion is the price. At $15 I expect a little more complexity out of a cigar. That isn't to say that I won't be buying it again, because I will, only that it is a little over priced in my opinion. I wouldn't suggest this cigar to the new smoker or one who doesn't like strong cigars, that is unless you'd like to have some fun with them. Only problem is you'll be wasting a $15 cigar because they probably won't be able to finish it. From what I've been enjoying recently from EPC I'm very much looking forward to what the future brings for this company.
Body: 7/10
Strength: 8/10
Complexity: 6/10
AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: .5/1
Total: 9/10
Nice review, Keith. I've truly enjoyed everything that EPC has put out this last year or so. The Limitada has to be my favorite, I think it's one of the top 5 I've smoked this year. Keep up the great work!
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