Robusto, 5" x 50 ring gauge / approx. $7I was able to get my hands on this cigar through a pass set up on Twitter by Tony Casas (@tonycasas). I picked it because I don't think I've ever tried a Falto before and wanted to give it a try. This cigar is made up of Dominican fillers and binders, with an Sumatra wrapper. I don't know a lot about this brand, except that I was able to find that their cigars are made by La Aurora.
This sample had an oak brown wrapper with a slight amount of darker mottling to it. There were some slight veins to the wrapper. It was fairly oily to the touch and had a good amount of tooth to it. Giving the cigar a squeeze I was able to feel a small amount of give but there were no soft spots. I wasn't able to detect much aroma from the wrapper when I put my nose to it. However from the foot I noticed the aroma of hay. After clipping it with my Xikar MTX and taking a cold draw I got notes of leather and a sweetness with a great draw.
After putting my torch to it and taking a couple puffs on it I was able to taste notes of leather, spice and a slight sweetness on the finish. After a few more puffs a slight bitterness came through, but luckily went away very quickly. Progressing through the first third the tastes of cedar and earth came through. At this point the cigar was medium strength and body. The draw was perfect and the burn was very nice. The ash however didn't hold up very long and needed to be tapped off after about half an inch.
As I progressed into the second third the cedar flavor took the forefront while the leather, earth, and spice moved to the background. The finish was still slightly sweet. The ash still tended to be a bit flaky but the burn and draw continued to be great. Towards the end of the second third the strength built a bit, but didn't grow beyond the medium range.
The cigar finished the way it started. Medium bodied and medium strength. Tastes of cedar, leather, earth, and spice with a sweet finish were consistent throughout. Unfortunately it really didn't do anything for me. There wasn't anything unpleasant though.
The burn and draw on this cigar were pretty much perfect throughout. The ash was slightly flaky and with the slight wind I had while smoking the cigar spread it around the table a bit. The flavors were consistent, and pleasant. I can recommend this for pretty much any smoker out who likes the flavors in the combination I described. Also because it wasn't overly powerful almost any smoker could smoke it without getting sick. I don't think I'd purchase it again though since it didn't do a whole lot for me.
Body: 6/10
Strength: 6/10
Complexity: 5/10
AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 3/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 7.5/10
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Great review Keith; I personally am a fan of these, very consistent. Thanks for doing this one, even if Tony re-sent cigars I sent him!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat work on the review Keith. I had the pleasure of meeting Luis Falto about a year ago, he was at an event Bonita Smoke Shop was hosting. He's a great guy that's really passionate about cigars. I was glad to see him add the secondary band to his cigars as they were hard to distinguish. One of the things that really set him apart for me was the way he only makes a blend in the size that best suits it, rather than creating sizes just to have them in the marketplace.
ReplyDeleteThanks guys. I had heard he only creates the blend in the size it is best in. I'm looking forward to trying others when I can find them.
ReplyDeleteKeith I have someone sending me a few of these to try. Thanks for the revew and thebgreat job you and David do.
ReplyDelete