Lars Tetens Steampunk Toro

[Don Fernando]

Infused cigars, I have reviewed a few because Volt, who sadly passed away a few months ago at the early age of 55, send a few as a joke, but I hate them. I mean, why would you mess up beautiful tobacco? My guess is that the infused cigars use low quality tobacco and mask the taste with chemical enhanced flavors. I mean, you don’t see beautiful single malt whisky being infused right, only low grade industrial made vodka or low grade white rum get that kind of treatment and in my opinion its the same with tobacco. Either smoke the good stuff or don’t smoke at all but leave the chemically ‘enriched’ crap alone, that stuff is bad and gives traditional cigars a bad reptutation, attracks minors to try cigars and therefore causes politicians and FDA to screw with our hobby. Infused cigars are the bridge between cigarettes and cigars and there shouldn’t be a bridge, there should be a lot of distance between those two.

Now, years ago I wrote a horrible review on the Lars Tetens Gorillafinger and a few months ago I was approached by Josh Allison from Lions of Luxury who asked me if I was willing to review some other Lars Tetens cigars. I agreed and he send me the traditional Greenwich torpedo and the infused Steampunk toro. Infused you say? Yes! Did I jump from joy, exited to try another infused cigar by Lars Tetens? No! But at least this isn’t a fruit flavored, tropical or vanilla infused cigar, actually, it doesn’t even say what it’s infused with and that by itself is a little intriguing. So I’m writing this review with an open mind and I really hope that this is the first infused cigar that I will like. And if you’re curious about this cigar, surf to urbanluxlife.com and order, use ja10 for a 10% discount, but please keep in mind: if you’re not in the USA and it’s not legal to order online/import tobacco, don’t do it, I am not responsible if you willingly break the law.

The first thing I did when I released this 6×50 toro from the cellophane is smell the cigar, as the infused thing made me curious on what the smell might be, and I didn’t even had to smell up close, as soon as the cello was removed I smelled an aroma that was a mixture of fruity white wine, apple and stale beer. The aroma is strong but I don’t like it much and the cigar loses points on that (read [this] on what I rate on). The construction feels good though and the cap is nicely placed. The Pennsylvania broadleaf wrapper looks very tasty, beautifull dark wrapper with thin veins, a nice oily glow and a leathery touch. The cigar has two rings, the top ring is a beautiful dark metallic ring with metallic red outlines and a dragon and golden letters on beautiful paper but the 2 inch big foot ring is multi colored on a much lower grade paper and looks like a elementary school project. If the footband was as beautiful as the top ring I would have rated it higher, this is another quarter of a point lost so even before lighting this cigar already faces a lower score, the smell and the foot ring already cost a full point of the final result.

When I wet the cap to punch it I taste a mild tangerine sweetness. The cold draw is fine and I taste a mild fruity and peppery flavor, but the fruit isn’t a terrible chemical flavor though. I lit the cigar carefully with a soft flame and I taste a metallic flavor, wood and a hint of tangerine. I also taste some pepper. After an inch I taste the pepper with some wood and some creamy berry flavor, like ice cream. Soon after I taste nutmeg with cedar and pepper. I like the creaminess of the cigar, a mixture of butter and ice cream and after a third it’s clearly a peppery blackberry flavor that I only tasted in the original release of the Don Pepin Garcia Black Robusto. Halfway I taste a mild freshness in the aftertaste and the main flavor is now a spice mix with the blackberry flavor as support. There’s also some pepper. Some time later I taste something that reminds me most of paprika potato chips with pepper, cedar and that blackberry ice cream in the aftertaste. Slowly the pepper gets stronger with the berry as aftertaste.

The smoke is thick, white and full. The draw is perfect, the right resistance. The ash is gray and firm with a perfect burn. This medium bodied cigar is complex and without the smell and the mild tangerine and berry flavor it could pass for a traditional cigar. The cigar has plenty of flavor and an hour and a half smoke time.

Would I buy this cigar again? Yes, much to my surprise I really liked this cigar.

Score: 92

Pictures: https://cigarguideorg.wordpress.com/...teampunk-toro/

[Chainsaw13]

Great review, Ferdi.