Herrera Esteli Norteno toro

[borndead1]

I love the original Herrera Esteli line, so I grabbed one of these to check them out.

This is one fantastic looking cigar. Beautiful wrapper, easy cut, perfect draw.

First few draws...lots of bite in the nostrils, strong woodsy flavor.

About 1" in..."strength' has subsided a bit, woodsy flavor gives way to a nice unsweetened cocoa flavor on the finish.

About 2" in...similar flavors and aroma. The draw is a little 'off'. Several burn corrections required by this point. Not bad, but not mind-blowing.

About halfway...several more burn corrections, and the draw is still weird. Initial draw produces no smoke and a nasty flavor, then when I draw again the smoke volume increases and the flavor is better. So far I'm not impressed. Flavor and aroma are much the same.

A little past halfway...draw and burn have improved a bit. Must have been a chunk of weird tobacco? Flavor and aroma are similar.

Toward the end...a bit of an off flavor. I let this one die early at around 2".


Final thoughts...I was excited to try this cigar, and it was a bit of a disappointment. The original Herrera Esteli is a much better cigar, IMO.