Review 2 for Los Nietos Cigars : Luca Del Toro

[Mirrorlure7m]

Review by: The B&B Cigar Club (Ashley Byrd)

Disclaimer: The cigars for this review were provided as free samples by Los Nietos Cigars.
Several weeks ago, I received a message and a phone call from, Joel Sorrentino (Marketing Director for Los Nietos Cigars), a good friend that I met almost a year ago at The Big Smoke in Las Vegas. I was flattered when he told me about a new cigar that they were going to release and asked if I would be willing to smoke a couple of samples for a review. After a couple of weeks of frantic scheduling and family issues, I finally got around to the review. The cigar is the Luca Del Toro, a boutique cigar by Los Nietos Cigars. The cigar was created by George Rico of STC Tobacco and is only available for purchase online at Los Nietos Cigars or at Old Punta Gorda Cigar in Punta Gorda, FL. The cigar has a unique wrapper, Nicaraguan Habano 99 Hybrid, as this leaf has not been used previously in the industry as wrapper leaf according to Los Nietos. The Luca Del Toro comes in two sizes, Toro Pequeno (52 x 5 ½ , $6.00) and Toro Grande(54 x 6 , $6.50). Today’s review is the Toro Pequeno. Here are the official specs:
Vitola: Toro Pequeno
Size: 52 ring x 5 ½ inches
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano 99 Hybrid
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Honduran
MSRP: $6.00 plus applicable taxes

Construction: The cigar has a deep brown, oily wrapper with one prominent vein, but otherwise no noticeable blemishes or mars. The stick is firm with no noticeable soft spots, but definitely not overpacked and should not produce any draw issues.
Pre-light: The aroma off of the cigar is that of deep barnyard hay. Clipping the neatly applied triple cap reveals a cold draw consisting of rich tobacco flavor with some sweetness and a hint or chocolate.


First third: After lighting the cigar with my Lotus T3 triple torch, I began receiving a fair amount of smoke with each puff. Initially the body is medium with just a light coating on the palate. The strength at this early stage is mild. The resting smoke smells of smoked wood like a pit fire. With each successive puff, flavors of wood & tobacco dominate. The retrohale really got my attention as it is full of spice with a really strong bite. The burn is consistently even and the ash appears firm with a whitish grey color. The spiciness on the retrohale mellows near the end of the first third. I also picked up a coffee note at this point. Approaching the end of this segment, I decided to abandon my water and get the last double shot of Ron Zacapa 23 to pair with the cigar. All I can say is “Wow!” did my taste buds wake up again. The rum blends very nicely with the cigar giving off a flavor similar to a buttered maple syrup. I really believe that this cigar opened up considerably in terms of the depth of the flavors with the introduction of the rum.

Second third: Moving toward the halfway point, the ash is still holding firmly after almost two inches of smoking. The body is still medium, and the strength remains in between the mild to medium range. The texture of the smoke has become smoother as the spice on the retrohale is all but gone. The smoky wood flavor from earlier has dissipated while the coffee note has taken the lead followed by tobacco. Well, the ash managed to hold up to the halfway point before dropping effortlessly into the ashtray. The burn is not the least bit wavy and is still very even. Toward the band, the coffee note begins fading. The tobacco & wood notes have picked up again and there is also a slight hint of pepper returning on the retrohale.

Final third: I must say at this point I am very impressed with the construction of this cigar. The burn is flat out razor sharp and the draw has been more than ample with smoke that gradually increases in abundance throughout. The spice that got my attention at the outset is back on the retrohale. The ash is incredibly firm, and I believe I will only have to ash this cigar twice during the whole smoking experience. The body is still in the medium range producing a rich but smooth coating on the palate. I think if it had a little more zing I would probably go so far as to classify the cigar as full-bodied. The flavors have switched places again with an early note of coffee followed by a raisin-like note, toast, and tobacco. The strength has moved more into the medium range from mild-medium. After removing the band, the final puffs have a pleasant sweetness of tobacco & toast which carry me through to the nub. The total burn time was 1 hour 40 minutes.

Overall: I smoked this cigar at different times of day with three different drink pairings (coffee, water, & rum). My initial impression was that this was a morning cigar given that it was not very strong yet still had a nice spiciness in the flavor department. After the third one, I have changed my stance to this being more of an afternoon/early evening cigar especially after the second and third cigars exhibited slightly more strength. I really think that this is a delightful cigar with a good mix of flavors. The cigar certainly pairs well with good rum. I was really impressed with the excellent construction, draw, and burn. It turned out that the ash was really strong, and I did in fact only have to ash the cigar twice. My final impression is that this cigar is not overpowering or overly complex but certainly rich, smooth & satisfying at a great price point. The Luca Del Toro is definitely worthy of grabbing a 5-pack to see if they have a permanent place in your humidor. On my unofficial “official” rating system, I give it a 4.4 out of 5.0.

As I stated previously, these cigars are a boutique line so for more information feel free to contact Joel Sorrentino on Joel Sorrentino (Mirrorlure7m) on Twitter or Joel Sorrentino | Facebook. You can also follow Los Nietos Cigars on LosNietosCigars (LosNietosCigars) on Twitter and Los Nietos Cigars | Facebook . I certainly want to thank Joel for sending the samples and Ron Andrews, owner of Los Nietos Cigars, for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts on his company’s cigar.

Until next time,
-DaByrdman