Originally published at Tiki Bar Online
Today I am continuing my look at the cigar offerings of GTO Dominican Cigars, founded by Oscar Rodriguez, or “Orod” as he is sometimes known. I asked Orod about the is the cultural blend he lives in because of his Dominican heritage and residence in the American South. This is what he said:
Alabama is wonderful state, the people here are warm, family oriented, religious and fantastic. I love the southern hospitality, the open roads, farm land and rolling hills to be incredible, it reminds me much of different places in the Dominican Republic.
I am very engaged in civic duty and love interacting with people here in Montgomery. We have exposed these great people to the fine art of cigar enjoyment, Cuban Dominos, Latin Jazz, Merengue and Salsa. At a couple of Mexican restaurants that just happen to be owned by Dominican guys, we have begun to introduce the locals to our Cuban, Domincan, Puerto Rican-Latin cuisine and it has been greatly accepted. The people here are willing to try new things and that makes me proud.
Some nights at our local Cigar shops you can’t even get in to play a round of dominos, these guys are hooked, there are people waiting in turns and they talk about it all the time, I love the challenge and the camaraderie that comes with not only smoking cigars but also enjoying the games and talking trash to each other, it makes for much enjoyment and just shows you how passionate the cigar culture really is. One more thing I found out about living down here: I love College Football, just as much as my love for baseball, And Ill tell you what, smoking Cigars while watching the game only enhances the experience.
Today I will be looking at the Maduro-wrapped offerings from GTO, all of which seem to have somewhat similar blends, but with a specific tweak for each size.
CHURCHILL
7” x 47 ring gauge
Filler: Dominican-grown Cuban seed with a hint of Dominican Ligero
Binder: Dominican-grown Cuban seed
Wrappers: Aged Maduro
At first glance, this looked almost more like a Lonsdale to me than a Churchill, except maybe a little fatter. I think this is a result of “size creep”…whereby the standard sizes of cigars have crept up a little here a little there, so now a Churchill is almost as common in a 50 ring gauge as a 48 (or 47…which is a little bit of an odd number). Robustos range from 50 to 55 ring, one maker has a Toro that is 54 ring gauge instead of the standard 50, and one brand has a Corona that is every bit of 46 ring, if not 47. A little research time showed that 47 is the “regular Churchill” ring gauge, though. The wrapper on all these Maduro-wrapped cigars was a dark chocolate brown with a nice oily feel. The other two had taken a bit of a beating in transit, but this Churchill looked just about perfect. It smelled great, too, an earthy mix of medium-roast coffee and cocoa powder, along with a touch of natural dried fruit sweetness. The cold draw had mild chocolate flavors and a bit of earth and pepper spice.
Lighting up brought red pepper to both the tongue and to the nose. The palate flavors also included some cedar and semi-sweet chocolate. The smoke poured freely from the cigar and was medium-to-full in body right from the start. Through the first third and into the second I got plenty of earth, wood and cocoa powder flavors, balanced with just enough Maduro sweetness. Construction was very good, with the only issue being the wavy burn line that comes with most Maduros and the need to touch it up a few times.
The Churchill turned out to be a very fine smoke with plenty of body and strength as well as a very good flavor. I continued to get notes of chocolate, earth, pepper spice and cedar through to the end. It was a great example of what a Dominican cigar can be.
DOUBLE CORONA MADURO
6” x 54 ring gauge
Filler: Double Ligero
Binder: Dominican-grown Cuban seed
Wrappers: Aged Maduro
As noted above, on this one the wrapper got slightly damaged. There was a small tear almost half way up from the foot; also the foot of the cigar looked like a San Lotano Oval while the head was the regular round shape. These are the perils of getting cigars in the mail; while most of the time there is no issue, occasionally damage occurs. Support your local B&M.
The wrapper had the same coffee and cocoa powder aroma to it; the foot was earthy and pungent. Lighting up the Double Corona Maduro released flavors of earth, espresso, and nuts on the palate, along with red pepper on the nose. The cigar displayed lots of earthiness through the first third, along with notes of raisin and anise. The pepper decreased quite a bit by the end of the third.
The last third of the Double Corona Maduro was mostly earthy with some pepper spice and not enough sweetness or other flavors to balance it well enough. It wasn’t a bad smoke, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as the Churchill.
GRAN TORO
6” x 60 ring gauge
Filler: Triple Ligero
Binder: Dominican-grown Cuban seed
Wrappers: Aged Maduro
Finally, we get to the big boy of the bunch…the 6 x 60 Gran Toro. The cap on this cigar was cracked, but only on the top and I was able to cut it without incurring any further apparent damage. The wrapper on this one had a sweeter chocolate smell to it; assuming these were all rolled with the same varietal, it just goes to show how much variation there can be from leaf to leaf. The foot was earthy but not as strongly so as the Double Corona. Anyone that has known me long knows that I avoid large ring gauge cigars because I’ve been let down so frequently by them in terms of flavor. This Gran Toro started off with a very nice sweet chocolate note, along with an undercurrent of earth, cedar and coffee flavors. The retrohale had a nice touch of pepper spice, but it wasn’t nose-searingly potent. From the start the smoke on this was medium to full in body. Through the first third, the Gran Toro was mellow with a very nice Maduro sweetness coming through.
Whenever I’m ready to swear off large ring gauge cigars completely, it seems like something comes along that makes me reconsider. This is one of those cigars. Through the rest of the smoking time, the Gran Toro was sweet with some pepper spice and a little bit of kick. It does help to solidify my assessment that the best large ring gauge cigars are those with a healthy dose of Ligero, with that extra flavorful leaf making up somewhat for the lack of wrapper leaf flavor that comes with the larger sticks. While I didn’t enjoy this one overall as much as the Churchill version, I did find it a pleasant smoke that lasted a good long time.
Hope you enjoyed this look at a brand you may have never heard of before. If you are intrigued and want to try them yourself, check out their website…specifically the page with locations that you can purchase. I would be surprised if Oscar didn’t offer something that was right up your alley.
