Cigar Extra: GTO Pain Killer Box-Press

• Vitola: Box-Press
• Size: ?
• Price: ?
• Given to me by company owner

Background

Running into Oscar Rodriguez isn’t as unusual as it used to be around Chattanooga. Truth is, the owner of GTO Cigars takes very good care of the accounts he opens, visiting them as often as he can. Since Burns picked up GTO’s lines, Oscar has been in the house at least a couple times a year besides Tweet-Up. It was during Tweet-Up, though, that he brought his newest line extension to the Pain Killer: the Box-Press. I apologize right up front for not having size and pricing information…I figured I could find it later, but when it came time to post this article, I didn’t have it. I will be seeing Oscar again later this week, though, and will try to rectify the situation then.

In case you haven’t heard about the Pain Killer (and you wouldn’t have unless you either live in the Southeast, or have read my other reviews), this is a Dominican blend that uses Cuban-seed and Ligero leaves in the filler and binder, as well as a “select aged” Dominican Maduro wrapper leaf. I’ve grown quite fond of this blend since Oscar first brought it around…although I still lean toward the Pain Killer Corojo as my favorite (replacing the Maduro wrapper for a Dominican Corojo).

I was curious to see what differences a box-press would have on this blend, so I saved one out for this short take…I’m really not sure it had a huge impact on taste, but I did very much enjoy the smoke.

Notes

I smoked this on the way to work one day, so it could be considered a “Road Rage Review”…I actually did record myself yelling at another driver during the course of this review.

The wrapper had a sweet aroma while the foot had notes of barnyard. The cold draw had earth and bread notes, along with a touch of chocolate. Once lit up, initial flavors were of semi-sweet chocolate, coffee, and just a touch of pepper, mostly on the retrohale. It was medium-plus in body at the start.

Red pepper notes increased even through the first 5 minutes of the smoke.

During the second third, I noted the body was bumped to full, as was the flavor.

I got lots of coffee in the second third, plus the semi-sweet chocolate and earthiness. Pepper diminished during the second third.

I found it overall to be a very enjoyable stick with great construction and a consistently good flavor profile.

If you’re in the Chattanooga area this Thursday, September 24, come on by Burns East…Oscar will be there from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. with some great deals on GTO Cigars.