Vitola: Gran Toro- 5.875” x 56 ring gauge
- $9.49
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
Oscar Rodriguez and GTO Cigars have become steady and prolific in the last couple years…each one showing one or two new offerings from the Dominican-based maker. The Pain Killer series is the one that has garnered the most attention, with Corojo and Maduro variations in the original release, then box-pressed Maduro (with a Mexican wrapper instead of the original leaf) and Corojo, and finally “Casserole,” a Connecticut Shade wrapped version. Trankilo (originally set to be called “Tranquilizer” to keep up with the medical theme…ultimately the busybody FDA overseers objected to that name) was next, marking the first time he did two versions—Corojo and Maduro—in the same box.
2017’s major release for GTO is Anesthesia (Oscar overrode the FDA this time!). Again, this one is produced in two wrapper versions (Corojo and Maduro again) in the same box. And, as usual for GTO, there is just one size available: a Gran Toro. GTO is a small company with a limited amount of rolling capacity; instead of hitting their rollers with 4 different sizes of a new blend—and all the variation in blend formula that goes with that—they pick a size designed to work best for that blend. This blend is all Dominican leaf, with an emphasis on Ligero, making this the most full-bodied GTO release to date.
I smoked one each of the Corojo and Maduro versions of this cigar right around the time they arrived at Burns and we had an event. Around the same time, I bought extra samples for review. I’ll be publishing a review of the Maduro version soon.
Prelight
Purple is the name of the game with Anesthesia. The box is purple, the secondary band is purple and gold, and the ribbon on the foot is purple. The main band is the same red and gold band that GTO uses on pretty much everything else. While I would like to see a change from this paradigm of “standard regular band” + “identifying secondary band” + “color-keyed ribbon on foot,” I also understand that the company is very small and tries to keep the budget for such things are small as possible. Hey, at least they differentiate their cigars better than a lot of Fuente releases!
The Corojo wrapper was the color of peanut butter, smooth, and slightly oily. It had an aroma that mixed barnyard and grassiness in almost equal measures. The foot smelled of cedar, earth and a touch of hay.
After a straight cut with my favorite Xikar Xi cutter, I had an excellent cold draw that tasted of sweet hay and wood
Flavor
The combination of largish ring gauge and high Ligero content necessitated patience for lighting up the Anesthesia Corojo. Once I got it going there was plenty of sweetness that was almost syrupy, along with some grassiness and touches of cedar and red pepper. The pepper burn was more pronounced on the nose. It came in definitely medium-to-full in terms of body during the first third.
As I got into the second third, notes of cedar rose in prominence while the sweetness was toned down a little bit. There was a little dry breadiness to the smoke, as well, and just a little lingering pepper spice.
The pepper spice came back a little in the last third, along with a larger resurgence of syrupy sweetness. That all happened while the body ramped up to the low end of full. I continued to get grassy and cedary notes, as well.
Construction
I had a great draw. The ash was a little flaky and I had to touch up the burn line a few times. Overall, nothing “major” but just little irritations like having to brush ash from my lap and iPad.
Value
Excellent cigar in a large size that lasts a long time, and a price tag under $10. It adds up to good value.
Conclusions
I tend to like GTO’s Maduros more than their Corojo-wrapped cigars, so it was a surprise to me when I found myself enjoying this Anesthesia Corojo so much. This was really a very pleasant full-bodied Dominican cigar. GTO tends to be more of an “old school” Dominican company and this cigar doesn’t stray too much from that…except for the body, which is much fuller than most traditional Dominicans. If you can get your hands on GTO, you really need to try this one. Currently GTO is distributed only in the Southeast United States, but most stores that carry them would be more than happy to ship some out to you.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
