Vitola: Sublime (Toro)- 6” x 54 ring gauge
- ~$10.60
- Samples provided by ATL Cigar Company
Background
Last week I reviewed the ATL Cigar Company’s Good Trouble blend just after the Atlanta Brave had beaten the Dodgers to advance to their first World Series in over 20 years. Today I’m going to evoke the name of this blend on the day the Braves play their final game of the World Series at home…and with a 3-1 lead in the series, a win tonight will make them the 2021 World Series Champions. Here’s to a little Magic for the Braves. (By the time you read this, the series will be long over, but the celebration will go on.)
Magic is the ATL Cigar Company’s fourth blend and it is intended to celebrates “a city full of passion and mystery, gems and ghosts.” This is a single Toro vitola created in partnership with Luciano Meirelles, the master blender for the ACE Prime factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. It uses Nicaraguan filler and binder, including tobacco grown in the “hidden Pueblo Nuevo region” and is covered in a Mexican San Andres wrapper leaf.
The ATL Cigar Company sent me samples of this and other blends for review purposes and I would like to thank them once again for their generosity. This is the third time I’ve smoked this blend.
Prelight
The theme continues with the same band design as the other releases from ATL Cigar Company, this time with a deep purple colorway. It really looks nice with the gold foil. Coincidentally (or not), lately they’ve been promoting purple as some kind of alternate color for the Braves, although I couldn’t find out why. Their “official colors” are still Navy blue, scarlet red, and white…although I’m seeing hats in light (sky) blue, purple, pink, and other strange variations. Regardless, this purple and gold (hmm…Lakers’ colors?) cigar band looks great.
The wrapper leaf was a dark chocolate brown with a light grit sandpaper feel under my fingers, along with a great deal of oiliness. It had a strong aroma of anise, with other notes of leather and earth. The foot of the cigar was earthy with coffee and floral notes in the mix.
Once clipped, the draw was excellent. The cold draw had notes of anise and earth, dark chocolate and black pepper.
Flavor
I fired up the Magic and got notes of dry cocoa powder, earth, and leather up front, followed by semi-sweet chocolate, espresso bean, and a subdued red pepper. The retrohale had a stronger coffee note and a much more fiery red pepper spice. As I smoked through the first third, I got a really nice mix of dark chocolate, espresso bean, and pepper, with background notes of earth and leather.
The second third got earthier. The coffee notes stayed steady, but the profile lost some of the chocolate and sweeter notes as it went along. The pepper played a steady background role.
Earthy flavors of coffee and dry cocoa powder were dominant in the final third, with touches of sweetness coming back toward the very end. The peppery notes were steady in the background still.
Construction
I had a very good draw, even enough burn line, and solid ash.
Value
Magic was a very good blend for an average price, so very good value.
Conclusions
Magic by ATL Cigar Company started off with a great mix of sweet and earthy flavors, and while I wasn’t as enamored of the turn toward a stronger earthy profile in the second and final third, it was still a very good blend that I would happily smoke again when I’m in the mood for a stronger cigar. It was medium-full to start, graduating into a more full-bodied place by the end. I would rate it another solid entry from ATL.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
