Cigar Review: Balmoral Añejo XO Oscuro

• Vitola: Rothschild Masivo
• 5” x 55 ring gauge 
• ~$10
• Samples from local sales rep

Background

Royal Agio Cigars announced the Balmoral Añejo XO Oscuro at the same time as the Connecticut version, which I reviewed last year. I thoroughly enjoyed that experience…so much so, in fact, that when Zev Kaminetsky went to work for the company I started bugging him immediately for a rep for my area so we could bring the brand into Burns Tobacconist, where I work. My persistence paid off when he hired a local brokerage to represent the Agio/Balmoral brands; on a recent visit, that rep left some Añejo XO Oscuro samples that I was able to enjoy. I ended up saving one out for this review. (For those in the area, we do not carry the brand as of this moment, but it’s looking good for the near future.)

The company’s website has this to say about the XO Oscuro:

Crowned with a San Andrés wrapper, Balmoral Añejo XO Oscuro provides a luxuriously rich experience that embraces your palate with complex notes of dark chocolate, espresso and black pepper that finish with a smooth, underlying natural sweetness.

The wrapper is described as “Sun-Grown, Stalk-Cut Mexican San Andrés.” It uses a Dominican Olor binder and filler from the Dominican Republic (Olor again), Nicaragua (Jalapa) and Brazil (a stalk-cut Mata Norte). I’ve smoked a couple of these before this review sample. All of them were provided by the local rep.

Prelight

The packaging for the XO Oscuro is pretty standard considering the others in the line: stately, dark wood cabinets with minimal paper labeling on them. The band design is the same as others, with a different color combination…in this case black and gray with light gold and copper foil accents.

The wrapper leaf was a medium-dark brown color somewhere between milk and dark chocolate, with a little mottling and variation of color. It had some medium-sized veins and a bit of oiliness under my fingertips. The aroma from the wrapper leaf was earth, leather and anise, while the foot had more earth, along with a mix of hay and vegetal smells that indicative of a little lighter blend.

After clipping the head, I had a very good cold draw that featured flavors of dark roast coffee, dark chocolate covered cherries, and natural tobacco.

Flavor

I got the Balmoral Añejo XO Oscuro fired up pretty easily with a single flame torch and soon I was getting flavors of charred wood, espresso bean, and unsweetened cocoa powder up front, with dark fruit and black pepper coming in as a secondary note. The retrohale had more wood notes, along with some pepper and leather. The first third continued medium-plus in body and featuring that core of dark flavors along with a touch of sweetness and a nice complexity on nearly every puff.

The second third saw the body ramp up to the low end of full, while the coffee bean flavor came on even stronger than before, balanced well with a dark chocolate bitter and sweet note. Pepper spice was mild but present on the finish along with wood and pepper on the nose.

Dark chocolate was more prevalent in the final third, with espresso bean taking a back seat. There were still punctuating notes of pepper and cinnamon, along with just a little anise from time to time.

Construction

I had an excellent draw, very even burn line and solid ash.

Value

Very nice cigar for an average price. That’s great value in my book.

Conclusions

The Añejo XO Oscuro is an excellent addition to the line Balmoral line, rounding out the offering with mild (Connecticut), medium (original), and full (this one) bodied cigars, all of which have a very pleasing complexity and richness to them. While your exposure to the line may have started out with the somewhat limited offerings they had while distributed by Drew Estate, they have turned into one of the most exciting cigar companies around. Try something from the Añejo XO line and be prepared to enjoy.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10