Wrapper : Connecticut broadleaf maduro
Binder : Brazilian
Filler : Dominican, Nicaraguan, and Honduran
Source : bought at Sir Stogies

I have a special cigar for you today, I say special, since it shares the name of my home town, Red Lion. This cigar is produced by Heavenly Cigar and is their first venture into a non flavored cigar. These are available with a Connecticut Maduro and an Ecuadorian Habano Rosado wrapper and can be purchased in three different sizes, robusto (4.5×48), torpedo (5.5×52), and a toro gordo (6×60).

Pre-Light

Taking a look at this Red Lion toro gordo in a maduro wrapper, it reminds me of a nice piece of dark chocolate and it has minimal veins throughout. I get a scent of a barnyard that is mostly hay and a bit of dark chocolate and spice from the end.

When I take a cold draw I really notice the spice on my lips and tongue. I was a little surprised by this since I had not lit it yet.

I have to make a note about the band. I really like how it looks with the Red Lion on it but on this dark of a maduro wrapper the band tends to just blend in with the surrounding cigar. I wish they would have used a different color scheme to make the band a little more prominent on the maduro wrapper.

Full Cigar

Getting started on my Red Lion Maduro Toro Gordo and I notice a very prominent spice on my lips and tongue. It makes you really notice that the cigar starts out in the medium territory. After smoking about a half inch to an inch off of the cigar I start to notice some woody taste and a slight hint of chocolate in the background. I will say right here, the reason I did the write up this way is because the flavors really did not change much throughout the cigar.

From about the halfway point I was hitting the full bodied arena with the spice that would not give up and actually became harsh and bitter, spreading from the front of the tongue to the sides and back.

Wrap-Up

Wrapping up the Red Lion Maduro Toro Gordo I really did not enjoy it very much after the halfway point. I thought the cigar was a bit 1-dimensional with nothing really changing except for the spice becoming all empowering and turning the cigar a little bitter and harsh.

I would like to give another size a try to see if the bigger ring gauge had anything to do with my experience but to me, the smaller the ring gauge for a harsher cigar, the harsher it will actually be.