Originally published at Tiki Bar Online
Box Pressed Toro, 6” x 54 ring gauge / $8.95, Burns
Nicaraguan filler and binder from Estelí and Jalapa? Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper? Made by My Father Cigars in Nicaragua? Yeah…I’m in! When Keith reviewed the Dandy McCoy in late April I knew I was going to have to try this stick. For my first one, I was working at Burns and ended up having to re-light it about 6 times…one of the perils of trying to smoke a cigar while you’re working in a cigar shop. People want help…people want to talk…people want to pay for stuff…okay, so it’s why I was there, but it still made it hard to really focus on the cigar. So I picked up another one and lit it up on a non-working day (well, I worked my regular job, but was done for the day). If you don’t know, Dandy McCoy is part of the Wild Bunch series from Ortega Cigars; the Wild Bunch is a once-a-month-limited-edition-for-2013 and Eddie Ortega named each release after someone he knows from the cigar industry. If he ever named one for me, it might well have to be the same blend, or at least very similar…Nicaraguan and Broadleaf in general is probably my favorite combination of tobaccos around (I’m thinking Tatuaje Reserva, L’Atelier Maduros, La Dueña…all also produced by My Father Cigars…hmm…).
The prelight draw was very good, with a mix of sweet and spicy flavor. The wrapper had a mix of chocolate and earth aromas, while the foot was earthy with some hay. Lighting up I was hit with a solid wall of earthiness, along with black coffee, unsweetened cocoa powder, and some sweeter dark chocolate notes. As I smoked along, I noticed a medium-to-full body and increasingly smoky, earthy flavor profile, all along keeping enough sweetness to balance it well.
So…yes, this is my favorite of the Wild Bunch so far. This cigar is simply Dandy! (Oh, c’mon…you had to know that joke was coming!)
