Vitola: Gran Toro- 5.875” x 56 ring gauge
- $9.49
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
Today I’m tackling the Maduro version of GTO Cigars’ latest release: Anesthesia. I covered the background of this cigar in the review of the Corojo version, so I’m going to direct you there instead of rehashing it all…if you haven’t read it already, CLICK HERE…I’ll wait…
Ready? Okay…
Prelight
The purple secondary band and ribbon on the foot of the cigar is the same as the Corojo version of the cigar, though the ribbon almost gets lost because the wrapper leaf of the cigar is so very dark. The picture I took really doesn’t do it justice as it seems the exposure was a little long.
The wrapper was a dark chocolate brown color with slightly darker mottling in it. It had aromas of leather, cedar, anise and earth coming from it, while the foot was more earthy with a touch of hay. The cold draw was almost too loose, though that’s something I try to reserve final judgement on until the cigar is really going. The prelight draw tasted mostly of earth and anise, with touches of tea and grass.
Flavor
The couple weeks that this cigar sat—first in the store, then in my humidor at home—after coming off the road—really helped with getting it fired up, and I suspect will prove to be a help to keeping it burning. The Anesthesia Maduro starts off with a full-bodied earthiness, backed up by mild sweetness and hints of anise and leather. The retrohale was more leather along with fiery red pepper. The smoke production of the Anesthesia Maduro is somewhat astounding…it’s on a level with Liga #9 and PDR 1878 Maduro, in my opinion. The body is also something to remark on. I don’t know that I’ve ever had a Dominican smoke this full-bodied; it almost verged on harshness, but never quite got there.
Getting into the second third, notes of leather were massive upfront, with earth just below. There was a mild sweetness behind that and just a touch of anise and pepper spice near the finish.
The last third had the anise notes climb until they were roughly even with the leather. Earth and dark fruit notes were a little more subdued. There was no decrease in smoke production and the body stayed full until the end.
Construction
I had trouble keeping a consistent burn line and had to touch it up fairly frequently. Also, the ask kept going gator on me, then flaking off. The draw was great, though.
Value
Very good cigar with a price tag still under $10…to me that means good value.
Conclusions
I would almost liken the Anesthesia Maduro as a Dominican version of a Liga Privada #9. It has a similar full-bodied, an almost identical smoke production, and a complexity that keeps it from getting dull and one-note. Oscar Rodriguez set out to make the fullest-bodied Dominican cigar he could…and he succeeded. Now it’s up to you as to whether or not you can handle a cigar this full. If you like fuller cigar, then try the Anesthesia Maduro; if you like them a little less full in body, but still full of flavor flavor, go for the Corojo version.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10
