Marrero Cigars, Costa Rica - Joel Marrero, Owner and Blender
Wrappers - Ecuadorian Connecticut and Habano
Binder - Ecuadorian
Filler - Peruvian, Dominican, Nicaraguan
Vitola - Barberpole Torpedo 6 x 52
This is a follow up review to the Marrero Box Pressed Fuerte that I reviewed a couple of weeks ago. The Tesoro Mio is a medium bodied cigar.
Pre-light
The cigar is very evenly packed with no flaws in the wrapper and a perfectly rounded torpedo cap. The aroma reminds me of fresh cut hay, white chocolate and mint. The draw was good with a little resistance. I even tried a retrohale before lighting, and the first thing that came to mind was fresh basil.
Beginning to the End of the First Third
As I toasted the foot, I could still smell the chocolate, more like a 70 to 90% cocoa. The cigar has some interesting flavors. The white and dark chocolate were still present with blue cheese undertone. It sounds strange, but have you ever tasted chocolate cheese? Not bad. As I came to the end of the first third, the retrohale definitely had a strong sense of Allspice. The burn remained even with a solid ash.
Midpoint
The cigar is still burning evenly and the ash is solid. It did drop off just past that point. The flavors now shifted to espresso, but sort of like a cappuccino and a little bit of spice on the retrohale. I never used to like doing a retrohale, but if you have not tried it, you should. It adds a level of complexity to your smoking experience. Keep in mind that taste is tremendously enhanced by your olfactory senses.
Final Third
I needed to do a couple of touch-ups, but it was still burning even for the most part. The flavors and aromas are now combining all of what I sensed up to now, with chocolate and espresso and basil on the retrohale. There was a very slight bit of leathery taste towards the end. I did notice that the lighter wrapper in the barberpole was burning just a bit ahead of the darker. Total smoking time was a hour and 10 minutes.
Final Comments
This was a very enjoyable smoke. Marrero Cigars are a good choice for anyone. If you read about this cigar on their website, they are saying it is smooth, which it is, and has a vanilla and coffee flavor. I never did catch the vanilla, but maybe for me it came across as white chocolate. I rate it a solid 4 out of 5 stars.
Value
A box of the Tesoro Mio Barberpole Torpedos cost $140/box of 20. That is $7/stick, and if you order from their website, they are always having sales and offer free shipping. So, is this a good value? Yes, definitely. The cigar is priced right where it can compete well with the big brands and offers you that boutique cigar experience. This is an excellent cigar.
