Calá Gran Reserva Toro 4/2/17

 

Appearance 

Medium brown color with a good amount of mottling and a few prominent veins. The seams are tight except for the couple areas where there is a stem keeping it from being tight. There is a nice oily sheen and some tooth. The filler is well packed with no soft spots.

Aroma 

Tobacco, barnyard, cedar and a hint of spice on the wrapper. Barnyard & cedar at the foot.

Prelight Draw 

Red Licorice, dried fruit, cedar, a hint of raisin and nutmeg spice.

1st

The initial draws bring some almost sour tobacco notes with some cedar and sweetness on the finish. The draw is on the snug side of good. The ash is medium gray and stacked. The burn has a bit of a wave at 3/4" in but appears to be self correcting already. Flavor is pretty consistent through the end of the 1st/3rd. 

2nd

After removing the ash I notice that the Ligero is not in the center of the bunch which will cause an uneven burn. The sour cedar flavor is still dominant. A few draws later the fruity notes begin to balance the sour notes, but then goes back to the dominant sour notes. Smoke production is at medium. Strength is medium+. 

Final/3rd

The ash is getting a little flaky. The burn has fully self corrected midway in the final/3rd. Flavors are consistent through the end of the final/3rd. 

Overall

The Calá Gran Reserva Toro provides a somewhat enjoyable smoking experience. A consistent flavor profile albeit tainted by the sour flavor with a good draw and an erratic burn. I'm gonna chalk this one up as a one off as the Robusto was very good. 2 more Calá reviews to come soon.

Thanks to Jose Calá @JoseJcala9042 for the samples for review.