The 601 Black Toro is a new imagining of a cigar that was pulled from the market by Espinosa many years ago. This new Toro was unveiled at a LaZonaPalooza event hosted by Espinosa Cigars, and officially released at the 2021 PCA Trade Show. The blend is designed to be a full-bodied Connecticut Shade experience that goes above and beyond the more traditional ultra-mild cigars wrapped with a light shade wrapper. Here is Matt’s review of the 601 Black Toro.
At the time of publishing, the 601 Black is only available in this Toro vitola.
601 Black Toro
MSRP: $10.00
Size: 6 x 50
Origin: La Zona – Esteli, Nicaragua
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade (Ecuador)
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Prologue
It is definitely pleasing to the eye. The wrapper is a beautiful light reddish-tan color, with a very smooth texture and clean seams. The coloration of the wrapper is very even and has a slight oil sheen. The wrapper smells like cedar and dry grass. The foot has very mild pepper aroma, with a little bit of musty earth. The cold draw has a unique, almost buttery pepper note to it, with a slight grassy sweetness.
Act I
After an initial spike of black pepper, the beginning section of this cigar is mild and sweet. There are textures of sweet cream and peanuts, with background notes of baking spices. There is plenty of smoke output, and a few puffs have a note that reminds me of toasted bread. The retrohale is very smooth, and mostly characterized by aromas of mild spice and vanilla sweetness.
Act II
The middle section of the cigar does ramp up a bit in body, but stays well within the medium range. The most noticeable addition to the profile is cedar. That actually mixes nicely with some natural sweetness and that same baking spice note from before. The retrohale is largely the same, with only a slight increase in overall intensity.
Act III
The final section of the cigar has an interesting citrus sweetness that enters the party. That makes for a very enjoyable profile that brings to mind a type of holiday bread from my childhood. There is a clean profile mixed with sweet, toasty, nutty, and a mild spice that all work well together. A tiny bit of that citrus also makes it into the retrohale, along with that vanilla and mild spice.
Epilogue
The aromas and flavors are nicely balanced in this blend, and it does deliver a bit more body than many smokers might expect. It has a consistent smoke output that really delivers a medium body and allows the palate to sense the flavors. The biggest knock I can mention is the slightly messy and flaky burn. That did not detract at all from the enjoyment, only made cleanup a little more important. If you enjoy a medium body cigar with a good range of flavors, you should pick up some of these.
601 Black Toro – How Bout That Cigar?
Rating: How Bout A 5er?
Overall Score: 88
PAD: +0.0 (What is PAD?)
Flavor Summary: Cream, Coffee, Nuts, Cedar, Baking Spice, Toast
Strength Assessment: Medium
Source: Cigars for this review were purchased by HBT Media LLC