Leaf by Esteban (Toro 6 x 52)

Video review HERE.

(Description taken from Cigar-Coop.com website)

The Leaf by Esteban is a collaboration between Leaf  & Bean retail shop owner Jim Robinson and Esteban Disla of Nica Sueno. 

The Leaf by Esteban utilizes an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper over a hybrid wrapper of Jalapa Criollo and Corojo. The fillers come from the growing regions of Estelí, Jalapa, and Condega. The cigar was only produced in one size – a 6 x 52 Toro. The cigar is produced at Fabrica de Tabacos Nica Sueno, the factory co-owned by Disla and Skip Martin. Nica Sueno is also the factory that produces the RoMa Craft Tobac brand.

Leaf by Esteban has been produced on a more limited basis – compared to Leaf by Oscar.  The packaging has changed from the original, with the newer Leaf by Esteban’s having a more rustic look similar to the Leaf by Oscar.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano

Binder: Jalapa Criollo/Corojo Hybrid (Nicaragua)

Filler: Estelí, Jalapa, and Condega (Nicaragua)

Country of Origin: Nicaragua ( Fabrica de Tabacos Nica Sueno)

Toro: 6 x 52

The cigar has an oily wrapper and has a pretty good feel in the hand.

The test draw after cutting the cap was good. The initial flavors at light up were a sweet cedar, brown sugar, a small amount of whipping cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, light leather, and earthy black coffee. There was a nice black pepper which I rated at an 8 and it's very good on the retrohale. 

At the first third (19 minutes) the flavor notes are very close to the initial assessment. In place of the light whipping cream I now got dry cocoa. Not sure how you go from whipping cream to dry cocoa but that's what it was. The other flavor notes are the same. The nutmeg is a creamy, slightly dry type and it's woven all through the other front end flavors and carries over to the finish. The finish is nutmeg, dry cocoa, and brown sugar with a nice amount of lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium bodied at this point. For the first third I rated the cigar at 91.

At the second third (48 minutes) the flavor that keeps bouncing around (whipping cream to dry cocoa) is now a sweet caramel. So now you have a nice sweet cedar with brown sugar and caramel, cinnamon, nutmeg, light leather, and black coffee (not so earthy any more). Actually there are more leather notes in the second third than the first. The finish is now nutmeg, caramel, and a nice amount of lingering black pepper. The cigar is a low grade medium to full bodied. The cigar is nice but nothing spectacular for me. The score, however, remains at a 91 for the second third.

The cigar lasted 1 hour 10 minutes. That's rather short for a 6x52 toro. I thought I'd get a longer burn time. You still had sweet cedar, brown sugar, caramel, dry cocoa (yes, they came back), light leather, nutmeg, black coffee, and nice black pepper. The black pepper was the star of this cigar for me. The cigar is medium to full bodied. The finish was unchanged. For me, the flavors in the final third lost a little something. They were average. This is not a bad cigar but it's just not anything special. I rated the final third at an 89.

Overall Score: 90.33