Espinosa Laranja Reserva Escuro Toro (6 x 52)

Video review HERE.

(Description taken from Cigar-coop.com website)

Espinosa Premium Cigars has announced a maduro counterpart to its Laranja Series. Today the company announced it has released the Laranja Reserva Escuro, a cigar that features a Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper.

The Espinosa Laranja Reserva Escuro made a debut at the 2018 La Zona Palooza event this past November 2018. “I was just overwhelmed with how well it was received and how the people raved about it. I couldn’t wait for the IPCPR, I had to get it out to our retailers as soon as I could,” said company owner Erik Espinosa in a press release.

Produced at the San Lotano Factory in Ocotal, Nicaragua, it is also the first Espinosa release to utilize a Brazilian Mata Fina Wrapper. The remainder of the blend consists of all Nicaraguan tobaccos. It is available in three box-pressed sizes: Corona Large (6 x 46), Robusto Grande (5 1/2 x 56), and Toro (6 x 52)

Espinosa Cigars Director of Operations Hector Alfonso Sr. commented, “I believe that this cigar is the perfect complement to the Laranja Reserva. This cigar is a fuller smoke, with more body, it is incredibly flavorful and very aromatic. That Mata Fina wrapper made quite a difference. I can see myself going ‘back to back’ with the original Laranja and the Escuro.”

Blend:

Wrapper: Brazilian Mata Fina

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Country of Origin: Nicaragua

Factory: San Lotano

Vitolas available:

Corona Large: 6 x 46 (SRP $10.00)

Robusto Grande: 5 1/2 x 56 (SRP $10.50)

Toro: 6 x 52 (SRP $11.00) REVIEWED TODAY

The cigar is simply beautiful. It has a nice feel in the hand also.

The test draw after cutting the dome shaped cap was good with a touch of firmness. The initial flavors at light up were a sweet, tangy orange citrus, honey, brown sugar, cinnamon, sweet dark chocolate, and espresso. This is a very dark noted cigar but very tasty at light up. There was black pepper rated at a 7. 

At the first third (29 minutes) the flavors are fantastic. I still had all the flavors that I had at light up. And, now there are a lot of nutmeg notes. The nutmeg at light up was very light and I didn't even notice it much but during the first third it really blossomed. The cigar is medium to full bodied at this point. The finish is short and one of unsweetened dark chocolate and a small amount of lingering black pepper. The mix of flavors is very good at this point. For the first third I rated the cigar at 94.

At the second third (1 hour 15 minutes) I noted a significant loss of sweetness in the cigar. At this point there is no distinguishable citrus. Instead it's a light cedar with little sweetness. There is still a lot of nutmeg, sweet dark chocolate, and espresso. The pepper is still around a 7. The finish is unchanged. The cigar is very close to full bodied now. With the loss of sweet citrus notes I lowered the score to 92.

The cigar lasted 1 hour 42 minutes. In the final third the cigar stayed on the same trajectory. I lost the dark chocolate sweetness. Combine this with the loss of citrus notes and you pretty much have unsweetened dark chocolate, espresso, nutmeg, and a very light orange peel/cedar type flavor. The cigar has gone totally dark and it has no sweetness. The finish was unchanged. The cigar is full bodied. I lost interest in the cigar when all sweet notes disappeared. But, if you like a very dark noted cigar with little to no sweetness (in the final third) this might be for you. The cigar started off fantastic and over the course of the burn it kept losing sweetness until it was totally gone. I lowered the final third score to a 90. You can purchase these cigars HERE.

Overall Score: 92