Video review HERE.
(Description taken from Cigar-Coop.com website)
Early this year, Brown and Emilio Cigars’ brand owner Scott Zucca announced a collaborative partnership between their brands. The two brands were already being distributed by Zucca’s Boutiques Unified distribution company. Under the agreement branding and marketing of Emilio would now be handled by Black Label Trading Company and all Emilio cigar production would be moved to Fabrica Oveja Negra. Prior to the partnership, the waters of such an arrangement were tested out when Emilio reintroduced the Grimalkin line.
Like the original releases, the AF1 will feature a San Andres Maduro wrapper and the AF2 will feature an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. The AF1 will be available in three sizes (Robusto, Toro, and Grand Toro) while the AF2 will be available in four sizes (Corona, Robusto, Toro, Grand Toro). Both the AF1 and AF2 will be presented in 20-count boxes.
Emilio AF1
Wrapper: Mexico San Andrés
Binder: Nicaraguan Habano
Filler: Nicaragua
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Fabrica Oveja Negra
Robusto: 5 x 50 (MSRP $9.50/cigar)
Toro: 6 x 50 (MSRP $10.00/cigar) REVIEWED TODAY
Grand Toro: 6 x 58 (MSRP $10.50/cigar)
The cigar is very dark and has an average feel in the hand.
The test draw after cutting the cap was good. The initial flavors at light up were a dry cedar, light blackberry notes, sweet dark chocolate, brown sugar, a touch of cinnamon, and espresso. There was black pepper rated at 7 1/2 to 8. The espresso notes are half the flavors. The other notes make up the other half. There are massive amounts of espresso at the outset.
At the first third (23 minutes) the cigar has settled down quite a bit. The espresso has greatly toned down. There is still plenty of it but it's not in your face. You still have the dry cedar, blackberry notes, and there is a buttery richness now. There was still some brown sugar and cinnamon, nutmeg (which was not noticed at the outset), sweet dark chocolate, and the espresso. The flavors are nice and the added richness in the mix is a definite plus. The finish is brown sugar and blackberry notes and some nutmeg with a nice amount of lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium to full bodied at this point. The first third was quite nice. I rated it at 92.
At the second third (51 minutes) the cigar started changing and not for the better. I lost a lot of the cedar, blackberry, and the richness in the cigar. There is a touch of bitterness now. The cigar still has some sweetness and the dark chocolate is still sweet but the overall amount has been reduced. The cigar is very close to full bodied now. The cigar has lost much of it's initial appeal. I lowered the second third score to 89.
The cigar lasted 1 hour 11 minutes, which is rather short for a toro. The cigar continued to go downhill. In the final third I had a residue of blackberry, a sprinkling of brown sugar, sweet dark chocolate, and espresso. The cigar is full bodied. The finish is unchanged. The cigar has lost the majority of what it had in the first third. For the final third I lowered the score to 87. The cigar started off quite nicely but it lost steam in the second third and even more in the final third.
Overall Score: 89.33
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