Video review HERE.
(Description provided by Isabela Cigars)
Isabela Cigar Company is releasing our latest creation out of our IMAGINE studio, the 2021 Isabela PepperHead Gordo . For this release, we take you on a magical journey to far away lands, and their myriad of different exotic peppercorns and spices , a true “tour de force” of twisting turning everchanging transitions of flavors.
To effect the myriad of multiple reveals in this blend, we utilized multiple different strains of high-priming tobaccos, each of which was aged at different lengths before blending, with an additional 4+ years of post production aging , to meld the tobaccos into a harmonious blend of many many different flavor reveals, a true “ebb and flow” experience!
This Vitola was blended and produced at the same sessions that yielded the highly rated 2019 PepperHead corona, and though we projected this release to be made available shortly after the 2019 PepperHead corona release, we quickly realized that , due to the large amount of high-priming tobaccos we used for this large Vitola, it necessitated more aging than anticipated !
The 2021 PepperHead Gordo is a mammoth 6x60 vitola
-2500 total cigars produced
-available at Official Isabela Retailers
MSRP $10.95
I reviewed the corona version of this cigar on October 29, 2019.
The barber pole wrapper is quite striking. There are finishing wrapper strips at the foot and the cap. The cigar has a nice dense feel in the hand.
The test draw after cutting the cap was good. The initial flavors at light up were apricot, citrus peel, creamy nutmeg, brown sugar, and earthy black coffee. There was black pepper rated at 7 1/2. A sweet start.
At the first third (34 minutes) I had the same flavor notes. I also got hints of leather. When comparing this larger ring to the corona I had more sweeter, richer notes in the corona. The flavors are similar but the Gordo is not quite as sweet. The cigar is medium bodied. The finish is a small amount of apricot, a little more citrus peel, and nutmeg with average lingering black pepper. I rated the first third 92.
Moving through the second third (1 hour 1 minute) the sweeter flavors moved up a little. There is more sweetness in the apricot and brown sugar. The cigar is still medium bodied. There is a little more sweetness on the finish; a little more apricot. The cigar made a slight improvement. I raised the score to 93.
The cigar lasted 1 hour 32 minutes. I noticed that this cigar has performed very similar to the 2017 Mash-Up Robusto that I reviewed a few weeks ago; it got better as it went along. The final third improved. There is now a sharp, tangy sweetness in the apricot and the brown sugar increased. They have definitely improved. The cigar is now medium to full bodied. The finish is unchanged. The cigar got close to the intensity of the corona. I rated the final third 94. Get familiar with Isabela Cigars. Go to their website and try a few. You won't be disappointed.
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