Gris Gris Toro by LA Cigar Collective
So two quick things (and my LA folks are going to roll their eyes on the history lesson 😅) as this is the second exclusive blend released by the LA Cigar Collective. If you're unfamiliar with the term Gris Gris, it's a reference to a voodoo charm or amulet, commonly a chicken foot with painted nails, that is used to protect the wearer from evil and bring good luck, while also casting misfortune on those who intend them harm. I've heard Cajuns use it as slang in reference to hexing or wishing bad luck on somebody.
The second is Tabacalera LA iSLA is a relatively new factory opened in 2020 in the DR by Hostos Fernandez Quesada. If that last name sounds familiar, well he spent 20 years working for his uncle Manuel “Manolo” Quesada at Quesada Cigars. It's a small but growing factory already making cigars for brands like La Sirena, Matilde and Warped. I also really appreciate that Kyle at LACC doesn't play coy with who he's working with to manufacturer their in-house blends. It's a personal pet peeve, but if you're a boutique who doesn't want to say who is making your cigars, I'm less interested in trying them. 🤷🏼♂️
BRAND/CO: Tabacalera LA iSLA
CIGAR: Gris Gris
VITOLA: Toro - 6" x 50
STRENGTH: Medium
WRAPPER: Indonesian Sumatra, Natural
BINDER: Nicaragua (Condega)
FILLER: Dominican Republic (Piloto Cubano, Criollo 98) / Nicaragua (Jalapa)
ORIGIN: Dominican Republic, Tabacalera La iSLA
APPEARANCE & CONSTRUCTION: Good
The Sumatra is a nice warm, chocolate brown with light sheen and plenty of mild tooth. There's a little bit of mottling providing some darker areas to the leaf around the veins. There's a couple visible veins, but they're light and thin. The seams are tight with just the faintest edge lift on a couple spot and the triple cap is perfectly even and cleanly applied. The cigar has a nice firmness to it. And if you skipped my history lesson, well the label makes it clear with the chicken foot graphic. 😅
DRAW & BURN: Good / Great
The draw is ideal and the burn starts nicely. The ash is a light gray that's very solid with only some faint darker striations appearing. There's large number of nearly invisible oil crystals blending in as well. This cigar isn't a 💨💣, but does produce a nice thick white smoke on draws. The burn line is dead even almost the entire smoke.
FLAVOR PROFILE: Great
This is an interesting blend because I can't immediately identify every flavor. The big hits are cedar woodiness, roasted peanut shell nuttiness and black pepper with a citrusy sweet on the back end. I'm getting bits of coffee, chocolate, cinnamon baking spice along with musty barnyard and earth. This is a very bready and toasty profile, that gives big breakfast vibes. But there's one flavor I'm still not identifying yet and it's going to drive me nuts because it comes on the exhale, but I'm thinking it's just sweet hay like grassiness. 😅
Getting into the second third and the good times keep coming. The citrus fruit sweetness really livens this blend up, it's almost lemony with the amount of zest it brings. I'm getting a lot of sourdough at this point, some ginger and mild coffee still, while the earth and barnyard step back. The profile really hasn't changed, it's just giving some of the background flavors a chance to step into the limelight. Overall great complexity here and a nice creaminess on the finish that carries into the final third. This works great with a sweeter drink but would probably pair well with coffee too.
OVERALL EXPERIENCE: Great
Another highly pleasing and complex blend that LACC has had made for their shop. What I really like about the two blends Kyle has chosen thus far is they stand out a bit from the crowd, instead of being a "version" of another popular cigar. And if it is similar, well I haven't tried it yet. 😅 But I think they're choosing the right partners and making smart choices with them. If you're not local to the shop, they do sell these online, so getting there in person isn't necessary!
Cigar Review Written by Sean McCloskey.
The Gris Gris Toro can be purchased in singles or bundles HERE!