Aging Room Pelo de Oro by Boutique Blends – Cigar Review

Boutique Blends is a company that is just that. Boutique. Over the years, they have released some highly sought after and award winning cigars. One of their most recent creations is a cigar that uses a hefty amount of Pelo de Oro, a tobacco strain that is tough to grow but offers plenty of unique complexities to go around.

Brand owner Rafael Nodal utilized the help of A.J. Fernandez to acquire the leaf he desired for these cigars. With this being a Nicaraguan puro, it marks a change in his style. But Rafael is known for pleasantly surprising consumers with interesting blends. Let’s see how the Aging Room Small Batch Pelo de Oro holds up.

What am I Smoking?
Cigar: Aging Room Small Batch Pelo de Oro
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Pelo de Oro (Nicaragua)
Filler: Pelo de Oro (Nicaragua)
Length: 5.5 inches
Ring Gauge: 55
Power: 7 / 10

Packaging & Design
The Aging Room Pelo de Oro arrive packaged in gorgeous looking boxes of 10 cigars in a single row. The box uses hues of red and white with an embossed feel, which is matched by the bands on these handmades inside. However, the double bands are made of a thick and high quality paper stock that have a rice paper like texture to them. The top band denotes the name of the brand in a night and sparkly red text, the secondary with “Pelo de Oro” over a red background.

First Impressions
The first notable quality of this cigar is the dark and toothy wrapper that covers a perfectly smooth and uniform filler job. The caps are laid on nicely and finished with a short fan-like pigtail cap. Always a nice visual touch, even though it’s gone after cutting. Notes on the prelight draw include black pepper, cocoa and raisins. The draw is right in my personal sweet spot; not too loose, not too tight. Right in the middle. The wrapper feels like velvet and gives off deep brown and reddish hue under the sunlight.

The Smoke
After getting lit up with my Vertigo Equalizer, which is a slick little torch lighter, the cigar immediately opens up to rich notes of brown sugar sweetness and cocoa. The smoke is plentiful and offers nuances of caramel and zesty pepper. The smoke has a smooth character that makes subtle flavors pop, but still has body to really coat the palate.

Moving onward into the second third, and it becomes apparent why Mr. Nodal wanted to use the tobaccos he used in this blend. It shows off a subtly changing profile with variations of the same notes from the first couple inches. The main difference I can detect is that it has become fuller in body with a longer lasting finish.

The final third of the Aging Room Pelo de Oro has me wanting to reach in the box and get another one going. Although the changes are subtle, there’s a noticeable difference between the first and last inches of the cigar. Notes become deeper and more pronounced as it heats up in my hand.

Final Thoughts
I wish these weren’t such a limited production cigar. In fact, it only comes in this one size, known as the Sherzo. This is something that, if you get your hands on it, you get as many as you can hold. I’ve smoked a lot of variations of Pelo de Oro blends over the years, and this is a memorable one that stands out as one of the of the best out there.

Rating: 94
Price: $13.99 $125.99 (Box of 10)