Back in the day, I would get excited every time there was a new cigar that came to market. Over the years I have slowed down and no longer go crazy tracking down every cigar release known to man. But, once in a while I catch wind of cigar coming out that I know I must have. One of the few cigar this year that achieved that status for me is the Eiroa 20 Years Colorado. Today, the time has come to cut and light that cigar here at The Cigar Authority.
Cigar Review: Eiroa 20 Years Colorado
Wrapper: Honduras Corojo (Colorado)
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Honduras
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 46
Size: Corona Gorda
The Look: The Eiroa 20 Years Colorado comes packaged in dress boxes. The inside lid features art work of the Eiroa family farms in Honduras and the cigars are packaged in two rows of 10 cigars without cello. The foot of the cigar is covered by yellow tissue pepper that denotes the The First 20 Year Series as well as Christian Eiroa’s signature. The wrapper is referred to as Colorado which is a reference to the reddish-brown hue of the Corojo wrapper and it is spectacular with a nice amount of oils present. The band of the cigar is classy and features colors of cream, red, black and gold. In the hand the box press cigar is firm to the touch with no soft spots.
The Notes: The cold draw of the cigar reminds me of paprika with some Mediterranean spices. After I put down my cigar to answer a phone call I pick it back up and detect the addition of some tangy molasses. The aroma off the foot of the cigar mimics the molasses with a subtle spice in the background.
Once the cigar is toasted and lit there is an abundance of corojo spice, which for me is strong notes of pepper on the palate and retrohale. As the pepper subsides there are earthy notes with some hints of wheat and vanilla bean. The cigar is balanced, with a subtle sweetness that intensifies as the cigar progresses.
The second third of the 20 Years Colorado sees the sweetness become dominant. I’m getting a grape like nuance to this cigar which seems to intensify on the aroma of the cigar. Now don’t get me wrong, there is nothing flavored about this stick, but there is an incredible sweetness that has me salivating. At the half way point of the smoke, some of the sweetness begins to fade and I wonder how this cigar would pair with wine. I’m not a big believer of wine and cigars, but I think the two would pair incredibly well.
Moving on to the last third the sweetness takes a backseat as the cigar becomes earthy with notes of wheat and a subtle coffee component. The retrohale offers up notes of spice and earth. The one places the sweetness does remain is on the aroma which continues to remind me of grapes.
The Notes: Over the years why I have stopped chasing new releases is because I felt disappointed more often than not. The Eiroa First 20 Colorado does not fall into this category as the cigar lived up to the hype for me. Granted a lot of that hype was self-created, but none the less the cigar lived up to my expectations, in fact I can say it even surpassed it. We smoked the 6 x 60 on an episode of The Cigar Authority, and I can offer the opinion the cigar in the 6 x 46 version was miles above in complexity and flavor. I look forward to lighting up other sizes in the coming days.
Score: 92
Price: $12.49 / $221.99
Eiroa 20 Years Colorado
Eiroa 20 Years Colorado Foot
Eiroa 20 Years Colorado Burn
