From 1901 to 1953 Indian Motorcycle produced some of the greatest bikes in history before they went bankrupt. In 2011 Indian Motorcycles was purchased by Polaris Industries and the company is thriving once again. On the May 9th episode of The Cigar Authority Phil Zanghi discusses his family history with the brand and the creation of the cigar for today’s review.
Available in four sizes, with two different wrappers we take a look at the Maduro Toro today with the intention of reviewing the Indian Motorcycle Habano this week, perhaps as soon as tomorrow.
Cigar Review: Indian Motorcycle
Size: 6 x 52 (Toro)
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic, Central America
Strength: Medium-Full
The Look (7/10): The wrapper on the Indian Motorcycle won’t win any beauty awards, that’s for sure. The toothy Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper is thick and veiny with a lot of different colors. It’s too much to call it a brindle effect, but thankfully looks can be deceiving. The band which features the Indian Motorcycle logo with red foil is rustic looking and stands out. In the hand the cigar is firm to the touch with a hefty weight to it.
The Notes (30/35): The foot of the cigar serves up some meat like notes with a hint of black pepper and a little bit of damp earth in the background. Once the cigar is cut there is a sweetness along with notes of hay and earth.
Smoking into the first third of the Indian Motorcycle cigar there are notes of leather with a hint of mocha notes that quickly switch over to dark chocolate. There is some pepper notes on the finish as well as through the nose.
In the second third the cigar balances out and the aroma becomes extremely enjoyable with some sweetness and spice to it. The dark chocolate note returns to mocha with a slight creme on the finish. Through the nose the cigar has some hearty red pepper notes that keeps you on your toes. The chocolate notes fade away at the halfway point as the cigar takes on characteristics of leather and earth.
In the last third of the cigar serves up notes of earth and leather as the nicotine levels increase. The pepper through the nose turns down a notch and there is a slight floral element on the aroma.
The Burn (35/35): The Indian Motorcycle cigar produces one of the cleanest looking almost white ash I have ever seen on a cigar which is amazing considering how veiny and toothy the wrapper looked. The ash wound up holding for the first half of the cigar and then dropped a little bit after removing the band of the cigar. The draw was perfection with the right amount of resistance and the cigar produced ample amounts of smoke. The burn line was crisp and I never needed to touch up the cigar or relight it.
The Finish (17/20): At times I give some people a hard time that feel when you buy a cigar you need to let them rest before smoking it. While I think this cigar can be enjoyed now I can only image how it will be once it has some age on it and the nicotine levels are reduced. I plan to put a couple in my humidor and revisit in time. After all, Indian Motorcycles became collectibles and I see this cigar following the same path.
Score: 89
Price: $7.99
Bullet Points
- I’m torn between liking the forced age look of the band which has discoloration added to it in order to make it appear to be nostalgic. I think the band would have been better suited to be clean, but regardless I love how the logo pops.
- The cigar produces thick volumes of smoke and I personally love that.
- The cigar is part of the Debonaire Cigars portfolio
- When the sweetness of the cigar shines, so does the cigar. It’s heavy on leather and earth notes but I see that toning down a bit and the sweetness moving to the forefront.
- I paired the cigar with water
- Smoking time was 1 hour and 50 minutes.
