Vallejuelo cigars are made in a small factory down in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Originally created for the European market, the started making their way to the states several years ago and since then have taken off for their quality, taste and price. In the past, it has earned high ratings along with the title of “Best Bargain Cigar”. Lets see how it fares in todays review.
What Am I Smoking?
Cigar: Vallejuelo Gran Toro
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican & Nicaraguan
Length: 6 Inches
Ring Gauge: 54
Power: 4 / 10
Packaging & Design
These cigars come packaged in boxes of 20 smokes. Its a standard looking box with a slide out lid and gold print on a dark brown background. The bands share the same color scheme, a brown band with gold lettering and the Vallejuelo logo. An image of the Dominican Republic sits in the middle of two tobacco leaves surrounded by the name.
First Impressions
Taking a good look at the cigar and I notice no signs of major veins of seams. This is a smooth looking smoke that is medium-tan in color. The foot appears to be firmly packed with a nice swirl of dark and light colored tobaccos, giving off a slightly spicy and earthy aroma. The caps are laid on nicely and clip off easily with my Colibri S-Cut and show off some notes of cocoa and cracked peppercorn.
The Smoke
After lighting with my Vertigo Champ, the first third of this Vallejuelo opens up right away and offers rich notes of rosado-like sweetness from the Habano wrapper and a deep earthiness from the combination of Dominican and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. The burn is straight as can be and the draw is of medium resistance and puts off a decent amount of smoke with each puff.
The second third continues to pump out the flavor. Although this isn’t a complex cigar so far, it has remained consistent with a solid backbone of earth with subtle notes of cedar and cocoa. I touched up the burn to get a part of the wrapper going again, but other than that, solid performance thus far.
Inching towards the nub of this Vallejuelo and it is still maintaining some great smoking characteristics. The smoke has become more voluminous and remained cool throughout the experience. Those same undying tasting notes are still there along with a natural sweetness from the wrapper. The burn and construction are unwavering.
Final Thoughts
I am more than pleased with how this cigar treated me. Especially for the price. I can see how it earned accolades for being a great bargain cigar, as this could easily make for a day to day cigar for a lot of people. Along with a pleasing aroma, the tasting notes are very approachable and easily distinguishable from one another. I’ll be grabbing a few more of these to put in my humidor.
Rating: 91
Price: $5.99 / $105.99 (Box of 20)
Vallejuelo Gran Toro
Vallejuelo Gran Toro Burn
