Steel Horse Corojo

Purchased: Pack of 25 Robusto (5 X 50)
Price: $175 ($7/stick)
Store: Cigar Club Sosua, Sosua, Dominican Republic
Buy Again: Yes
Box Worthy: Yes
Experience Rating: 93

As I’ve recently written, I went to the DR a back in March and brought back a bunch of cigars. I got and smoked a bunch of local/shop blends while there and brought several home. But my ultimate target was Steel Horse cigars. I fell in love with the maduros that my son brought back for me last year and was looking forward to getting some when I got there.

Long story short, I spent an afternoon there sampling cigars and hanging out with Lee Hammond, the owner of Steel Horse, and purchased a bundle of the maduro and a bundle of the corojo, the cigar I’m writing about now.

Truth be told, I started writing this post months ago, but I totally forgot about it. We’re now at the end of July and I sparked one up and checked the blog if I had written about it. Turns out I had a draft, so I’m picking up where I left off.

All Steel Horse cigars have great-looking aesthetics. They’re not at the level of Davidoff, but the wrappers are smooth and slightly veiny. Construction is top-notch. The sticks are solid with no soft spots. And once you cut them, they have almost a Padron-like draw that’s loose but has some resistance.

As for this cigar, a few months of resting has done it a world of good. The wrapper is nicely mottled with an oily sheen that screams out FLAVOR! Time is what this cigar needed to really express itself, and as I write this, I’m swimming in satisfaction.

The flavor of this cigar is rooted in flowers. It’s as if I’m smoking a bunch of daisies and chrysanthemums. It was originally difficult to articulate what I was tasting, and then I got the mental cue of a bouquet of flowers. While I’ve tasted flowers in the past, none have had that as their foundation. It’s quite unique!

But there’s a lot going on with this cigar, even in the first third. The flowers are accompanied by a procession of flavors, from dark honey, roasted nuts, baking spices, light cream, leather, charred oak, white pepper and finishing with a mouth-coating red pepper heat from the Corojo wrapper. All these flavors are transitioning in and out. The complexity is amazing.

As I started the second third, I got a hint of smoked meat, specifically pulled pork. The transitions are coming full speed, no big changes in the overall profile, but they’ve intensified. Combine that with an ever-shifting palate and woo-hoo! I’m swooning!

The halfway point is where everything comes together. The cigar has loaded up and the smoke has taken on a creamy texture. Transitions have slowed down, and the spice factor has picked up, accompanied by sweet, red bell pepper. And while the transitions have indeed slowed down, each puff brings a fleeting hint of something different. I’ve gotten buttered toast, Mexican cola, saltwater taffy, smoked pork, tangy and spicy salsa, black pepper.

A light coffee finally shows itself in the final third along with some bittersweet chocolate on the finish. Steel Horse lists the predominant flavors as coffee and chocolate. I’ve smoked several of these up to this point, and at least for me, they haven’t shown up until the end. I believe that manufacturers list those flavors to give people something familiar to grab onto. But I think that in this case, that’s a disservice to this stick. It’s so much more complex than being dominated by coffee and chocolate.

As for the strength and nicotine, this is a solid medium to medium+ stick through the first two thirds. It started out a little short of medium. But once the cigar got going, it immediately jumped into the medium range. Nicotine is present but doesn’t throw a knockout punch. It’s just enough to make me mellow.

Now that I’m in the final third, strength has ratcheted up a few notches. That has always taken me by surprise. It’ll sit on medium/medium+ for most of the smoke but then wallop me with strength once I hit the final third. Nicotine picked up a little as well, but it’s still in the controllable range.

I’m going to stop writing now as I think I’ve communicated the gist of the cigar. This is a lovely cigar, with great complexity and balance. Steel Horse calls it a well-rounded cigar, but I don’t see it that way, especially now that the cigar has had a few months of rest. Oh yes, it’s balanced, but make no mistake. This is a ballistic missile of flavor.

BTW, you can purchase these online at Sir Louis Cigars. Luxury Cigar Club occasionally has them, but they’re currently sold out.

Oh! And before I forget, this is cigar is a slow roller. The draw tightens a bit over time, which is good. Total smoke time for me has been an unwavering hour and thirty minutes. And this is a Robusto! Amazing!