Rocky Patel Nording Toro Grande (6x58)

This is not my first Nording by Rocky Patel and I must say that every one I have smoked has been superb. I picked this one up at my local B&M, Cigar and Fine Spirits in Auburn. The wrapper is a dark chocolate brown color with an oily feel and a bit of tooth. The veining is minimal and it is solid and well packed with no soft spots or flaws to be found. The wrapper offers an earthy smell with faint hints of mocha and the foot offers scents of mocha and cocoa with a touch of sweetness. I decided to go with a punch cut on this one since I haven't used the punch much lately. I found cold draw to be just a touch on the firm side with notes of cocoa and molasses. The initial third opens up with flavors of rich tobacco and an earthy spice. As I journey deeper into the first third there are light notes of honey that come and go and a fair amount of spice to the retrohale. About an inch into the burn there are some coffee and toasted nut notes that emerge. The finish is long and toasty with a faint sweetness to go with the peppery spice. As I go into the second third notes of cocoa and some rather deep caramel notes catch my attention. The earthy spice has gained a touch of sweetness and the retrohale brings a slight kick to the peppery spice that balances out that sweetness perfectly. As I start the final third the caramel notes have faded a bit as the coffee, toasted nut, cocoa, and earthy spice are joined by faint notes of leather. The sweetness to the earthy spice fades a bit as I start the final third . The peppery spice has kicked up a notch leaving a nice tingle on the palate. The Nording has never failed to provide a pleasurable smoking experience. It is a solid smoke with a consistently medium body and full flavor throughout the burn. I had to make a couple of burn corrections on this stick and I attribute that to the 40 degree smoking weather. It is a well balanced stick, bringing a bit of a peppery kick and a nice mellow sweetness to accompany it. I paid somewhere around 7.50 for this stick and I feel that price is about right. Burn time was just over 1.5 hours. You can find more information on Rocky Patel Cigars at www.rockypatel.com and find them on twitter at http://twitter.com/RockyPatelCigar. More information on Cigar & Fine Spirits of Auburn, AL can be found at www.cigarandfinespirits.com and on twitter at http://twitter.com/CigarAndSpirits