This is the second review of the Stallone Nicaraguan Cigars Cowboy Series. If you recall from our review of the 96 rated Alazán Habano Robusto, company owner Tony Barrios is a cigar and horse lover not to mention, a real life cowboy. Todays review is focused on the Castaño San Andres. This is one of six blends in the Cowboy Line. The name Castaño means “chestnut colored”.
The Stallone Nicaraguan Cigars Castaño has a blend described as:
- Wrapper – Mexican San Andres
- Binder – Nicaraguan
- Filler – Nicaraguan
The Stallone Nicaraguan Cigars Castaño is expressed in three vitolas and come packaged in 20-count boxes:
- Robusto (5 1/2 x 52) – MSRP $8.25
- Toro (6 x 54) – MSRP $8.90
- Belicoso (6 x 54) – MSRP $9.20
The toro is also part of the 6-count sampler pack of the complete Cowboy Series which retails for $66.00. For this review, I sampled two of the Castaño San Andres toros, which I purchased from the Underground Cigar Shop and Lounge in Fort Worth, TX as part of the 2020 Stogie Press mission to Keep The Lights On. .
Pre-Light Examination
The Stallone Nicaraguan Cigars Castaño is a gritty, toothy, dark brown cigar that has some noticeable veins. It is a soft boxed pressed vitola that is firm to the touch, solidly packed and has a decent weight in the hand. A double cap finishes the presentation.
The cigar is well adorned with three bands and cedar sleeve. The primary band proudly displays the company’s logo in the center (a rising stallion, with the copper clad word “STALLONE” and the owners name “TONY BARRIOS” printed across.) The right side of the band has a horse shoe and the left side the word “NICARAGUA” The secondary band is die cut to fit just under the primary band and declares this as the “Castaño San Andres” in the center. The bottom half of the of the cigar has a cedar sleeve that is wrapped with a chestnut brown satin ribbon.
Running the cigar along the nose, I did not pick up much aroma along the barrel. The foot however, presented notes of barnyard and pepper.
Using my double blade cutter I sliced the cap straight across the shoulder and took some cold draw puffs that had a decent restriction and offered notes of earth and a touch of sweetness and cream, that I would describe much like a mushroom cream sauce. The more I cold puffed I noted a growing red pepper flake.
With the preliminary exam out of the way and spiking my interest, I reached for my double flame torch and warmed the foot to an even orange glow and drew in the first puffs of peppery blast. Follow along as I burn this stallion to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- Pepper blast to start – no surprise
- Thick creamy smoke
- Savory spice enters as the pepper pulls back
- Coffee notes build in the background
- Syrupy aroma develops
- White ash forms on a thin char line
- Natural Sweetness enters in second third
- Strength ratchets up
- Ash fell in a decent chunk revealing a flat burn cone
- Dark chocolate notes join the profile
- Mild off burn
- Peppery spice builds midway
- Sweetness and cedar notes deep in second third
- Spice continues down to the final
- Medium – Full strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 40 Minutes
Overall, the Stallone Nicaraguan Cigars Castaño San Andres was a flavor and aroma filled journey that kept my palate interested from foot to nub. Though not as spectacular as the habano, it was still a fine smoke. Where it lost points, was in the burn criteria. It had a wavy and jagged burn and flat burn cone. Even with these minor issues I would still say to buy a 5 pack of these or pick up the sampler box and enjoy the complete Cowboy Series. I rate this a 91.
Point Deductions: (-1) Wavy Jagged Burn; (-1) Slight Off Burn in Second Third; (-1) Flat Burn Cone
