Today we take a look at the lighter side of the Stallone Nicaraguan Cowboy Series – The Palomino. This is one six different blends that make up the company’s inaugural line of cigars known as the Cowboy Series created by Antonio Barrios, a real life Cowboy, in concert with Guillermo Pena and his Las Villas Cigars factory in Nicaragua. As noted in previous reviews we did for this company, they note that ‘Every horse (cigar) has his own personality and character’.
The concept of the series is that the name of every cigar can be identified by the color of the wrapper that resembles the horse’s color in Spanish. In the case of the Palomino, the horse is distinguished by its cream, yellow or gold coat. The more interesting fact about the Palomino horse is that it is not a specific breed, as almost any breed can produce a Palomino. Another fun fact is that the famous “Mr. Ed“, you know the one, the talking horse on TV, was a Palomino.
As for the Stallone Nicaraguan Palomino cigar, let’s get into that review right now. The company describes the blend as:
- Wrapper – USA Connecticut Shade
- Binder – Nicaraguan
- Filler– Nicaraguan
The Palomino is expressed in two vitolas and each comes packaged in 20-count boxes:
- Robusto (5 x 50 ) – MSRP $6.90
- Toro (6 x 54 ) – MSRP $7.90
For this review, I sampled 3 of the Stallone Nicaraguan Cigars – Palomino Robustos which I received from the company for the purpose of reviewing on Stogie Press.
Pre-Light Examination
The Stallone Nicaraguan Palomino is a well constructed cigar that is cloaked in a medium tan, Connecticut shade leaf, that has a slight oily sheen. There are minimal veins that run through the wrapper and the cigar is well packed with just a light give along the barrel. A triple cap finishes the presentation.
Three bands and a cedar sleeve adorn the cigar. The primary band is the standard band on all Stallone Nicaragua cigars and proudly displays the company’s logo. The second band is placed just below and is “notched out” so it fits neatly under the lower point of the primary band. A golden footer band completes the look.
Running the Palomino under the nose, I detected a faint cedar note along the barrel, while the foot exuded pleasant notes of nut and sweetness.
I used my double blade Xikar cutter to slice the cap straight across the shoulder and proceeded to give it some cold draw puffs that I found to be slightly open and offered cedar and a mild pepper note.
I used a lit cedar spill to get the journey started. The foot took to the flame well as it warmed up to an even orange glow as I drew in the first puffs of pleasant buttery nut. Follow along as i burn the Palomino to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- Tad harsh to start
- Pepper enters shortly into the burn – giving me a bit of a surprise
- Cedar notes adds dimension to the early profile
- Thick creamy smoke fills the palate
- Medium grey ash forms on top of a thick wavy char line
- Buttery nut joins the mix
- Ash fell early revealing an off centered burn cone
- Oils develop well above the burn line
- A hint of espresso teases the palate followed by mild lemon grass notes starting the second third
- Slight off burn developed that did not require a touch-up
- The early nut has morphed into a pleasant cashew note
- Cream and cocoa notes develop deep in the second third
- Dry fruit notes join the late profile
- Mild to Medium in Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 20 minutes
Final Analysis
The Stallone Nicaraguan Cigars – Palomino was fairly pleasant, mild to medium strength cigar that started a tad harsh but quickly hit the palate with a surprising shot of pepper on the palate and nose. As the pepper pulled back the complexity of the cigar started to show with notes of cedar, butter, and nut. The draw was smooth as the flavors continued to evolve and transition down to the nub. I especially liked the mix of espresso and lemon grass. The burn did have a wavy burn and slight off burn that did not require a touch-up. If you are one that enjoys Connecticut wrapped cigars this should place well in your wheel house and you may want to consider picking up a fiver of these. Overall I rate this a 92.
Point Deductions: (-1) Wavy Burn; (-1) Off Centered Burn Cone; (-1) Slight Off Burn; (-1) Harsh To Start
Bonus Points: (+1) Nice Oiling; (+1) Extremely Complex
