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EO 601 Black Label Cigar Review
By Jesse | March 5, 2008
This entry comes from Tom from NC a member of Cigar Live. He originally sent along an ashtray review with this, but since both were great entries I split it into two. You can enter up to 5 times so check out the Contest Page for details.
http://www.unitedtobaccoinc.com/
The 601 Series was created and is manufactured at the Tabacalera Cubana factory in the Estelí, Nicaragua by José “Pepin” Garcia exclusively for United Tobacco.
601 Connecticut (Black Label)
A medium to full-bodied smoke, the filler and binder are Nicaraguan tobacco and the wrapper is Ecuadorian-grown Connecticut-seed tobacco.
Models/Vitolas
Esplendido Churchill 7 49
Rabito Grand Corona 6.5 46
Torpedo Figurado 6.5 52
Toro Toro 6 50
Robusto Robusto 5 50
The cigar I smoked for this review was the Torpedo, 6.5×52, I have kept it in my humidor at 65% RH for about two weeks.
The band design is simple, elegant black & gold with small green and red accents. The printing on this band was a bit spotty, the registration was off on the gold printing, so the colors from below (silver, green and red) did not come through where they should.
Pre-light
The wrapper is a medium brown with no noticeable patches. Its well done with minimal veining, however there were a few bumps and knobs telegraphing from under the wrapper. A nice tobacco scent with a hint of grass/hay.
Snip & toast
I snipped about 3/8ths off the tip. This is one thing I love about torpedo cigars is that you can pick your draw; I like a loose but not free flowing draw. I also like the way a torpedo end concentrates the flavors.
One warning about the burn photos, I didn’t realize until I was done how poorly the camera was focusing.
1st third
The cigar starts with a blast of pepper and a nice tobacco taste. I prefer a cigar that’s starts off letting you know that you are smoking a cigar, but with an even flavor backing up the wake up slap.
I do not have the developed palette yet to discern individual elements, but I do know what cigars I like and which I don’t. I really appreciate the flavor of this cigar, as it doesn’t hint at much, just has a nice tobacco flavor.
The burn at this stage is very even with a thin black burn line. No issues with the burn.
There is a bit of a bite to the smoke if you exhale some through your nose (a process I recommend for really tasting the cigar) but it is acceptable and reinforces the tobacco flavor nicely.
This particular stick had a bit of a split right at the foot that quickly burned itself out which had no effect on the evenness of the burn.
The ash is a nice tight white except where the split on the foot was, where the ash is a darker color. I am smoking this outside, so ash stability might be hard to judge.
I paired this cigar with diet coke. I prefer to pair it with something that can stand up to the fullness of this cigar. Coke (not Pepsi, too sweet), red wine, whiskey, or scotch.
(Someday I will post a rant about how much I dislike restaurants that, when you order Coke, bring Pepsi without telling you)
This cigar has a nice full flavor, but doesn’t have the same nicotine hit that a La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Chisel has, so it does not require a full meal before and a nap after J
2nd third
The pepper hit has backed off a bit (though there is still a hint of bite), overall the cigar has smoothed out with the tobacco flavor building. There is a large volume of nice white smoke.
One of the things I like about the cigars Don Pepin Garcia has had a hand in, is that the flavors are not complicated, but well flavored and consistent. If you are looking to spend the cigar discerning various flavors, with flavor changes throughout, Don Pepin Garcia is probably not your best choice. If you just want to enjoy a wonderful cigar with a spectacular flavor, I cannot think of any of his that I would not recommend (at least of the ones I’ve had).
Final 3rd
The cigar continues to smooth out and intensify. The bite and flavor have met in the middle into a truly wonderful, strong, flavor.
Burn is getting a bit uneven, as I speed up the smoking ‘cause I am enjoying it so much. MUST SLOW DOWN. Even with the over smoking, still smooth and the burn is not very uneven, just enough to let me know I am going too fast. No harshness in the flavor from the over smoking, still smooth and strong.
Overall, a nice cigar. Rather than stick a number on it let me rate it this way:
Flavor Strength: Low end of full, 8 out of 10.
Flavor: Solid tobacco flavor with a bit of pepper. Not many nuance flavors
Construction: Well constructed, nicely filled, poor printing on the band.
Burn: Even, thin burn line. Slow burning cigar.
Time taken: 1 hour 45 minutes.
Would I recommend this cigar? Absolutely, it’s currently one of my favorites. It is a strong cigar, so I don’t think I would hand this to a friend who has just started smoking, but if you like a cigar that slaps you around a bit, (but in a nice way) I really do recommend this one.
Cigars like it:
To me it has the same flavor profile as the Don Pepin Garcia Black label Cuban classic and the 601 red, with a strength just in between the two. The DPG Black being a bit milder and the 601 red a bit stronger.
Popularity: 8% [?]
Tags: 601 Cigars, Bash Entry, Cigar Reviews, Don Pepin Garcia
Topics: Cigar Reviews |
March 5th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
I’m definitely not the biggest fan of the Connecticut wrapper overall, but this cigar is one that I really like. I’m a fan of all the EO 601s, but when I want a good medium-bodied cigar with some spice that’s not overbearing, I’ll grab one of these.
March 7th, 2008 at 11:55 am
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March 8th, 2008 at 4:19 am
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March 8th, 2008 at 8:54 am
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