Alec Bradley Magic Toast Gordo

This is a cigar with a deep, earthy, espresso flavour but marred by bitterness at various stages throughout the smoke . The box was too dry on arrival with resulting cracks in several cigars. It has taken a few months to bring the rest back to optimal humidity.

1. March 6th, 2020 This was a promising cigar but it had a few disappointments: first, it suffered intermittently from bitterness, secondly, it was plugged and third, it came apart at the end.

The box is interesting: raw wood with the moth insignia on the label and burnt into the outside of the box, along with curious insignia inside the lid.

Construction: A nice weight in the hand, a beautiful Honduran wrapper and Honduran/Nicaraguan binder and filler. The wrapper is remarkable. It is a deep brown mottled with black stains. I expected that this would be a sign of good ageing. Read on....

Beautiful mottled wrapper

Draw: Sadly, the cigar was plugged. I tried to skewer the centre with an awl, but had little success. Despite the tightness, smoke output was adequate. 

Burn: Burn started out even. A few irregularities self-corrected. But then something strange happened: the wrapper started to blister at one point and the ash began to flake. I hoped that this aberration might correct, but it developed into a small crack in the wrapper. Was the cigar too dry? I don't think so. It had been in my humidor a couple of weeks before smoking. After ten or fifteen minutes, the crack extended to the head of the cigar and the remaining third fell apart. 

The crack started with a blister, then a small crack with the final third falling apart.

Flavour: Flavour started out bitter for about the first half inch. Then it mellowed out, resembling the RP Grand Reserve with excellent complexity and richness. Bitterness interceded from time to time, but was nonetheless tasty throughout. Let's see whether a few more months lingering will diminish the ammonia. I'll take some out of the cellophane wrappers and move them to a humidor, where they can breathe more. 

Aroma: Dry aroma was strange: sort of vinegary. But alight, there was a good, rich, complex aroma. 

Body: Full bodied throughout, with good, long finish.

Strength: Quite strong from time to time but not overwhelming. 

Consistency: Flavour and burn were inconsistent. The first half inch was bitter. The next half inch was rich and complex. Then bitterness returned. I've mentioned the burn, above. 

Time smoke: 105 minutes, despite sacrificing the last inch. 

Overall: To be kind, I would say this is a promising cigar. Flavour might improve with a bit of ageing and consistent humidification. 

2. April 14th, 2021: I was keen to try this one again after a few gripes in the first sample: cracking and bitterness. I was pleased to note that the bitterness of the previous cigar had developed into a much smoother, dark chocolate flavour. Bitterness was gone. Flavour was deep, rich, complex, full bodied, strong to very strong. Resistance was a bit excessive in the first third but opened up nicely to an easy draw by the middle. The final third had a blast of pepper which was a bit unpleasant but that soon subsided to a smoother ending. This cigar was a bit too moist but still burned evenly. There was no hint of cracking, as occurred in the first sample. This was a very full bodied, at times overwhelming, but ultimately very meaty cigar. 100 minutes to about an inch of the nub.

3. May 22nd, 2021: Quite smooth, but marred by an inch-long crack at the head, which impeded draw. This cigar was thinner than the others in the box. Ring gauge would have been more like 56 than 60. 

Flavour was deep and rich with a good long finish. Body and strength were full. Flavour was mostly smooth, dark coffee, without bitterness until the final third which was peppery, rough and little bitter. 

Burn was uneven. There was a significant canoe at the foot which corrected with a touch up at the first inch. By the last third, the crack had unravelled the cigar. I left it at an inch and a half. 90 minutes.  

4. July 24th, 2021: Having sat in a humidor for five months, the cigar was now consistently re-humidified, mildly spongy to the touch and quite weighty in the hand. No pre-light aroma to speak of. 

Draw was initially tight, as was the case with previous cigars, however, after thirty minutes, or about an inch and a half, it opened up. By the middle of the cigar it was producing good volumes of smoke.

Burn was dreadful. One large vein seemed reluctant to burn, lagging the rest of the cigar. It required three minor touch-ups.

Flavour was much the same as previous cigars: deep, rich espresso flavour with a bit of bitterness in the first and final thirds, much more mellow in the second and a vegetal taste in the final third which lacked complexity. The mellow second third was the best part, but that was marred by difficult draw.

Aroma was excellent; the most complex part of the cigar. This was a cigar that released an almost continuous  stream of smoke despite sitting in the ashtray. It was most enjoyable between puffs. 

Strength was never dominating. Body was pretty much full throughout. Finish was long enough. Overall, this was a moderately satisfying cigar. 90 minutes. 

No problems with cracking.

5. March 14th, 2022: This was a medium bodied, dark roast cigar with a bit of age, somewhat resembling the Jaime Garcia Reserva but without as much body or complexity. The cigar was loosely packed and burned quickly. The final third was a bit of a disappointment as flavour and body dissipated to mild. Burn was erratic in the first third but corrected well enough. Overall, the cigar barely lasted 70 minutes. It was pleasant, at best.