The Particulars

The Review

This review for the CLE Eiroa CBT - Toro (6 x 54) is based on the journal entry dated 2026-07-01

Appearance & Construction (0-3):  Good (3)

It’s a super dark, warm chocolate brown that shines with a heavy, oily sheen. It’s the kind of oily that looks like it could start to drip, and it will leave a slight residue on your fingers. It’s got that “‘ello guv’nor” thick and heavy toothiness that feels like low-grit sandpaper. The veins are thin and blend in, but these are super thick leaves used for the wrapper. As a result, there’s a very visible edge at every seam, even though they’re all quite tight. This also means the cap is a little wrinkled and stands proud, giving it a slight mushroom effect. It’s notably firm, BTW. I mean, Jesus fucking Christ, things this heavy, firm, and black usually sit on shelves in sex shops.

But overall, it’s a good-looking cigar. Well… except for the band. The red, silver, and black combination is certainly a choice, and it looks more like one of those big, red emergency buttons. If your Spanglish is as strong as mine, let me help you with what’s written on the band (hint: we covered it in the intro—Capa, Banda, Tripa).

Draw (0-3) & Burn (0-4):  Good (3) / Great (4)

I have found this cigar (and others made at the CLE Factory) to be prone to an issue where the cap doesn’t always want to release after being cut with a punch. It seems they use more glue on the cap when rolling, so sometimes the punch fails and you need to grab another cutter. I had no issues this time, but FYI, you may encounter it. I’m happy the punch worked here, and the draw is good with a nice resistance.

The burn takes a little extra effort to really get going with this oily tobacco. The burn line starts looking like it might get sideways in the first inch, but quickly self-corrects and locks into a dead-even burn line with a razor-sharp edge. The ash is more of a medium gray with a heavy layering of oil crystals. Unfortunately, the ash wants to petal and feather at the foot, getting messy early into the burn. It holds well through the first third, but the feathering and a split at the foot encourage me to dump the ash rather than see how long it will hold. The burn line, however, stays beautifully crisp and even for the remainder of the smoke.

Flavor Profile (0-5):  Excellent (5)

Dark, smooth, and bold traditional Maduro flavors to start. Charred oak, strong earth, syrupy raisin sweetness, and baking cocoa all hit hard, accompanied by a bit of a salty flavor from the wrapper. There’s a slowly increasing pepper kick, but this is smooth and quite creamy out of the gate. I don’t talk about mouthfeel often, but this has a definite chewiness to it that I don’t get in most other cigars, especially hitting this early in the burn. The syrupy raisin shifts to more of a salted caramel sweetness at times as the black pepper increases to a nice light-medium. You get a black licorice anise that lingers, as well as a barnyard mustiness that gives the earthiness a slightly gritty quality. There isn’t a ton of complexity, and it’s dark, but somehow it’s all working together really well to start.

Charred oak and earthiness are the main drivers into the second third, with a slight uptick in black pepper and more nutmeg and allspice flavors emerging. It’s still very creamy on the finish, and the flavors from the first third are humming right along. Combined with the earth and dry cocoa flavors, the creaminess is slightly marshmallow-like. “Thick and hearty” is a good way to describe this cigar, and I’m getting shades of hickory from it. For not having a ton of flavor complexity, this blend is a straight-out banger right now. It’s dark, rich, salty, savory, sweet, spicy, and creamy. It’s a winning combo. The sweetness has transitioned from raisin to caramel, and now to honey. Always thick, always syrupy. The only real complaint I have is an occasional bit of harshness in the second third from the black pepper, but it’s worth it.

The final third has a slight reduction in intensity, but it’s still delightful. The meaty, chewy, savory quality of this cigar is just spot-on. It may sound unappealing based on the flavor notes if you generally prefer bright and bready profiles (which I do), but getting the blend right takes what could be a disaster and elevates it into something amazing.

Overall Experience (0-5):  Excellent (5)

I always feel like Honduran tobacco gets overlooked, with the focus usually leaning toward Nicaraguan tobacco for big and bold flavors that differ from Dominican cigars. You’re not going to find a lot of true triple Maduro cigars on the market. I still need to smoke the Camacho Triple Maduro (also blended by Christian Eiroa nearly 20 years ago when the Eiroa family was still associated with Camacho), and I’ve smoked the Drew Estate Blackened M81, which I wasn’t a big fan of. I was a little out of my comfort zone on this one, but I still quite enjoyed what it brought to the table with that rich and hearty profile. This was a nice surprise, and it really seems to elevate the high points of both good Maduro and Honduran tobacco. I absolutely recommend this cigar if you haven’t tried it.

Overall Score and Individual Journal Entries

While the review is based off one instance of journaling this cigar; there’s a number of reasons you can have different experiences smoking the same cigar multiple times. A blend can evolve with age (for better or worse), palates evolves, preferences change, and sometimes you just get a bad example!  This section captures the ratings from each journal entry and the related journal photo.  Below you’ll find an aggregate score based on every time the cigar has been journaled. Unless it was a gift or on-off smoke, this section will be updated every time I journal this cigar!

The Flavor Wheel

With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience.  These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out.  When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.

The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.

• 0:   No flavor detected
• 1:   Mild flavor
• 2:   Medium flavor
• 3:   Strong flavor

Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.

With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience.  These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out.  When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.

The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.

• 0:   No flavor detected
• 1:   Mild flavor
• 2:   Medium flavor
• 3:   Strong flavor

Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.