Country of origin: Dominican Republic
Color: Maduro
Length: 6"
Ring gauge: 52
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Ligero & Seco (two-year aged)
Last week I posted the first installment of Smokeasy Short reviews of the three T.L. Johnson Cigars that I received from its founder Terry Johnson back in May 2013 (see Smokeasy Shorts - T.L. Johnson Signature Connecticut Torpedo). So here we are with the second review - the T.L. Johnson Signature Maduro Torpedo.
Now I certainly enjoyed the Signature Connecticut; however, given my personal preference for maduros, I did enjoy the Signature Maduro more. The cigar has a beautiful rich chocolate brown maduro wrapper with some blotches and a few small veins. The wrapper was very smooth and oily with a great sheen. The wrapper and the foot provided faint aromas of tobacco. After applying a guillotine cut, I took my ritualistic series of cold draws, which provided some light cedar flavor. The stick also lights very easily and burns nice and even, producing long tight ashes. Of the two cigars that I smoked, one required an early quick touch-up for an uneven burn, which was corrected very easily and resulted in a perfectly even burn.
The Signature Maduro Torpedo also has a great draw that provides pretty thick mouthfuls of smoke. Also like the Signature Connecticut, the Maduro is mild-bodied and of mild strength; however, I found it to be more flavorable in comparison. The cigar provides nice earthy tobacco flavor with notes of espresso, and a citrus peel-type flavor on retrohale. These flavors remain consistent throughout the smoke, but with increasing intensity. A very mild spiciness is introduced and tingles the palate ever so slightly during the final third of the smoke and through the finish.
Another enjoyable cigar by Terry Johnson and crew! Stay tuned for the final T.L. Johnson cigar review of the Legend Reserve 63 coming soon...