Cigar Review: PIO Torpedo
Size: 6×52, Torpedo
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Unknown
Filler: Unknown
Strength: Medium-Full
Price: Bundle of 20, $92.99
Grade: 8.4
This cigar comes courtesy of Matt over at Tex Cigars. An unbanded Torpedo, this stick is produced by Alberto Medina, maker of the PIO line of cigars. This blend originated after Tex requested a cigar similar to the PIO Overture (1996). The blend is kept unnamed but the mystery filler is surrounded by an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper. Tex claims this cigar to be the best value on their website. You can learn more about this stick here.
So, on a nice Georgia night, let’s toast this foot.
Pre-light, 1.6:
Rustic is the first word that comes to mind on this Torpedoed smoke. It has some very prominent veins with a medium brown wrapper and yet the smoke is very appealing due to the unique texture of the wrapper. It has a decent weight but it is a bit spongy, especially at the foot. The aroma is very clean with some sweetness and the cold draw follows this trend but with a heavy burst of spice through the nose.
Burn, 1.6:
This stick burned well, though there was a slight V that eventually corrected itself as the smoke progressed. Unfortunately, the draw was uncomfortably tight and the ash did not hold beyond one half inch. The Tex produced an adequate amount of smoke, especially for such a tight draw.
Flavor, 2.6:
This part of the review is going to be pretty short as this smoke did not possess any complexity. It maintained a clean tobacco flavor profile with some pepper and sweetness throughout. It got a little sour towards the end but I attribute that to the tight draw. All in all, a pretty enjoyable flavor profile.
Overall, 2.6:
This is an average smoke at best—not great, but average. The price point of around $4.50 a stick helps the overall score as this Tex falls into the correct price range in my opinion. It was a nice consistent smoke but this one is not going to send you running to buy a bundle.
(Total: 8.4)
There are 1 Comments to "Cigar Review: PIO Torpedo"
This information is from Matt over at Tex Cigars:
The PIO Bundle Torpedo is pretty much the same cigar as the PIO Overture
1996 No. 2. We had originally asked Alberto to use a Criollo wrapper
instead of the Sumatra wrapper that was on the Overture but he had
trouble with supply and some said the stick was overly peppery. The main
difference between our house brand bundles and the Overture is wrapper
coloration and sometimes the burn is a little off if the ligero isn’t
centered within the bunch. These are on the pricier side than we typically
prefer to present a bundled stick but the cigar more than makes up for it
in our opinion. You might consider these “seconds” but we think the flavor
is there.
Here is some information on the PIO Overture 1996 cigars.
http://www.cigarbeat.net/blog/cigar-review-pio-vi-overture-1996-no-52-toro/2009/02/17/
We are going to present another house branded bundled cigar in the near
future which is basically the same as the PIO Resurrection but the wrapper
coloration is very noticeably different from the regular line.