THE GREEN WRAPPED ALADINO IS BACK JUST IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAY WITH A LONGER VITOLA, HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Julio Eiroa is known as the Candela King in the cigar industry and the once popular wrapper is now just a St Patrick’s Day gimmick leaf. Last year, Aladino released a very limited run of Robusto Candela cigars which I enjoyed for the palate cleansing quality that Candela wrappers can provide. For 2024, Aladino is tripling down with a larger release and a Toro Vitola. I happen to grab a few from Neptune Cigars and here are my thoughts.

STATS

• Blend: Aladino Candela
• Vitola: Toro 6 x 50
• Wrapper: Honduran Corojo
• Binder: Honduran
• Filler: Honduran
• Weight: 15g
• Factory: Fabriaca de Puros Aladino, SA
• Smoking Time: 01h 58m

PRELIGHT

The Candela Toro is not the prettiest cigar I’ve seen of late. The wrapper on my sample reminded me of Frankenstein, greenish in color, stretched taunt over the binder and the seams and veins had a stitched quality as evident in my photos.

The wrapper doesn’t scream GREEN and was more muted than some other offerings around this time of year. The cigar didn’t feel heavy but seemed well filled and came in at 15g. The scent on the wrapper took me right to my childhood goldfish tank and smelled of fish flakes, the foot was musty and beefy.

Opening the cap and taking a cold draw provided an herbal tea flavor quality with a touch of saline in the background. The draw was good, more open than perfect.

FIRST THIRD

Toasting the foot carefully not to torch the wrapper, the aroma was herbal, floral, and sweet tobacco. The cigar was not a smokestack, I had to draw two or three times to get the amount of smoke I wanted.  The smoke did not offer much in body but after exhaling and tasting the remnants, I got lots of pepper, wood, and cashew nutty notes. The retrohale provided an eye watering blast of pepper, herbal tea and bready pumpernickel.

My throat was also feeling irritated by the acidic nature of the smoke and notes that remained. The ash holds on strong in this blend, I had the full two inches of ash still on the cigar. When it did finally separate it was powdery and soft, salt and pepper grey.

SECOND THIRD

I had to relight moving into the second third, slightly aggravated with the attention needed to keep the cigar lit and get enough smoke out of it. I haven’t worked this hard for a cigar in a while and never for an Aladino stick. The wrapper was not burning even with the binder and filler, and I had a wicked spiral canoe going. The combustion line was thick and brownish in color.

The smoke production got a little more satisfying the second, developing a little more body and substance. The overall flavor of the Candela Toro was this bitter, spicy woody note. This flavor continued pretty much unchanged through the end of the cigar.

FINAL THIRD

Flavor remained consistent with the bitter notes, but I did notice that the pepper had smoothed out and was not as biting any longer. The ash continued to hold, and the cigar continued to demand attention, almost going out but being brought back from the brink with a couple quick puffs. The body o n the smoke remained fuller than earlier, but the cigar made you work to get it.

WRAP UP

I am not sure why the cigar treated me so poorly, I do not recall having these same issues with last year’s Robusto and quite enjoyed the smaller Vitola. I have a few more toros to smoke and will see if they behave the same of if this was a fluke. I’ll share my additional experiences here with updates.

The Aladino Candela Toro is a great way to reset your palate, offering a very different flavor profile from today’s more popular Mexican San Andres and Sumatra wrappers that are all the rage. If you are looking for a cigar to smoke this St. Patrick’s Day and have an Aladino retailer in mind, pick up a few and see how your experience differs.