The Tomo II is the second installment in the Short Tales line by Saga and De Los Reyes Cigars in the Dominican Republic. I have been hearing stories about an amazing steak house in the Dominican that is a must try when visiting the island and their line of cigars.

So while in Puerto Plata in January of this year, I bumped into Klaas Kelner and chatted a bit about cigars and what he is up to. He showed some of the cigars his sister had released and I spotted the Saga on the shelf. I had to try one of these for myself so I grabbed one and my thoughts are below.

STATS

• Blend: Short Tales Tomo II
• Vitola: Belicoso 5 x 54
• Wrapper: Dominican Couti
• Binder: Indonisian
• Filler: Dominican, American
• Weight: 14g
• Factory: De Los Reyes Cigars
• Smoking Time: 01h 12m

PRELIGHT

The Short Tales Tomo II is an attractive Belicoso, dressed in a gold and green motif with the Saga name punched out revealing some of the café con leche colored wrapper underneath. The wrapper was tightly rolled around a solid bunch and displayed some veins. Not a terribly oily wrapper, the leaf did have a little reflectivity.

I was not getting much on the cold draw, something warm, leathery, and red came to mind. If you held my feet to a torch, I would say the flavors were Earthy and meaty. Fitting for a cigar honoring a steak house. The foot had hints of tobacco, a vegetal note, and a touch of vanilla.

Construction was very good, partly why I gravitate towards torpedo Vitolas, they take a higher skill set to roll and you are less likely to get a bad cigar.

Let’s light this cigar and see where this story takes us…

FIRST THIRD

The cigar opened with a warm quality to the smoke. The draw was exceptional, perfect feel to the resistance. There was a lot of pepper up front, a touch of mineral and sulfur as well. Earthy as well, it was hard to describe, it reminded me of a flavor like a root.

The Short Tales had excellent smoke production. It took a little work to get combustion going in the opening third, but the reward was worth the effort. The smoke felt light and didn’t weigh heavily in the mouth, the cigars finish was very clean.

The burn line was a little wavy as the cigar settled in. The combustion line was thin and black which tells me the wrapper was well cared for. The ash was a light grey color and showed layers as it grew. Unfortunately, I bumped the cigar while trying to put it down to take some notes and knocked it off at a quarter inch in.   The ash was solid and held together, as I rubbed some between my fingers the ash felt gritty.

SECOND THIRD

As the second started, the temperature of the cigar cooled some allowing me to relax and enjoy the cigar more. I noticed that I could feel the strength in my chest, for such a clean cigar this strength was surprising and unexpected. The retro has a nice pepper spice but didn’t cause much aggravation to the sinus.

On the palate, there was a strong vegetal note, but the cigar’s finish was so short and the body was very thin. The nicotine however was in there, this cigar was begging to be paired with a good meal and drink. Which made it perfect for such an activity because it was so laid back and would allow the full enjoyment of any pairing.  

FINAL THIRD

My cigar buddies know I love saving the bands to my cigars. I really must give a shout out to the designers of the Saga band. The cigar band had these little pull tabs made for easy removal which I wish other manufacturers would adopt.

In the final third, the smoke began to warm up as the combustion line crept closer. I was getting a touch of wood, cedar or pine… not sure as I haven’t spent much time around wood. Whatever the Short Tales was missing in body it more than made up for in strength as it left my head spinning.

I am glad that I got to try the Saga Short Tale, I must try to one day visit the namesake restaurant in my Cigar Travels. The Saga Tomo was a well-constructed cigar that would be a wonderful dinner pairing at any steak house or backyard barbeque where beef is on the menu. Strong vegetal, wood and earth notes with a clean finish and a knock out punch are waiting for any curious aficionados that pick up this cigar.