Today, I am reviewing the Ezra Zion’s Eminence Belicoso Gran Toro. The cigar is made for Exra Zion in the Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A factory.
The Belicoso Gran Toro measures in at 5 x 58. Its blend is comprized of a Mexican San Andreas wrapper, a dual Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan fillers.
The characteristic black and silver bands took up a considerable amount of real estate on this particular vitola.
The San Andreas wrapper leaf is dark brown in color, has quite a few veins and visible seams, giving it a rough look. I picked up on cedar and tobacco aroma notes from the wrapper. The tapered cap was smoothly applied and the finished foot gave off a sweet and earthy aroma.
I gave the cigar a straight cut and took a pre-light draw. I found a faint tobacco flavor from the fillers and no particular flavor from the wrapper.
I lit the cigar with a quad torch and was rewarded with a satisfying amount of smoke. Overall, the cigar burned unevenly and required several touch ups throughout the session. The carbon ring was thick and dark. The ash was tight, firm and gray in color with flecks of black.
The first third’s retrohale was medium in strength and I found mild tobacco flavor coating my palate ending with a good finish.
Into the second third, the retrohale became quite strong with the same tobacco notes on the palate and the same type of finish.
Finishing up the cigar, the retrohale remained the same strength but, I tasted richer tobacco flavors on my palate and a nice, long finish.
Overall, the Ezra Zion Eminence is a medium bodied, medium strength cigar with little complexity. I felt the final third was the best part of the cigar. My experience with the cigar was just OK. For the final score, I give this cigar an 85.