Cigars come in a large variety of shapes and sizes. The same is true for the branding and marketing of those cigars. Big bands, little bands, ones with fancy ornate stuff and others with skull & bones. Some brands will only have subtle differences to highlight the various blends & lines being offered. Then there is Oscar Valladares. He goes big-n-wild with the marketing for his cigars, and with drastically different styles. The Altar Q looks like it was recovered from Mayan ruins, Heaven & Hell have actual wings, and the McFly instantly transports me to the year 1985. Then there is the Leaf by Oscar. This line has four versions, all of which are wrapped in a tobacco leaf instead of cellophane. It sure is an eye catcher when browsing through the shelves at your local shop. Plus, unwrapping the tobacco leaf to get to the cigar is a wee bit more entertaining than sliding cellophane off. Today though, lets unwrap the corojo toro and see what's up.
The Deets
Cigar: Leaf by Oscar Corojo Toro
Origin: DanlÃ, Honduras
Factory: Oscar Valladares Tobacco Company
Size: 6 x 52
Wrapper: Honduran Corojo
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Honduras
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Appearance 8.5/10
 The first noticeable thing is the cloth band which is very different. The overall uniformity is alright, but there are a few spots of knots & dents under the wrapper. The cap seems strong, although I would have like to see the cap come down further on the shoulder and it seems a little shallow. The seams are invisible and the wrapper has the perfect amount of oils with some mild tooth. Wrapper color is very spotted and reminds me a little of the Magic Toast wrapper.
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Draw 8.5/10
 Not bad, but not great. I did need to do some pre-light shifting and a little bit of poking at the midpoint, but the last third finally started delivery proper puffs. Overall it was a little tight with some maintenance, but far away from being plugged.
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Burn/Construction 8.5/10
 Similar to the draw, the first 2 thirds were a pain, but the last third went well. The ash was brittle, flakey, and I had to use plenty of fire for drastic touchups. Then the clouds rolled out and the final third provided some easy smoking.
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Taste 8.5/10
 1/3 - Off the fire I pick up dried leaves, vegetables, and a general wood note. It's a very mild & light start with almost zero finish. Luckily, things pick up quickly and after the first inch I start getting some more notes like sweet sands, prime leather, and some cocoa powder in the rear.
2/3 - Quite similar to the 1st third, but with black coffee added. The retro is all leather and the sweet sands take charge of the finish.
3/3 - Things have barely transitioned and the flavor profile has been very linear. Not much has changed now, except maybe some chocolate cookie and baking spices pulling up a little. Leather and sand are still around.
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Overall 8.5/10
 There was enough going on here to not give it a thumbs down, but I can't honestly give it a big thumbs up either. I did enjoy the flavor even though it was a one-trick pony. Some performance issues plagued the first two thirds. I would certainly try this one again though because I usually am very impressed with OV blends and don't have the performance issues this one did. If you're a corojo junkie though, there are plenty of other offerings that wear the badge better.
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**Number of cigars smoked for the review: 1
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