Revolution 262 Paradigm Toro

Revolution Cigars is still a fairly new player in the cigar market but they seem to be making quite an impression. So far, the Paradigm is the sole blend in their line coming in 3 vitolas, Robusto, Torpedo, and the one being reviewed today, Box-Pressed Toro. They also recently announced that a new line will be added this coming fall 2010 called the Ideology. You can read more about the company, the Revolution line and the upcoming Ideology line on their website www.smoketherevolution.com

The Paradigm line has an interesting combination of tobacco that always made me wonder how they melded together. The filler is made of 3 types of tobacco, Seco and Ligero from the wonderful Esteli region of Nicaragua and some Cubito from Columbia. Holding the filler together is a Honduran binder, which is also where the factory is located. And finally the cigar is wrapped with a Brazilian leaf. I must say it sounds like a tasty combo!

The Revolution Cigar Co. is fairly active both in the online and B&M communities, making multiple appearances in the various cigar shops and holding a strong online presence. You can find their Facebook and Twitter pages from their home page too. I’m no marketing genius but I must say this was a great move by Revolution and it has no doubt helped spread the word about their cigars much faster.
I’d like to thank @jakrell and @thecigarnut for sending this stick over to me and I hope you enjoy the review.

Cigar: Revolution Cigars 262 Paradigm Box-Pressed Toro
Drink: Devils Pale Ale 666 from Great Lakes Brewery
Vitola: Box Pressed Toro (6 x 54)
Wrapper: Brazilian
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Nicaragua and Columbia
Price: Just under $9 direct from www.smoketherevolution.com
Burn Time: 2 hours

Construction:
● A nice looking chocolate brown wrapper, also has some darker highlights
● Appears to be slightly box-pressed
● Finished with what looks to be a clean double-cap
● Foot is well packed with the band sitting around it
● A fairly firm feel, not much spring to it but even throughout
● Cut was a little difficult, very firm cigar
● Band had a little too much glue, caused some wrapper damage but since it’s near the foot it shouldn’t cause any problems
● Draw is a little tight at the start
● Draw opened up just before the halfway mark

Burn:
● Toasting was easy and even, no dark spots
● Burn has been razor sharp for the first couple of inches, let’s hope it keeps this up
● Burning nice and slow and still razor sharp, just how you would want all of your cigars to burn
● Past the halfway mark the burn went a little wavy but nothing alarming as of yet

Smoke Ash:
● Not a ton of smoke on the draw, just barely enough
● A decent amount of resting smoke giving off a light sweet aroma
● Ash is a nice white color with some grey accents
● A little bit of flaking on the ash but is generally pretty strong looking
● Ash held on nice and tight for just over an inch before falling into the ashtray
● Once the draw opened, I got a good mouthful of smoke, much better.

Tasting Notes:
● Wrapper has a mild sweet tobacco scent to it
● Foot has an in-your-face aroma of cinnamon and a bit of cocoa, very appealing
● Pre-light draw is very earthy with hay-like notes and a touch of sweet spice
● Initial draws bring flavors of cedar and earthiness with a touch of sweet cocoa in the background
● Starting off fairly mild in body
● Retrohale is also fairly mild with a smooth cedar finish, no bite at all
● Just past an inch the cocoa flavors started to make a bit more of an appearance in a slow progression
● A little bit of a cinnamon type kick has snuck its way into the retrohale, very interesting
● Some of the initial cinnamon spice flavors I detected on the foot are making its way into the finish
● The body has begun to build as I approach the half-way point
● Passing the halfway point, I’m starting to get a nice espresso tone to the flavor profile, the earthiness has mostly dropped off at this point
● The espresso and cocoa notes came into full force as I approach the end of this cigar, great finish too with a touch of cinnamon
● Body came into the Medium-Full range as I approached the last inch or so
● Just a tiny bit of bitterness towards the end, but was more like an Espresso bitterness, definitely nub-worthy

Final Thoughts:
This cigar had a great progression from mild and quiet flavors to something with a little more body and complexity. It burned excellently and slowly making for a great experience. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this cigar. It has a price tag that some would say is a bit higher than normal and is still a fairly new company, but it justified it’s price in great burn, quality and flavors. To my surprise, I must say I was pleasantly impressed by this cigar. Definitely worth a try and I’ll be looking for more in the future.

Pairings:
The “Devil’s Pale Ale 666” is produced by the Great Lakes Brewery out of Toronto, Ontario, the home town of yours truly! The 666 in the name actually has a little more meaning in this IPA. On the back of the can you get a list of ingredients that look as follows:
– 666 kilograms of malt
– 6.66 kilograms of hops
– 66.6 minutes of boiling
– 6% Alc./Vol.
– 6.6.06 Date of conception
Besides a slightly gimmicky name and recipe, this is actually a very tasty IPA. There’s a handful of hoppy bitterness in this brew but it’s well balanced and doesn’t leave a bad taste. It has a nice dark amber/ruby tone to it and a mouthful of enjoyable flavors. It paired fairly well with this cigar and could likely hold up well even against a full bodied stick. Other good pairing for the 262 Paradigm could be a full bodied wine, port, stout, dark diet soda, or a strong coffee.