Hammer & Sickle Trademark Maduro

Hammer and Sickle Trademark Maduro (Toro)

Cigar Name: Hammer and Sickle Trademark Maduro

Company Website: https://www.2guyscigars.com/trademark-toro-maduro-090184/
Strength: 3/5
Size: Toro (6 x 50)
Origin: Dominican Republic
Price (local): $8.75 (plus tax)
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade
Flavor Text:  (Cigarplace.biz)

Hammer + Sickle Tradicion Serie Toro is a 6 inch by 50 ring cigar. Unusual? Yes, but don't let the name or packaging of the Hammer + Sickle Tradition series cigar fool you. It's not some old Russian dog-rocket that was shipped from Siberia during the Cigar Boom of the 90's to finally find it's way to market. The Tradition is a legitimate modern stogie developed in collaboration with Henke Kelner and hand-crafted to compliment the Hammer + Sickle brand of luxury vodka. The tobaccos that comprise the filler and binder are of Dominican origin, aged for three years before being rolled into a five-year-old Ecuadorian grown Connecticut shade wrapper. They are then carefully packed into a clear glass box, one of the coolest packages you've ever seen.

You may get a few strange looks if anyone notices the hammer and sickle design on the band, but be a comrade and offer them a Tradition. Just about any smoker can enjoy the cream and salted almond flavors the smoke provides and they might just ask you to be a friend of the people and split an order. Of course, once you show them the amazing CigarPlace bargain price they will probably want a box all for themselves. This way you can make a counter-offer to share in the purchase of the brand's Hammer + Sickle Second Growth cigar.

There are only a few times where I grab a cigar I haven't tried or even see before where I light it and immediately know that I am going to enjoy it.

This was one of those times.

I was putting together an online order of brands and cigars I cannot find locally - I know it's really hard to keep a rotating inventory of newer things from working in a cigar shop. Sometimes I need to venture out to find new things, and other times I just put together bulk online orders to get my hands on a few singles of some new things I want to try and write about. In putting together my last online order, rife with Perez Carillo, Aging Room and Plasencia, I came across this strange label and instantly thought that it would be something I want to try. The wrapper is definitely peculiar, if you know anything about US history, so naturally, I wanted to be seen with it in my hands during the hour of smoke time I figured this Toro would give me. But what I did not expect would be the absolute treat that this cigar would give me on the long ride home from work in a neighboring county.

The first few draws of this cigar gave me an excellent amount of smoke with light chocolate and wood notes. I was really surprised that a bullet punch gave me the amount of smoke I usually look for, since that was all I had on me at the time. I let this cigar sit in my humidor for about two weeks, and while I am not the biggest believer in aging a cigar for a few weeks before smoking it, it was nice to see that it had not fallen off much from when I received it to when I started to smoke it.

This cigar had excellent flavor all the way through. It was great. Not too strong, but certainly not weak. I'd say it sat in the medium to full end of the spectrum. It was definitely well-built, and it featured a nice, even burn and resilient end despite the clamping I had to do with it with my mouth and hand during my drive. The flavor remained consistent throughout, without much complexity, but that was more than mine because the initial flavor was so good. There was a bit of an earthiness to it that meshed well with the chocolate and light wood that I got from this cigar, and it was an excellent blend of flavor that I will be sure to visit again.

Last Tuesday, I tried a new cigar that was extremely disappointing and didn't offer much as far as taste outside of cheap tasting tobacco. This week, the Hammer and Sickle Trademark earns a very high mark from me. It features an excellent flavor in a medium-full body in a variety of sizes. I would suggest this cigar to anyone who likes cigars of all strengths, and I would find it to be a proper choice for someone looking to take a step toward Maduro cigars that is just getting their feet wet. If you see this in your local cigar shop or online marketplace, I can't recommend it enough. I was pleasantly surprised to find a quality, flavorful cigar at an agreeable price.