The rustic wrapper on the box pressed torpedo looks fantastic against the simple yellow ribbon. The Yellow Rose is a Texas regional release, although it is the same blend as the Crowned Heads Tennessee Waltz (TN exclusive), and the Paniolo Especial made for Hawaii. The only difference is the sizes.
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: 6 1/4 x 54 (box press)
Cutting the torpedo with a straight cut provides an easy draw and nice pre-light flavors of cedar and spice. Upon lighting, the cigar produces an average amount of smoke which is light on the palette and easy to retrohale through the nose.
The first half of the cigar produces the main flavors of espresso, and chocolate. There is added nuance of some walnut, and pepper on the finish. It can almost be described as a spicy mocha. There is a little bit of woodsy notes going on in the background as well.
There were a few times where the burn was not very even. With patience it straightens itself out, but I usually find myself touching up the wrapper with a single flame torch.
At about the halfway point of the cigar, the flavors become condensed with cedar outplaying all of the previous notes. However, the cedar has some nice cocoa, sweetness, and coffee infusion. Surprisingly, the spice hasn't increased in intensity, just changes to more of a cinnamon, or spearmint.
Overall, it was a pretty good cigar. The size isn't my favorite, I prefer smaller ring gauge. They are still available on the secondary market at about $9-$10 each. I would score it a 7.5 out of 10.