Good day to all the smokers out there and welcome back for another pair of reviews. On tap today is the solid Oliveros Eight Zero Anniversary Royale Toro Gordo and the fickle Perdomo Grand Cru Maduro Robusto.

Oliveros Eight Zero Anniversary Royale Toro Gordo

The Eight Zero Toro Gordo measures 5 3/4x55. Several other sizes are also available: the 5 1/4x54 Robusto, the 6x50 Toro Tubos, the 6x60 Preferido, the 6 1/4x54 Torpedo, and the 6 3/4x52 Churchill. Its filler is an interesting blend of tobaccos from Colombia, Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The binder is Costa Rican, and the cigar is finished off with a Honduran Habano wrapper. The Eight Zero Toro Gordo strikes a balance between smooth and strong, with its profile labeled as medium to full-bodied.

Glancing at the cigar, its obvious that the physical aspect that stands out the most is the large band near its head. The band is white, black, gray, and gold, and adds a nice “look at me” factor to the cigar, if you care about such a thing. You get the Oliveros name on the band, as well as the Eight Zero Anniversary Royale moniker. Also on the label is a statement of “80 years of excellence,” reflecting that the cigar is somewhat of a celebration piece. The cigar itself has a dark wrapper that has a good amount of oil on it. It is mostly smooth, and there are only a few veins throughout the body. The cigar also feels very firm to the touch, indicating that it is packed well with tobacco. Before lighting, an earthy scent and a sweet taste are detected.

After being lit, the Eight Zero Toro Gordo burns quite well. It stays even throughout, and does not need much help in the way of touch-ups. The ash is nice and long, and has a light color that contrasts with the cigar's dark wrapper. The draw is quite good too. The only real burn flaw is that the cigar needs a re-light or two further in.