Therapy is a new line of cigars launched by Nomad Cigar Company in 2015. The line consists of three blends each named for its wrapper that is used  Nomad Therapy Connecticut, Nomad Therapy Habano, and Nomad Therapy Maduro. For the Therapy line, owner Fred Rewey changes things up from a packaging standpoint from his previous releases. First up, Therapy is not sold in boxes, but is sold in retail trays with a refillable option. Nomad Therapy also features all new banding – very different than what is seen across the company’s other regular production lines. Today, we take a closer look a the Nomad Therapy Connecticut in the Toro size. Overall I found the Nomad Therapy Connecticut to be an excellent and enjoyable cigar – delivering a classic Connecticut Shade flavor profile.

The addition of the three Therapy blends brings the total number of regular production lines to eight (in addition there was the limited Nomad LE Esteli Lot 1386 release and the recently announced Nomad H-Town San Andres Lancero, a shop exclusive to Stogies World Class Cigars). The Nomad Therapy Connecticut is not the first Connecticut Shade cigar Nomad as back in 2014,  the Nomad Connecticut Fuerte was released. The Connecticut Fuerte is a cigar made in the Dominican Republic that pushes the boundaries of a traditional Connecticut Shade in terms of having a bolder and spicier flavor profile. On the other hand, the Nomad Therapy Connecticut is made in Nicaragua, and delivers more of traditional styled milder, creamier Connecticut Shade profile.

Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the Nomad Therapy Connecticut in the Toro size and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profile

For the Nomad Therapy Connecticut, this is a three country multi-national blend with tobaccos from Ecuador, Mexico, and Nicaragua. Many of Rewey’s blends use wrapper from Ecuador and for the Nomad Therapy Connecticut, he uses an Connecticut-seed wrapper grownEcuador.

Nomad Therapy Connecticut
Wrapper: Connecticut Ecuador
Binder: San Andres Mexican
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua (Tabacalera Fernandez)

As we mentioned, the Nomad Therapy line has three distinct blends. This is not a line where a different wrapper has been put on the blend, but each features a different and unique wrapper, binder, and filler combination. For completeness, we include the other two blends of the Nomad Therapy line.

Nomad Therapy Habano
Wrapper: Habano Rosado Ecuador
Binder: Habano Jalapa
Filler: Nicaraguan / Dominican
Country of Origin: Nicaragua (Tabacalera Fernandez)

Nomad Therapy Maduro
Wrapper: Pennsylvania Broadleaf
Binder: Habano Jalapa
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua (Tabacalera Fernandez)

All three lines are made at A.J. Fernandez’s Tabacalera Fernandez in Esteli, Nicaragua.

Vitolas Available

All three blends of the Therapy line are available in the same two sizes – Robusto and Toro. The cigars are available in 20 count bundles to refill the tray. The tray contains six compartments to hold the six frontmarks across the Therapy line.

Robusto: 4 1/2 x 50
Toro: 6 x 50

Appearance

The Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper of the Nomad Therapy Connecticut Toro has a light brown color to it. The wrapper also has a slight amount of oil on it. There are some thin visible wrapper seams. While there are also some visible veins, this is a definitely a smooth wrapper. The cigar is well-packed and has a little bit of weight when held in your hand.

As mentioned the band of the Nomad Therapy is quite different from anything seen on a Nomad release before. The band is white in color. On the center of the band is a blue-colored Nomad “winged” logo. Below it is the text “NOMAD” in a blue colored font with a slight handwritten effect to it. On the far right is the text “NOMAD CIGAR COMPANY @GODFADR” – also in blue font (@GODFADR represents Rewey’s Twitter handle). Finally there is a thick blue stripe across the top and bottom of the band. One side note – the Nomad Therapy Habano and Nomad Therapy Maduro have similar designed bands, but use red and black respectively in place of the blue for its font color.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

Prior to lighting up the Nomad Therapy Connecticut Toro, I went with my usual choice of a straight cut to remove the cap. Once the cap was clipped, I proceeded with the pre-light draw. The cold draw produced mostly some creamy notes with a touch of cedar. Overall I considered this to be a satisfying pre-light draw. At this point I was ready to light up the Nomad Therapy Connecticut Toro and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Flavor Profile

Right out of the gate, the Nomad Therapy Connecticut Toro delivered some notes of cream and generic woody notes. There was also a slight natural tobacco sweetness in the background. As the Therapy Connecticut Toro burned through the first third, the woody notes developed into more classic cedar notes that offered both spice and additional sweetness. The cedar notes were also present on the retro-hale.

Later in the first third, I found the cream and cedar notes alternate as to which was the dominant note with the natural tobacco sweetness in the background. This continued into the second third where I also picked up an underlying nut flavor in the background.

Toward the later stages of the second third, the cedar notes increased. By the last third, the cedar notes were in control. The natural tobacco, cream and nut flavors remained. I also picked up a slight black pepper note on both the tongue and on the retro-hale. This is the way the Nomad Therapy Connecticut Toro came to a close. The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

I’ve said it many times, Nomad Cigar Company has established an excellent track record when it comes to construction – and this is reflected very nicely on both the button an draw. Overall, I found the burn to follow a straight path from start to finish. From time to time, there was a slight curvature to the burn line, but this cigar was never in danger of tunneling or canoeing and most of the touch-ups were strictly cosmetic. The resulting ash was firm with a nice silver gray color to it. The combustion was excellent as this cigar had an ideal burn rate and ideal burn temperature.

As for the draw, while this cigar had a nice packing to the tobacco, I found the Therapy Connecticut Toro to have an open draw. At the same time, this wasn’t a loose draw. Overall this was a low maintenance cigar to puff on and derive flavors from.

Strength and Body

As I mentioned, this is going to be a milder cigar from Nomad – both in terms of strength and body. The strength level started out in the mild to medium range. While there was a slight increase in strength along the way, I found the strength still remained in the mild to medium range throughout the duration of the cigar experience. As for the body, the flavors were mild to medium to start. By the second third, I found this cigar to have just enough more weight on the palate to be considered medium-bodied. In terms of strength versus body, I gave the body the edge throughout he smoking experience.

Final Thoughts

Of the four brands that are currently in the House of Emilo, other than Emilio’s AF-Suave, Nomad is the only other brand that is offering regular production Connecticut Shade offerings. The nice thing is that there are two options with Nomad – namely you have the traditional milder, creamier offering with the Therapy and the bolder one with the Connecticut Fuerte.  Typically one will consider Nicaraguan blends to be the bolder ones when compared to Dominican ones, so I find the milder offering of the Therapy Connecticut a little different (and refreshing) with the Nomad portfolio.

I first smoked the Nomad Connecticut Therapy Toro a few months ago and enjoyed it.  Over the past several weeks, I have already seen this cigar live up to some nice aging potential. The flavors were very enjoyable and it left a very clean finish on the palate. This is a cigar I’d recommend to a novice or experienced cigar enthusiast looking for that milder, creamier cigar.  As for myself, this is a cigar I’d smoke again. It’s worthy of a multi-cigar purchase, and certainly worth a fiver in the humidor.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Mild to Medium
Body: Mild to Medium (1st Third), Medium (Remainder)
Finish: Excellent
Assessment: 3.0 – The Fiver
Score: 89

References

News: Therapy by Nomad Cigar Company to Launch at 2015 IPCPR Trade Show
Price: $7.49
Source: Cigars Provided by Manufacturer
Stogie Geeks Podcast: Episode 165
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