Throughout the past decade, Pure Aroma Cigars built up a cult following for its D’Crossier Cigars brand. A little over a year ago, it announced it was bringing back an old brand known as Lords of England. Lords of England traces its origins back to Cuba and gained popularity in the European market. Around 1905, Don Gustavo Bock introduced the cigar to the U.S. market. Once introduced, Lords of England became a popular cigar in hotels and cigar clubs in the U.S. Bock produced the brand out of Havana, Cuba. Bock was a partner in Henry Clay & Bock Company. Eventually, that company was purchased by American Tobacco Trust (which Bock would head up). Like many pre-revolution brands that originated in Cuba, Lords of England became dormant and then disappeared from the market. However, the brand would capture the attention of Santana Diaz, the owner of Pure Aroma Cigars. Diaz decided to resurrect the brand saying he’d “like to recapture some of that history of my native island and make the Lords of England cigar the premium brand it once was.”  Lords of England would return in 2019 in two blends – a Connecticut Shade and Maduro offering. Today we take a look at the Lords of England Connecticut in the No. 2 Toro size.

As mentioned D’Crossier became a popular brand of cigars. Diaz was producing the cigars in Costa Rica, and for a short time was working with Espinosa Cigars to handle its distribution. Things would change in 2017, when Diaz’s relationship with his factory in Costa Rica would come to an end. This would lead Diaz to seek out new production partners in different countries. For his D’Crossier brand, it would lead him to the ABAM Factory in the Dominican Republic. As for Lords of England, he would end up going to Nicaragua and partnering with Tabacalera Perdomo.

Without further ado, let’s break down the Lords of England No. 2 Toro and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The Lords of England Connecticut features an Ecuadorian-grown Connecticut Shade wrapper over all Nicaraguan tobaccos.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacalera Perdomo SA

Vitolas Offered

The Lords of England Connecticut is offered in three sizes. Each features a 50 ring gauge. Each size is presented in 25-count boxes. These are the same sizes and box counts found on the Lords of England Maduro.

Robusto: 5 x 50
Toro: 6 x 50
Churchill: 7 x 50

Appearance

The Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper of the Lords of England Connecticut No. 2 Toro had a light brown color to it. Depending on how the light hits it, it might give off a slight rosado tint. There was some oil on the surface of the wrapper. There are some visible veins and visible wrapper seams, but overall the surface of the wrapper was on the smooth side.

There is a single band on the Lords of England Connecticut. It has the appearance of a primary band on the upper portion with a pseudo-secondary band on the lower portion. The upper portion is a near replica of the band found on the Cuban original. This features a compartmentalized circle. The lower left compartment is blue while the other three are red – each featuring a gold design. Surrounding the circle is a pale yellow ring with the text “LORDS OF ENGLAND NICARAGUA” in red font (the original Cuban bands said “HABANA”). To the left and right of the band are gold and red adornments on a pale yellow background with gold trim.

The pseudo-secondary-band is mostly gold foil with black trim at the top and near the lower portion. On the left and right side of the upper black trim is the text “ESTELI NICARAGUA” in gold trim.  On the center of the band is the text “Vintage” in black font. Just below it are some red adornments. On the lower portion of the band just below the black trim is a multicolored ticker-tape pattern.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

Prior to lighting the Lords of England Connecticut No. 2 Toro, a straight cut was used to remove the cap. After the cap was detached, it was on to the pre-light draw experience. The dry draw delivered a classic Connecticut Shade flavor profile of cream, wood, and citrus. Overall this was a satisfactory pre-light draw. At this point, it was time to light up the Lords of England Connecticut No. 2 Toro and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The Lords of England Connecticut No.2 Toro started out with notes of cream, earth, and both classic wood and cedar. Early on the cream and wood notes moved into the forefront. The earth and cedar notes settled in the background. This was joined some citrus notes that also entered the background. Meanwhile, there was an additional layer of black pepper on the retro-hale.

By the start of the second third, the citrus notes displaced the cream in the forefront, joining the wood notes. The cream notes slowly diminished in intensity, settling into the background with the cedar and earth notes. At the same time, some black pepper notes emerged in the background.

As the Lords of England Connecticut No.2 Toro entered the final third, the black pepper notes joined the wood notes in the forefront. The citrus notes returned to the background with the cedar and earth notes. By this point, the cream notes had dissipated. This is the way the Lords of England Connecticut No. 2 Toro came to a close. The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

While there was some jaggedness on the burn line, the Lords of England Connecticut No. 2 Toro had no trouble maintaining a straight burn path. The burn line was fixed up with some touch-ups, but these were more cosmetic than anything. The resulting ash was skewed toward the firmer side. This was an ash that was silver-gray in color with some darker spots mixed in. Meanwhile, the burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

Draw

The draw to the Lords of England Connecticut No. 2 Toro was open, but not loose. While normally I like a little more resistance on the draw, I didn’t find the Lords of England Connecticut No. 2 Toro to be a high maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

In terms of the strength and body of a Connecticut Shade Cigar, the Lords of England Connecticut No. 2 Toro is somewhat of a throwback. Strengthwise this cigar started out mild before progressing to the mild to medium stage in the second third – where it held for the duration of the cigar experience. The flavors started out mild to medium-bodied before progressing to the low end of medium-bodied in the second third – where it too held for the duration of the cigar experience.

When looking at strength versus body, the body maintained the edge throughout the smoking experience.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

While I had never smoked an original Lords of England cigar, my expectation for the Lords of England Connecticut No. 2 Toro was to get a very classic flavor – with nothing radical introduced. This is exactly what I got with the Lords of England Connecticut No. 2 Toro. This is a relatively straightforward flavor profile. It delivers the classic “grandfather’s Connecticut” profile in terms of flavor and boldness. It’s also a little more complex than one might expect from a throwback brand. In the end, this cigar delivers a wonderful smoking experience that can be enjoyed by novice or experienced cigar enthusiasts at any time of the day. As for myself, this is a cigar I would smoke again. A $7.50, it’s certainly one that makes it easy to pick up multiples to keep in the humidor.

Summary

Key Flavors: Wood, Cream, Citrus, Cedar, Black Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Mild (1st Third), Mild to Medium (Remainder)
Body: Mild to Medium (1st Third), Medium (Remainder)
Finish: Very Good

Rating

Value: Buy Multiples
Score: 90

References

News: Pure Aroma Cigars Bringing Back Lords of England
Price: $7.50
Source: Pure Aroma Cigars
Brand Reference: Pure Aroma Cigars

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop