Agile Cigar Reviews are cigar assessments where we use a lightweight, shorter format. These will never take the place of our comprehensive reviews. They are only used on blends we have previously assessed. This might be a blend we are re-scoring or giving a score for the first time. It might be a blend we are looking at in a different size. Today we look at the All Saints St. Francis Toro. This is a cigar blend previously assessed back in September 2021 in the Toro size.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacalera Villa Cuba S.A. (TAVICUSA)
Mitre: 5 x 54 (Belicoso)

The Mitre is what All Saints Cigars calls the size of its 5 x 54 Belicoso offerings. Over the last couple of years, All Saints Cigars has added this size to its regular production offerings, one being the St. Francis Oscuro line. The name Mitre plays into the theme of All Saints cigars. A mitre is a type of headgear worn by bishops and senior abbots as a symbol of office, The mitre tapers to a point at front and back with a deep cleft between. The shape of the Mitre is somewhat analogous to the Belicoso of a cigar, thus the name. Today we take a look at the Mitre size in the St. Francis Oscuro line.

The St. Francis Oscuro features an Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro wrapper. The name Oscuro means dark and that is the shade of the St. Francis Oscuro wrapper. The remainder of the blend is all Nicaraguan tobaccos for the binder and filler. Currently, the St. Francis Oscuro line is all box-pressed except for the 6 x 60 Huge and the Mitre vitolas. Production comes from Rocky Patel’s TAVICUSA factory which All Saints Cigars uses for all its production.

The St. Francis Mitre opens with notes of coffee, earth, citrus, and black pepper. The coffee notes moved to the forefront early on. Some chocolate notes also surfaced and popped into the forefront from time to time. The pepper notes also floated in and out and were present on the retro-hale. The second third saw the coffee notes get bolder and richer – taking on a black coffee note. There was a slight amount of bitterness but it did not upset the balance of the cigar. The pepper notes became more prominent in the final third as they closed in on the coffee notes. Meanwhile the earth, citrus, and chocolate notes rounded things out.

This little Belicoso has some firepower. The St Francis Oscuro Mitre starts out with medium to full strength and body and by the second half the flavors progress to full-bodied. The burn required very few touch-ups and the draw had a touch of resistance – both of which are positives.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

If are simply looking for a cigar with classic black coffee flavors that come from the natural tobacco leaves (ie. no flavoring or infusion), I’d recommend the St. Francis Oscuro Toro to you. The Mitre has a lot of black coffee notes, but is bolder and spicier. At times it was a little aggressive. While I enjoy the fact the Toro is a little more dialed back, the Mitre still provides a great alternative. It’s a cigar I would recommend to a more seasoned cigar enthusiast. As for myself, it’s one I would most certainly buy and smoke again.

Summary

Key Flavors: Coffee, Earth, Citrus, Pepper, Chocolate
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Medium to Full (1st Half), Full (2nd Half)
Finish: Very Good