601 Yellow Toro by Espinosa Cigars

Today, we take a look at the 601 Yellow Toro by Espinosa Cigars. 601 is a brand that traces its way back to EO Brands, the company that was a partnership between Erik Espinosa and Eddie Ortega. In 2012, Espinosa and Ortega would go separate ways with new companies, thus dissolving EO Brands. The 601 brand would follow Espinosa into his new company. Since then, the 601 brand has consisted of four core lines (Blue, Red, Green, and La Bomba) and limited offshoots. Last year, two limited offshoots were released in a Toro size: the 601 Yellow and the 601 Orange. Today, we look at one of those limited offshoots, the 601 Yellow.

The 601 Yellow had a national release in 2023, but it was a cigar that saw a limited release in 2016 as a “stealth cigar.” A stealth product is a cigar that has had virtually no marketing and, for the most part, has been sight unseen before arriving at a retail cigar establishment. While this is not an entirely new concept to the cigar industry, stealth products began showing up in 2016, right around when U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations would go into effect. Under those regulations, any blend introduced before August 8th, 2016, would require pre-market approval. Before August 8th, Espinosa would release a series of 601 Cigars as stealth cigars. As a part of that release, some of the cigars would eventually get released as a limited offshoot. The 601 Yellow and 601 Orange were two of those cigars.

At this time, let’s break down the 601 Yellow Toro and see what this cigar brings to the table:

601 Yellow Toro by Espinosa Cigars (2023) – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

In addition to the San Andres Maduro wrapper, the remainder of the 601 Yellow features all Nicaraguan tobaccos. The 601 Yellow is produced at the La Zona factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.

Wrapper: San Andres Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: La Zona S.A.

Vitolas Offered

The 2023 release of the 601 Yellow was offered in one size – a 6 x 52. The cigars were packaged in ten-count soft boxes. A total of 500 boxes were produced.

Appearance

Seth Geise of Developing Palates said it best: the San Andres wrapper of the 601 Yellow Toro is a “dark, natural, light Maduro wrapper”. The wrapper seemed lighter than when I smoked the 2016 stealth release. At the same time, this wrapper had a slight Colorado tint. The surface of the wrapper had some light oils present. In addition, there were some visible veins and visible wrapped seams present.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to remove the cap of the 601 Yellow. Once the cap was removed, it was moved to the pre-light draw. The cold draw yielded an earthy profile, but there were sweet grapefruit and white pepper touches. Surprisingly, I found the notes of this pre-light to click, delivering a satisfactory pre-light draw. At this point, it was time to toast up the footer of the 601 Yellow and see what the smoking phase would deliver.

Tasting Notes

The 601 Yellow opened with earth notes, mocha (a fusion of chocolate and coffee), grapefruit, and a slight white pepper note. Early on, the mocha notes moved to the forefront. The earth notes were a close secondary, with the grapefruit and white pepper being more distant in the background. During the first third, the flavor profile had an underlying creaminess. As the cigar progressed through the first third, the mocha notes shed the chocolate component and became more of a straight coffee note. Meanwhile, some earth notes were also present on the retro-hale.

During the second third of the 601 Yellow, the earth notes displaced the coffee as the primary note. The coffee notes joined the grapefruit and white pepper in the background. The white pepper notes gradually built up on the tongue and entered the retro-hale equation. The underlying creaminess that was present during the first third dissipated.

There wasn’t a huge change in the flavor profile heading into the final third. The earth notes continued to dominate, with the pepper notes the most prominent of the secondary notes on the tongue. There were still touches of grapefruit and coffee present. This is how the 601 Yellow came to a close. The resoling nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

While the 601 Yellow maintained a straight burn path and burn line, it did require several touch-ups along the way. The touch-ups kept things on track, but more were needed than I preferred. The resulting ash was light gray. This wasn’t an overly firm ash, but it was not loose nor flakey. For whatever reason, the ash on the 601 Yellow was prone to flowering. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both maintained ideal levels.

Burn of the 601 Yellow Toro

Draw

The draw of the 601 Yellow was flawless. It had a touch of resistance—ideally in my sweet spot. At the same time, this was a low-maintenance cigar from which to derive flavor.

Strength and Body

Regarding strength and body, the 601 Yellow started in the upper end of medium before progressing to medium to full for both attributes. The strength and body remained in the medium to full range for the duration of the smoking experience. Both attributes balanced each other nicely, with neither attribute overshadowing the other.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES

I’ve always liked the 601 bands. One of the company’s best decisions was to restore the band design to the original after briefly flirting with a band design change. The yellow seems to go really nice here—especially up against the San Andres wrapper. The one thing I liked was the soft-pack box. To me, this looks so much better than the colored paper bundles I see used throughout the industry today. I would like to see Espinosa make more use of these.

Photo Credit: Espinosa Cigars

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

Overall, the 601 Yellow is a solid release. It’s not an overly complex blend, but it delivers excellent flavor and delivers that flavor consistently. It seemed a little milder than when I had the stealth release in 2016, but I still found this 2023 version to work. When it comes to San Andres, Espinosa is probably best known for its Murcielago. The 601 Yellow delivered a nice alternative. Hopefully, Espinosa will bring this blend back from time to time. At $10.00, the 601 Yellow is an excellent value. It’s a cigar I’d steer toward a more seasoned cigar enthusiast. As for myself, this is a cigar I would buy and smoke again.

Summary

Key Flavors: Earth, Mocha (Coffee/Cocoa), Grapefruit, Red Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Minus
Strength: Medium (Start), Medium to Full (Remainder)
Body: Medium (Start), Medium to Full (Remainder)
Finish: Very Good