Room101 Johnny Tobacconaut Toro

Today, we review the Room101 Johnny Tobacconaut Toro 2023 edition. Johnny Tobacconaut is a line that has seen three iterations in its history as a part of the Room101 portfolio. In fact, each of these iterations spanned a different part of Room101’s history. Johnny Tobacconaut first debuted when Room101 was produced by Davidoff back in 2015. When Matt Booth “retired” and relaunched Room101 Cigars, Johnny Tobacconaut would go on hiatus until 2021, when it was brought back as an exclusive to Luxury Cigar Club. Finally, after Room101 was acquired by Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) in 2022, the following year, Johnny Tobacconaut was relaunched as a core line within the portfolio.

Closed box of Room101 Johnny Tobacconaut Toro

The 2015 iteration of Johnny Tobacconaut was made at Agroindustrias Laepe S.A. (the old Camacho factory in Honduras), and the cigar itself was a Nicaraguan puro. When Johnny Tobacconaut went to Luxury Cigar Club, production would come from AJ Fernandez and would now feature a Connecticut Shade wrapper. Finally, the blend was changed again. The STG version would remain at AJ Fernandez and still have a Connecticut Shade wrapper, but the internals of the blend were changed.

Room101 Johnny Tobacconaut Toro – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

Now produced at Tabacalera AJ Fernandez in Estelí, Nicaragua, Room101 Johnny Tobacconaut consists of an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper over a Mexican binder and Nicaraguan fillers.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Mexican
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A.

Vitolas Offered

All of the Johnny Tobacconaut sizes are presented in 20-count boxes. The exception is the Perfecto size, which comes in a ten-count box.

Robusto: 5 x 50
Toro: 6 x 52
Perfecto: 6 x 56
Gordo: 6 x 60

Appearance

It’s not the lightest Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, but it’s not the darkest. I’d categorize the Room101 Johnny Tobacconaut Toro’s wrapper shade as a butterscotch color. There wasn’t much oil on the surface of this wrapper, but it did have some visible veins. Any wrapper seams were minimally visible.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

Before lighting up the Johnny Tobacconaut Toro, a straight cut was used to remove the cap. Once the cap was removed from the head of the cigar, it was time to commence with the pre-light draw experience. The cold draw delivered notes of natural tobacco, citrus, and wood. Overall, this wasn’t the most exciting of pre-light draws. Since the pre-light draw is not factored into the numeric score or value rating, there was no loss of points here. At this point, it was time to toast the footer of the Room101 Johnny Tobacconaut Toro and head into the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The Johnny Tobacconaut Toro opened with notes of cream, natural tobacco, and wood. There was no dominant note early on, but the natural tobacco and citrus notes moved into the forefront toward the latter part of the first third. The natural tobacco had a nice balance of sweetness and bitter components. The cream and wood notes settled into the background. Meanwhile, the retro-hale delivered an additional layer of wood notes.

The second third of the Johnny Tobacconaut Toro picked up where the first third left off. There wasn’t a massive change in the flavor profile. Around the midway point, the wood notes transitioned to a cedar varietal on both the tongue and the retro-hale. Just past the midway point, some pepper emerged on the tongue and was mixed in with the cedar on the retro-hale.

The final third still saw the natural tobacco and citrus in the forefront. The citrus did develop a slight astringent quality to it. There was a little more pepper in the background, but it was not overpowering. The secondary notes of the cedar, pepper, and cream remained. This is the way the Johnny Tobacconaut came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature

Burn

All in all, the Johnny Tobacconaut Toro’s burn performed quite well. This cigar had no problem maintaining a straight burn line and burn path. The Johnny Tobacconaut also did not require frequent touch-ups. The ash was on the firm side, a light gray ash.

Meanwhile, the burn temperature was ideal. The burn rate was a little rapid, but there were no adverse effects. This cigar averaged about 77 minutes of smoking time.

Burn of the Room101 Johnny Tobacconaut Toro

Draw

The Johnny Tobacconaut Toro’s draw was on the open side. It wasn’t loose, but normally, I prefer a little more resistance. In the end, the open draw did not adversely affect the overall cigar experience.

Strength and Body

The Johnny Tobacconaut Toro started out mild to medium in terms of strength. Near the midway point, the strength elevated into the medium range. In terms of the body, the flavors produced were medium-bodied. There wasn’t much variance in the intensity level of the body. When it came to strength versus body, the body held the edge, but the gap closed during the second half of the smoking experience.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

While I don’t have a problem with the astronaut logo on the box or band, I will admit—it’s not my thing. Many know me as someone who prefers classic-style packaging. At the same time, Room101 is a reflection of its founder, Matt Booth, who is at the top of the cigar industry when it comes to creativity. In the end, classic-style packaging would never work for this brand, so I can live with the astronaut logo.

Open box of Room101 Johnny Tobacconaut Toro

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

I was pretty excited to see what type of cigar Oliva would deliver for Room101. Unfortunately, this cigar simply did not hit the mark. It fell short of expectations except for a few glimmers of hope early on. While there were no negative flavors, there simply was no wow factor. In the end, I would recommend trying a sample of this cigar first before deciding whether to make a purchase.

Summary

Key Flavors: Natural Tobacco, Citrus, Cream, Wood, Cedar, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium Minus
Strength: Mild to Medium (1st Half), Medium (2nd Half)
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good

Rating

Value: Buy Multiples
Score: 89

The Smoking Syndicate Review

Ben Lee of the Smoking Syndicate assessed this cigar on November 14, 2023, giving it a 92.

Let’s Get Pairing

Tripp and Denis did pairings with the Johnny Tobacconaut on a Let’s Get Pairing episode. Due to age restrictions, you need to click on watch on YouTube: