Gato Negra (Grand Corona)

Today, we review the Gato Negro, the eponymous cigar from Gato Negro Cigars. Gato Negro Cigars is a new company that was established in 2022. The Gato Negro is the second release from the company and is technically its first ongoing release. The story behind this company and how it was formed is quite interesting (text taken from the company website):

Established in 2022 by Drew Nicastro, its President and a family member he affectionately called “Uncle Pete” after they attended a cigar convention together. Drew began to learn about the history of Pete and his family’s troubling past when he was a young child living in Communist Cuba. Before the Castro régime, his father owned a store called “El Gato Negro” (The Black Cat). The store sold a little bit of everything, including cigars. The communist party, along with Fidel Castro, came in and took their business, home and car and most importantly their freedom. They eventually fled their home in Cuba, legally to America with nothing other that the opportunity to achieve the American dream. They wanted to honor Pete’s father nicknamed “Perucho” and his legacy and this is how the idea of Gato Negro Cigars was born.

Perucho would end up becoming the first release by Gato Negro Cigars. That cigar would be a limited edition release. Without further ado, let’s break down the Gato Negro Grand Corona and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Gato Negro – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

The Gato Negro is highlighted by a dark Mexican San Andres wrapper. The remainder of the blend is Dominican-forward with a Dominican Olor binder and Dominican Criollo ’98 in the filler. There also is a component of tobacco from the Estelí region of Nicaragua in the filler. Production comes from the Cuevas family’s Las Lavas factory in the Dominican Republic.

Wrapper: San Andreas (Mexican)
Binder: Olor (Dominican)
Filler: Nicaraguan (Estelí), Criollo ’98 (Dominican)
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Tabacalera Las Lavas S.R.L.

Vitolas Offered

Gato Negro is currently offered in one size – a 6 x 48 box-pressed Grand Corona. The cigar comes in ten-count units. The initial production totaled 3,000 cigars.

Appearance (*)

The Mexican San Andres wrapper of the Gato Negro had a classic chocolate brown color to it. Upon closer examination, a slight amount of mottling and toothiness could be seen on the wrapper. There wasn’t much oil on the surface of this wrapper. The surface of the wrapper did have some visible veins and some visible wrapper seams. The box-press of the Grand Corona was a slightly rounded trunk-press.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

A straight cut was used to remove the cap of the Gato Negro. Once the cap was removed, it was on to the pre-light draw phase. The cold draw delivered a mix of coffee and wood notes. This was a pretty straightforward pre-light draw in that it didn’t provide any radical flavors, but they were satisfactory. At this point, it was time to toast up the Gato Negro and move into the smoking stage.

Tasting Notes

The Gato Negro opened up with mocha, wood, and cream notes. Mocha is a term I use to describe a fusion of coffee and chocolate. Some fruit notes and black pepper notes joined the flavor profile. The mocha notes emerged as the primary note. Meanwhile, there was an additional layer of black pepper on the retro-hale.

Later in the first third of the Gato Negro, the mocha notes gradually shed some of the chocolate notes, and the coffee note slowly became more prominent. This gradual transition continued into the second third. Meanwhile, there was a slow increase in the pepper on the tongue and retro-hale. The cream notes were also gradually diminishing and gone by the final third.

By the final third, the mocha notes had morphed into a classic coffee note. The pepper was the most prominent of the secondary notes. There were still notes of fruit and wood present in the background. There was also some harshness that was present during the final stages of this smoking experience. As the cigar experience of the Gato Negro came to a close, the cigar finished with a soft, cool nub.

Burn

The Gato Negro had several instances where the burn simply wanted to meander. This resulted in quite a few touch-ups along the way. The ash had a silver-gray color. This ash was skewed toward the looser side of the spectrum. Both the burn rate and burn temperature maintained ideal levels.

Burn of the Gato Negro

Draw

The draw to the Gato Negro performed exceptionally well. For a box-pressed cigar, it had just enough resistance to it – which is something that I like. At the same time, the Gato Negro delivered a nice amount of smoke production.

Strength and Body

The Gato Negro started out with medium strength and medium to full-bodied flavors. There was a nominal increase in the intensity level of both attributes, but in the end, the cigar remained in medium strength and medium to full-bodied ranges from start to finish.

The body maintained the edge throughout the smoking experience in terms of strength versus body.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

While I do like how Gato Negro’s gold band with the black font contrasts with the San Andres wrapper, the band needed a little more. It needs a better logo, better font, and a little more embellishment. This isn’t a terrible band, but one where it could use some improvement.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

The first two thirds of the Gato Negro delivered some nice flavors. The medium to full-bodied notes gave this cigar some boldness. When the Gato Negro reached the final third, the boldness remained, but it also amplified some of the harshness that emerged. While I appreciated this box-press’s draw, the burn could have scored a little better. In the end, the Gato Negro is probably a cigar I’d recommend you try a sample of first to see what you think. There was enough happening in those first two-thirds that I would consider revisiting this size or if a new size becomes available in the future.

Summary

Key Flavors: Mocha (Coffee, Chocolate), Wood, Fruit, Cream, Pepper
Burn: Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Very Good