Today, we review the Lure Corojo Oscuro in The Big Lou (Toro) size. Lure Corojo Oscuro is the first blend released by Lure Cigars. Lure Cigars was created by Lou Cross III to honor the memory of his late father, Lou Cross Jr. Cross Jr. was a lifelong outdoorsman, avid fisherman, and cigar enthusiast. Shortly after celebrating his 90th birthday, Lou Jr. passed away in June of 2023, surrounded by family and friends. One of the last and fondest memories shared with him was enjoying a cigar and telling stories. The brand combines the worlds of fishing and cigars. Though this Lure cigars has established a couple of themes: 1) bringing enthusiasts together through ‘Tackle & Tobacco’ and encourages cigar enthusiasts to “Smoke Great Cigars & Tell Tall Tales.”

For production, Cross turned to Tabacalera Pages Nicaragua S.A. in Nicaragua. It’s a factory he met through his distributor, Valacari Cigars. Valacari has used Tabacalera Pages for all of its production for many years.

For now, let’s turn our attention to The Big Lou and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Lure Corojo Oscuro The Big Lou – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

It features a double-fermented Corojo Oscuro wrapper and an Estelí binder, like the rest of the Corojo Oscuro line. The fillers are sourced from Estelí and Jalapa, and also include ligero from Ometepe, Nicaragua. Production takes place at Tabacalera Pages Nicaragua S.A. in Nicaragua.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo Oscuro
Binder: Nicaraguan (Estelí)
Filler: Nicaraguan (Estelí, Jalapa, Ometepe)
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacalera Pages Nicaragua S.A.

Vitolas Offered

To date, Lure Cigars has introduced six main sizes to the Corojo Oscuro line.

The Lil’ Tony: 5×50 (Robusto)
The Fat Tony: 5 x 54 (Robusto Grande)
The Big Lou: 6×52 (Toro)
The BLT: (Big Lou Torpedo) 6×54 (Torpedo)
The Sir Gar: 7×48 (Churchill)
The Lunker: 6×60 (Gordo)

Appearance (*)

The Corojo Oscuro wrapper of The Big Lou had a dark, cinnamon-brown color. There was a slight amount of oil on the surface of the wrapper. Upon closer examination, some mottling was visible on the wrapper. In addition, the wrapper had visible veins. Most of the wrapper seams were minimally visible.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

Before lighting up The Big Lou, a straight cut was used to commence the cigar experience. Once the cap was removed, it was time for the pre-light draw ritual. The cigar delivered a mix of cherry, cream, wood, and earth notes. Overall, this was a satisfactory pre-light draw experience. At this point, it was time to toast up The Big Lou and see what the smoking stage would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The Big Lou greeted me with a short blast of black pepper. Once the pepper subsided, notes of earth, mineral, natural tobacco, sweetness, and cream emerged. For the early part of the first third, there wasn’t a dominant note. By the midway point of the first third, the cherry and mineral notes surfaced as the primary ones. The earth, natural tobacco, cream, and peppers settled in the background.

As the Big Lou moved into the early parts of the second third, the earth notes increased. These notes joined the cherry in the forefront, displacing the mineral notes. The mineral was combined with natural tobacco, cherry, and pepper. The cream notes were also present in the background during the early part of the second third, but had dissipated by the midway point. As the cigar approached the midway point, the earth notes started to be overtaken by an emerging wood note. It was also at this point where the pepper spice increased on the tongue and retro-hale.

By the last third, the wood, pepper, and cherry were the primary notes. The mineral and natural tobacco notes were secondary. This is the way the flavor profile of The Big Lou held until the conclusion of the smoking experience. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The Big Lou scored nicely on the burn. The cigar maintained a straight burn path and had a straight burn line. At the same time, this cigar didn’t require many touch-ups to keep a straight burn. The resulting ash had a silver-gray color. There ash was on the firm side, but there was some flowering and flaking of this ash that occurred on each sample smoked.

Meanwhile, the burn temperature maintained ideal levels. This was a slow-burning cigar. Each cigar of the three cigars smoked averaged 2:04 hours – a little long for a 6 x 52 Toro, but it had no adverse effects.

Draw

The Big Lou had an excellent draw, though there was some resistance to it. If you have read my assessments, you will know this is a personal preference of mine.

Strength and Body

The Lure Corojo Oscuro Big Lou opened up with medium to full strength and medium-bodied flavors. Both attributes increased in intensity as the cigar experience progressed. By the end of the first third, the body progressed to medium to full territory. Once in the second half, the strength increased to its full capacity. The second half of The Big Lou had full strength and medium to full-bodied notes for the duration of the smoking experience.

In terms of strength versus body, the strength maintained a slight edge throughout the smoking experience.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

As many people know, I am not a fan of craft paper bundles. In the case of Lure Cigars, particularly The Big Lou, the craft paper obscures what is actually a very attractive cigar. On the positive side, I do appreciate the labels that Lure uses on the bundles; they provide a clear overview of the cigar’s characteristics in an easy-to-read format. However, I would still prefer to see these cigars in boxes. There are certainly creative alternatives, such as worm cans and tackle box packaging, that could be explored.

The band has a very contemporary look. I appreciate how Lure Cigars assigns each band and bundle a distinct color to identify it.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

The Lure Corojo Oscuro Big Lou was one of the most impressive debut cigars I’ve experienced in the past year. The flavors are bold and robust, featuring a noticeable amount of spiciness. I could definitely taste the Ometepe tobacco in this blend, and I am impressed with how well the overall construction complements it. Make no mistake, this is a strong smoke. I would recommend it for experienced cigar enthusiasts who enjoy bolder flavors. Personally, I found this cigar enjoyable and would be inclined to buy it again. I would also be interested in trying it in different sizes.

Summary

Key Flavors: Wood, Earth, Cherry, Natural Tobacco, Mineral, Cream, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Medium to Full (1st Half), Full (2nd Half)
Body: Medium (1st third) Medium to Full (Remainder)
Finish: Very Good