Seth's Humidor

Prensado by Alec Bradley

When you create a cigar like the Tempus, it is hard to follow that up. It was a cigar that really put Alec Bradley on the map and is still revered to this day. But Alan Rubin really showed us his skills with the Prensado. Prensado is Spanish for box-pressed so as you can guess the cigar comes box-pressed. The cigar features a unique and rare 2016 Corojo wrapper from their farm in Trojes, Honduras that was harvested in 2016. Since that date the cigar has been aging and undergoing fermentation until mid 2018 when it was ready to be used. The blending stage took a long time but when they finally found the perfect blend they were dead on. The binder on this cigar is Nicaraguan and the filler tobacco is from Nicaragua and the Trojes farm in Honduras.

Alec Bradley Cigars have really been utilizing tobacco from Trojes, Honduras in their newest blends and anything they have put this tobacco in has been incredible. The cigar, like most of Alec Bradley Cigars, is made in Honduras at the infamous Raices Cubanas factory. I think this factory is producing some killer smokes and probably some of the best lines on the market. I have smoked all the vitolas in the line and all are just incredible and rich and for this review I selected the Gran Toro. On a side note, their Corona Gorda vitola in the lineup is amazing and probably my favorite. I don't care for bigger ring gauge cigars because I really love to taste the wrapper of the cigar and with this cigar, it is truly amazing. The Gran Toro measures 6" and has a 54 ring gauge. It recently did incredibly well in the Top 25 Cigars of the Year by Cigar Aficionado coming in at 20, but I would have had it in the Top 10.

(Not blaming Cigar Aficionado though, they have many excellent reviewers on their panel and it is a group decision and not the opinions of a sole person.)

The cigar features a beautiful triple cap and is constructed perfectly with a dark brown wrapper. The aroma is amazing giving off notes of coffee, leather and almonds. Upon lighting the first puffs are very elegant giving off notes of cinnamon, anise, dark chocolate and roasted coffee. The first third continues with these wonderful flavors but leather notes begin to emerge and become more dominant. After a minor relight I find myself in the second third and loving life. There is an abundance of flavors from chocolate to coffee, spices to nuts and leather to wood. Smoking around full body this cigar is definitely for an experience cigar smoker just because of the amount of flavors it has. The cigar is burning very evenly to this point and besides my minor relight in the first third it it smoking perfectly. In the final third now and the spices have returned but come back and forth leaving you with intense spices and then a tranquil mellow experience as well. I am picking up lots of coffee, nuts and chocolate in this third and when I come to a close it is still cool in my hand.

This is an incredible cigar and probably my favorite of the Alex Bradley portfolio. This is a cigar that has flavor and body in full force. I would give this cigar an easy 94 and in some cases higher. Everything about this cigar is great from construction, aroma, flavor and smoking characteristics. If you have never tried an Alec Bradley Cigar I strongly suggest you try this one, actually smoke all of his cigars, you won't be disappointed with any one of them. 

Prensado Gran Toro