Stogie Reviews: Bahia Gold Toro
30 Jan 2008
Not long before our Second Annual Super Bowl Cigar Giveaway, we awarded three fine cigars to the winner of our College Football Bowl Contest: a La Aroma de Cuba, a Graycliff Grand Cru, and a Bahia Gold. I had never tried the latter of the three, so I recently embarked upon this review with two Bahia Gold Toros.
This particular stick measures in at six inches with a 50 ring gauge and consistently retails around $8 apiece. CigarsDirect.com – the retailer that graciously provided the cigars for this review – sells five-packs for $39.95.
Bahia is a relatively new brand, which debuted out of Costa Rica in 1997. Production moved to Nicaragua seven years ago, and the Gold series is considered to be owner Tony Borhani’s flagship line.
Based on appearance, it’s easy to see why. The dark, reddish-brown Ecuadorian sungrown wrapper is four years old and sports a few elaborate veins. It is adorned with a bright orange Miami Vice-style band that is as flashy as it is unique.
Pre-light, I noticed the cigar is rock hard to the touch, but surprisingly has a fairly easy draw. A strong floral aroma that is quite similar to an El Tiante makes its presence known right out of the cellophane.
Establishing an even burn is relatively effortless, and the Dominican Cuban-seed filler tobaccos (a combination of liegro, seco, and viso) immediately produce a smooth, flavorful burst of dark chocolate and floral notes. The smoke is cool, abundant, and savory. The slightest bit of black pepper spice adds some complexity, and the full flavor never turns harsh.
If you’re into cigars with changing tastes, though, Bahia Gold probably isn’t for you. The flavors I identified remained consistent into the second and final third of this 90 minute smoke. During that time, the burn remained reasonably even, the draw moderate, and the white ash stable.
This cigar would earn high marks in my book if its price were closer to the $5 range. Still, its aromatic smoke and trustworthy construction won’t leave you disappointed. I give the Bahia Gold Toro a reputable three and ½ out of five stogies.
[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here. Cigars for this review were provided by CigarsDirect.com, and can be purchased here.]
photo credit: Stogie Guys
Patrick Ashby
Co-Founder & Editor in Chief
Patrick Semmens
Co-Founder & Publisher
George Edmonson
Tampa Bureau Chief
Yet another brand I had never heard of before reading this site. The flavors you describe sound great, and I look forward to trying this.
These are really nice cigars, as noted above. There is no need to pay even close to the stated price. Cigarsinternational.com (and cigar.com, which is the same company under a different flagship), sells these routinely on their outlet site, cigarbid.com. It's usually possible to get these for a buck and change apiece. Best time to bid on them is on Thursday at 10 AM or midnight (which is when the auctions open), and you're also ok on Friday or Saturday. The bidding gets more intense as one approaches Weds (when the autoship option kicks in, and a lot of people try to save a bit on postage by bulking up their orders as Weds night approaches). I've managed to stash away a few hundred of these, which are (along with the Pinar del Rio line) my "house cigars." And for a buck or so, they make nice smokes!