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Stogie Reviews: El Mejor Emerald Torpedo

19 May 2009

Some brands inspire cigar enthusiasts to go to great lengths just to have a chance to buy their highly sought blends. El Mejor Emerald isn’t one of those brands. In fact, I’ve found that it’s quite the opposite—often serving as a filler stick in samplers with more attractive stogies.

El Mejor Emerald TorpedoBut there are, apparently, many fans of this value brand around the online cigar community. I found several flattering reviews on blogs and forums that laud El Mejor Emerald for its simple, straightforward taste and low price tag. I wish I would have enjoyed this creation as much as they did. In the end, this value cigar left me neither delighted nor dismayed.

One of four cedar-wrapped vitolas, the Torpedo (6.5 x 54) includes Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos and a Honduran-grown corojo wrapper. It isn’t much to look at, despite of (or because of, I can’t decide which) the shaggy foot—a feature that is supposed to honor the “true old world fashion” of cigar making.

After removing the cellophane and the cedar strip, the dry, pale wrapper displays few veins and a musty pre-light aroma of damp earth. Then, after toasting the foot and establishing an even light, I encountered a taste much creamier and milder than expected.

That flavor is best described as light and airy with notes of cedar, peanuts, and some low-key spice. Nice yet uncomplicated and undemanding of much attention. And in contrast to what I read from some other reviewers, I found El Mejor Emerald to be fairly consistent in taste from start to finish.

The physical properties could have been a lot worse, especially for a cigar that sells for $3-4 apiece (and even less in samplers or on auction sites). While the burn tends to weave in and out, it doesn’t require serious maintenance. The draw is clear and open and the ash, though far too flaky for my liking, seems to hold pretty well.

All told, this is one of those decent cigars that works best on the golf course or as a complement to some other activity. It just doesn’t have the depth to deserve your undivided attention.

So, while I won’t go out of my way to buy more El Mejor Emeralds, I won’t go out of my way to avoid them in otherwise exciting samplers, either. That’s ultimately why the Torpedo earns three stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

2 Responses to “Stogie Reviews: El Mejor Emerald Torpedo”

  1. Dickie Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 5:13 am #

    Spot-on review. This stick is decent at best, downright boring at worst. So many better options if you're looking for a value smoke.

  2. furious Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 7:09 am #

    That is one ugly example. Personally, I would rather smoke a La Flor De Cano Selecto, which is a decent Cuban triple corta corona for roughly the same price. Flavor profile could be best described as rather mild with fruit and nut undertones present throughout. In these trying times, I find that I am smoking this stick quite often throughout the week as a “filler”.