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Cigar Review: George Rico S.T.K. Miami American Puro Corona Gorda

28 Aug 2014

You could argue George Rico’s Miami S.T.K. American Puro is the most unique cigar around. Made in Miami, the blend has only tobacco grown in the United States, including fire-cured tobacco from Kentucky.GeorgeRico-STK-AP-sq

GeorgeRico-STK-APThe Miami S.T.K. American Puro was one of three cigars with fire-cured tobacco introduced at last year’s IPCPR Trade Show. The others, Leccia Black and Drew Estate MUWAT KFC, were announced first with the American Puro following a few weeks later. (Drew Estate’s announcement of its KFC cigar was pushed forward on the heels of Leccia Black because the company wanted to make clear it had the cigar in production long before Leccia’s announcement.)

But unlike Leccia Black and KFC, the American Puro has the added twist of being made with U.S.-grown wrapper, binder, and filler. The wrapper and binder are Connecticut Habano (an unusual wrapper) and the filler combines the fire-cured Kentucky leaf with Connecticut broadleaf.

The band may seem familiar to fans of Cuban cigars, as it’s very similar to the Cuban Hoyo de Monterrey (an interesting choice given the American-ness of the blend). I smoked the Corona Gorda (5.6 x 46) size for this review. Construction was good from start to finish.

Pre-light, the fire-cured tobacco dominates with a combination of a peaty scotch (think Laphroaig) and BBQ pit. It’s interesting to say the least and seriously pungent.

Once lit, the cigar seems less influenced by the fire-cured tobacco than you might expect. Yes, there’s a slight smokey, hickory edge there, but there’s also a molasses sweetness along with coffee, chocolate, and earth. It’s medium-bodied with minimal variation from start to finish.

I’ll say I was surprised by how traditional the Miami S.T.K. American Puro smokes. That’s not to say it’s bad or boring, just not as dominated by the fire-cured tobacco as I expected, which is a very polarizing flavor. Still, it’s a solid cigar for $9 with excellent construction and a pleasing profile. That earns the American Puro Corona Gorda an admirable rating of three and a half stogies out of five.

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

Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

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