Nomad S-307 Toro
I live in the deepest south of Mississippi that you can get and I have yet to come across a Nomad cigar in a local shop. They seem to be more seen in the northern US via various forms of social media. Seeing all the buzz about Nomad, they have been on my want list for some time. With Emilio Cigars now distributing the Nomad lines, hopefully I will be seeing them more and more as the number of shops that carry Emilio Cigars grows in may area.
Fred Rewey is the mastermind behind the Nomad company. If you follow him on Facebook or Twitter you already know he seems to be a pretty down to earth guy and always has something to say to make you wonder or laugh. Nomad cigars has been around for a small portion of time and has quite a few cigar blends out. There are two blends out from both Nicaragua and The Dominican Republic. The first lines had much fanfare as well as the S-307. Hailing from Nicaragua with a Sumatra wrapper, this makes me want this cigar more and more as I do my research on it.
Cigar Stats
Size: 6×50
Vitola: Toro
Filler: Nicaraguan
Binder: Ecuadorian Habano
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Factory: Tobacalera AJ Fernandez
MSRP: $7.95
Sizes Available
Toro (6×50) msrp $7.95
Robusto (5×50) msrp $7.75
Torpedo (6 1/2 x 52) msrp $7.95
Toro Grande (6 x 58) msrp $8.50
Corona (5.5 x 46) msrp $7.75
First Looks
The S-307 is a box pressed cigar that has a light feel to it a well as a “hollow” sound to it. Now, I know sound is something you don’t usually read about in a cigar review. But I usually give the cigar a “bounce” in my hand to see the heft to it as well as a slight tap on it to physically hear how densely or not that its packed. The hollow sound would lead to you to believe that it has a softness to it, but it doesn’t. The cigar has a nice firm feel to it with the rounded pressed edges. A double (or possible triple, my eyes are tired) cap covers the head of the cigar. The foot shows a mix of light and darker tobacco in it and has a pleasant aroma of sweet tobacco, hints of light wood and sugar cookies. Yes, I said sugar cookies. A straight cut reveals a slightly easy draw with light tastes of a spice and even lighter sweetness.
Construction
I did something I don’t do too often when lighting my cigars and used matches. From time to time I will or use a cedar spill. But nine times out of ten, its with a torch lighter or soft flame butane lighter. I figured with the Sumatra wrapper and Nicaraguan fillers, I didn’t want a hot flame fouling up the first few draws of the smoke. I was trying to give the cigar its best showing. The draw was a little loose on the cold draw, but tightened up nicely once the cigar got going. The burn was spot on with gray and dark off-white ashes that hung on fairly well for a box pressed cigar. Although there were a few ashes that made way to my lap after I figured they would have held longer. This cigar produced a ton of smoke! I am not sure if it was the size, blend, atmospheric conditions or what. But it has to be one of the smokiest cigars I have had in a long time.
 
Flavor
The first draws of this cigar hit me light a brick. I wasn’t figuring this cigar to be so bold in flavor strength! Rich notes of leather, spice and coffee dance around in my mouth. The smoke is so dense I can almost chew it. A bit into the S-307, the spice eases off and the smoke becomes more smoother than at first. There is a sweetness that arises and reminds me of warm molasses with a rich powdered cocoa on the finish.
The start of the middle portion adds another flavor to the menagerie of flavors. A roasted nut flavor that gets me more into the cigar. Its not that the smoke was boring, just another interesting flavor to add to the already good mash up. The middle portion stays pretty much consistent as the majority of the first portion, with the addition of the roasted nuts and now (around the halfway point) I get a hint of a milk flavor towards the back half of the smoke. The leather turns more into a earthy tone as I get past the half way point as well. There is some hints of the spice from before, but its not as nearly as much as it once was. The spice is subdued by the leather, earthiness and subtle sweetness found in the molasses and milk flavors.
The ending this cigar was a sweet one. This is one of those cigars that you really don’t want to end the flavors are that good and pleasing. The spice seems to pick up a bit but doesn’t get out of hand. The earthiness settles down a good bit, leaving the coffee, toasted nuts, molasses and peppery spice to reside on my pallet. The cocoa shows up once again on the finish with an inch left to go. The last inch lets the cocoa note move to the front of the smoke and it runs wild. Its very potent, good and almost too much. Shortly there after is where I laid it to rest.
Final Thoughts
The first inch or so really threw me off. I figured with an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper and the sweetness in the cold draw it would be a sweeter smoke than what it was at first. I really didn’t care for the first inch or so if this cigar, but when the molasses and sweetness did make its appearance, I really enjoyed the smoke from there on out. Great medium to full strengthed flavors with a good amount of body to it as well. The draw was great as well as the burn. I think Fred has a hit with this blend and I would really like to see how the small ring gauged corona does for the strength and sweetness of the smoke. Overall, definitely a cigar to try.
*This cigar was provided to me, unsolicited, from Gary Griffith of Emilio Cigars (distributors for Nomad) for this review. Many thanks to him for the opportunity to review this cigar!
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I happen to be smoking this right now. I didn’t get the same opening as you, but, from there, I’d say it’s matches what you’ve said.