Cigar Review: Trinidad Paradox Toro
Now available at Emerson’s Cigars, Trinidad Paradox.
The Trinidad name has a long rich history in the cigar industry. Originating in Cuba in the early twentieth century, the company quickly became known for creating quality cigars. By the mid twentieth century, the company had expanded from a handful of rollers to a major cigar company. Needless to say business was great, until the Cuban Revolution forced the Trinidad family to immigrate to the United States. With the Trinidad family out of the picture, the Cuban government nationalized the Trinidad Company and began to distribute the Cuban Trinidad all over the world. Even though the Trinidad family was exiled from Cuba, cigar making remained close to their hearts. In 2000, the Trinidad family once again began producing cigars in the Dominican Republic for the American Market. With the release of the Trinidad Paradox, it becomes clear that Trinidad is blazing a new history for itself. Now that the history lesson is over, let’s dig into the Trinidad Paradox.
Appearance and Construction: The pale San Andres Criollo 98 wrapper is draped beautifully around the Dominican binder and Nicaraguan filler. The box pressed Paradox has an exceedingly uniform feel throughout the entire cigar. A quick cut and smooth draw reveals that the quality construction extends beyond the wrapper. The cold draw is highlighted by a great tobacco flavor with subtle hints of earth and grass. Now that the cigar has been put through the pre-light paces, it’s time to put the flame to the foot and see what the Paradox is all about.
1/3: The Paradox opens with light notes of earth, grass, with a slight semi-sweet raisin finish. Right away, it is clear that the Paradox is a medium bodied cigar with subtle notes that command the smoker’s full attention. Midway into the first third, notes of leather and a cocoa are added to the cigar. The initial grass and raisin notes of the Paradox have dissipated. The burn of the cigar is outstanding, which is a reflection of the quality construction.
2/3: The second third of the Paradox is marked by a balancing of all of the notes present in the first third. Leather and wood notes are balanced by the subtle cocoa notes. Towards the end of this portion, the cigar is dominated by earthy and peppery notes.
3/3 and Parting Thoughts: The final third of the Paradox consists of the notes found in the second third, only more pronounced. Notes of earth and pepper begin to take charge of the final third as the leather and cocoa notes become noticeable only on the retro hale. Overall, the cigar is consistent from start to finish with little change in the flavor profile. The construction of the paradox is great and compliments the straightforward flavor of the Paradox. The Trinidad Paradox is available in 4 sizes in boxes of 16 at all 5 Hampton Roads locations and online at emersonscigars.com.
