The E.H. Taylor Corojo for me seems like a match made in heaven. Cigars and whiskey has long been a pairing for many cigar smokers. For me, I started out with cigars & scotch, before making my way to cigars & rum. These days like countless others I pair my cigars with bourbon. As a bourbon enthusiast it’s frustrating so many brands are difficult to come by and E.H Taylor is one that is increasingly difficult to find at a fair price.
Made by S.T.G. the E.H. Taylor Corojo is available at Cigars International and other shops that fall under the S.T.G umbrella. A cigar & bourbon isn’t new as there have been a few other expressions including a Buffalo Trace cigar, Cohiba Weller, Drew Estate Pappy Van Winkle.
Cigar Review: E.H. Taylor Corojo
Factory: Tabacalera La Isla
Size: 6 x 52 Toro
Wrapper: Ecuador Corojo
Binder: Nicaragua (Jalapa)
Filler: Dominican Republic
Debut: January 2024
Box Count: 15
The Cigar: Using the same color scheme and font as E.H. Taylor Bourbon the cigar has a familiar feel to it for those familiar with the bourbon. The first band denotes the branding and the second band denotes the wrapper. As for the cigar itself the 5 pack I purchase features one of the worst pigtail caps I can remember seeing. The Corojo wrapper has some subtle brindle effects to it and a nice amount of oils. In the hand the cigar is firm with no voids of tobacco and a hefty weight.
The Taste: Once the abomination of the cap is removed the cold draw reveals some notes of cedar, citrus and earth as well as a subtle spice. Meanwhile the aroma from the foot showcases an earthy aroma.
Once we toast the E.H. Taylor Corojo there is a nice rye spice and some citrus components to start. As we settle into the first third, the rye spice is joined by notes of leather and cedar. Smoking the cigar on its own, the citrus is a bit of a distraction but when paired with bourbon that citrus component takes a back seat.
Moving into the second third some apples begin to emerge especially when paired with bourbon. There is a subtle sweetness and a touch of oak along for the ride too. Sipping the bourbon along side the cigar also sees additional notes of cinnamon. The retrohale offers up a rye spice. It’s important to note sans bourbon the cigar continued to be citric in nature.
As we conclude the E.H. Taylor Corojo the final third sees notes of cedar, cream and apples work together flawlessly with occasional wisps of cinnamon. The retrohale sees continued rye spice with earth and a touch of oak. On a side note the unpaired cigar still continued with orange citrus.
Conclusion: Tabacalera La Isla might not be a factory everyone knows but it was started by Hostos the nephew of Manuel Quesada. They make cigars for Warped, Matilde and La Sirena and now their biggest client, S.T.G. As far the cigar if you’re expecting it to taste like E.H. Taylor you would be disappointed. What you do get is a cigar that does pair well with E.H. Taylor. I poured my last 3 ounces and found the two complimented each other fairly well.
My biggest knock is the tobacco feels young and this is most noticeable when smoking the cigar without a bourbon pairing. Another knock is the price. I get that royalties need to paid to Sazerac & Co. (owners of the distillery) but the cigar smokes more like a $7-$8 cigar. Pricing doesn’t affect our scoring and I would recommend a 5 pack especially if you’re a fan of bourbon from the Buffalo Trace Distillery.
Score: 87
Price: $61.99 (5 Pack) / $175.99 (Box of 15)
Disclaimer: We normally don’t do pairings when we do a cigar review. But we did find the cigar was more enjoyable when paired with bourbon. We smoked three for this review. One we did by itself (which scored 2 points lower), One with E.H. Taylor (Scored an 87), and one with Buffalo Trace (Scored an 87). Using the Olympics style scoring, we dropped the low and one high score.
