601 Black Toro (2021)

More than a decade ago, EO Brands—a now-defunct company that was jointly owned by Erik Espinosa and Eddie Ortega—released a cigar named 601 Black, which was the company’s interpretation of a full-flavored Connecticut blend. The 601 Black was discontinued in 2010, although it did reemerge under the name Evil Clown early in 2012 as a store exclusive for West Coast Cigars in San Jose, Calif.

In 2016, Espinosa Premium Cigars announced a complete overall of the entire 601 brand that included not only five new versions—601 Silver, 601 Sky, 601 Yellow, 601 Orange and 601 Gold—but also a return of the aforementioned 601 Black. However, production of the cigar was very limited at the time and was done largely to get the cigar onto the market amidst the looming FDA regulation of the premium cigar industry.

Four years later the 601 Black was shown off as part of Espinosa’s La Zona Palooza event in November 2020. Although the original plan was to bring the Connecticut blend back to the market in January 2021, Espinosa finally started shipping the revamped 601 Black to stores nationwide last summer.

The current version of the 601 Black features a blend consisting of an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper covering Nicaraguan tobaccos used in both the binder and filler. In addition, while the La Zona Palooza incarnation came in at 6 x 52, the production version of the 601 Black measures 6 x 50 and is produced at the La Zona Cigar Factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. The cigars are packaged in boxes of 10, with each cigar carrying an MSRP of $10.

This is what I wrote in my original review almost exactly a year ago:

Through the years, there have been numerous attempts to create a Connecticut blend that is full-flavored but with more body and strength than the Connecticut-wrapped cigars of old. Sometimes they work—as is the case with the exceptional Sobremesa Brûlée Blue—but other times the resulting blends end up with profiles that sacrifice balance on the alter of more strength. The 601 Black is somewhere in the middle of those two extremes. While there is plenty of flavor, the profile is quite linear, and the strength ends up overwhelming some of the nuances in the blend by the middle of the final third. Those looking for more of a punch in the morning should try it out, but I am hoping that a little bit of time will bring more balance to the forefront.

• Cigar Reviewed: 601 Black Toro (2021)
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: La Zona Cigar Factory
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Connecticut)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Vitola: Toro
• MSRP: $10 (Box of 10, $100)
• Release Date: July 2021
• Number of Cigars Released: Undisclosed
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 1

While there is not nearly as much mottling present on the wrapper of this cigar compared to the ones I smoked for the original review, the golden-brown color of the wrapper is the same, as is the fact that it is extremely smooth to the touch. A large number of very prominent viens are also present and the cigar is just short of rock hard when squeezed. Strong cocoa nibs and leather lead off the notes emanating from the wrapper, followed by nuts, barnyard and a light vegetal note. Aroma from the foot is both full and distinct, with dark chocolate easily topping secondary notes of wood, generic nuts, earth, gingerbread, leather and light raisin sweetness. Finally, a straight cut revels a cold draw full of creamy cedar, almonds, sawdust, toasted bread, cinnamon, dark chocolate and slight vanilla sweetness.

Differences between this aged cigar and the original cigars are apparent from the first puff, as my tongue tingles with some overt spice that was nowhere to be found the first time around. There is also a new vegetal note that starts the profile off, although it quickly morphs into a main flavor of creamy cedar. Secondary flavors of hay, almonds, toast, earth and espresso beans flit in and out at various points, while an interesting—and new—floral sweetness combines with a nice amount of black pepper on the retrohale. Flavor and strength end the first half at a solid medium, while the body is at a point just under medium, but all three are still increasing. In terms of construction, the draw is a bit tighter than I would like after a simple straight cut—albeit still within what I would consider a normal range—and both the smoke production and a razor sharp burn line are giving me absolutely no issues at all so far.

There are a number of changes in the 601 Black during the second half starting with the strength, which easily hits the full mark around the time the final third begins causing the profile to become noticeably unbalanced. The main flavor has also changed from creamy cedar to a charred meat note, followed by flavors of gritty earth, dry hay, leather, toasted bread, cedar and a touch of cinnamon. The retrohale has also changed dramatically, and not for the better: the amount of black pepper has increased while the amount of sweetness has decreased noticeably. Flavor has bumped up to a point just over medium, while the body and strength easily hit the full mark before the end of the cigar. Finally, the draw has loosened up a bit and the smoke production continues to be copious off of the foot, and while the burn line becomes problematic enough to need one correction just after the halfway point, it gives me no more issues before I put the nub down after one hour and 54 minutes of smoking time.