Córdoba & Morales Seasons Spring Edition

The turning of each new season brings not only new weather but also—at least in the case of Córdoba & Morales—a new series of cigars inspired by each of the four seasons.

Appropriately named Seasons, the series debuted last month with the Spring Edition, a 6 x 50 toro that incorporates a Cameroon wrapper covering an Ecuadorian habano binder and filler tobaccos grown in both Nicaraguan and Peru. The new limited edition is packaged in boxes of 10, with only 5,000 cigars released priced at $15 each.

In messages to halfwheel, Azarias “Zee” Mustafa, co-founder of Córdoba & Morales, detailed a plan to create a new unique blend in a different vitola for every season. In addition, Mustafa said that while the company might do a fall and/or winter release, there will not be a summer release for this year.

Córdoba & Morales began shipping the Spring Edition to retailers on April 8.

• Cigar Reviewed: Cordoba & Morales Seasons Spring Edition Toro
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Tabacalera CM
• Wrapper: Cameroon
• Binder: Ecuador (Habano)
• Filler: Nicaragua & Peru
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Vitola: Toro
• MSRP: $15 (Box of 10, $150)
• Release Date: April 8, 2021
• Number of Cigars Released: 500 Boxes of 10 Cigars (5,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

From a visual perspective, the Córdoba & Morales Seasons Spring Toro is fairly distinctive, with an extremely rough to the touch pale milk chocolate brown wrapper and a very interesting design around the foot. There are a number of overt veins noticeable running up and down its length and the cigar is nicely firm when squeezed. Aroma from the wrapper is a combination of rich raisins, dry tea leaves, leather, lemongrass, barnyard, cocoa nibs and generic nuts while the cold draw brings flavors of peanuts, tea leaves, lemongrass, leather, oak, black pepper and slight honey sweetness.

At the start, the Córdoba & Morales features two main notes that easily outpace the rest: gritty earth and powdery cocoa nibs, along with quite a bit of black pepper and overt spice on my tongue. Other notes of peanuts, toast, leather, hay, dark chocolate and slight cinnamon flit in and out, while a very nice brown sugar sweetness shares space with some red pepper on the retrohale. In terms of construction, the smoke production is both thick and copious from the foot, while the draw is excellent after a straight cut and the burn is giving me no major issues so far. Strength-wise, the Seasons Spring Toro starts off fairly mild but ramps up slowly, hitting a point between mild and medium by the end of the first third.

Earth and powdery cocoa nibs continue to top the profile during the second third of the Córdoba & Morales Seasons Spring, followed by secondary notes of leather, baker’s spices, sourdough bread, espresso beans and hay. In addition, while the spice from the first third has died down noticeably, both the red pepper and brown sugar sweetness on the retrohale are still very much evident in the profile. Smoke production is still well above average, while the draw remains excellent and the burn is wavy but not overly problematic and the strength has not increased all that much, meaning it fails to hit the medium mark by the time the second third comes to a close.

While there is very little change in the main flavor combination of cocoa nibs and earth during the final third of the Seasons Spring Toro there are a couple of new secondary flavors, specifically generic citrus and mineral salt. Additional notes include hay, leather, cinnamon, almonds and freshly roasted espresso beans. Although both the red pepper and brown sugar sweetness remain in the retrohale, both are noticeably reduced from its high point in the first third. Construction-wise, both the draw and smoke production continue to impress, and while the burn is far from razor sharp, it does not need any attention from my lighter. Finally, the strength increases just enough to hit the medium mark by the end of the final third, and I put the nub down with a bit less than an inch remaining.

Final Notes

• The first thing I thought of when I saw the logo on the band was that it reminded me of a logo I might see used for a mid-range ski resort.
• While the word “Spring” is part of the name of the line, that word does not appear to be printed anywhere on the actual band.

• Speaking of the band, Córdoba & Morales used the inside of the band to plug its website, something more companies should be doing.
• The smoke that pours from the foot of this blend smells awesome, reminding me of a combination of cedar and sugar cookies.
• Construction for all three cigars I smoked was quite good overall—including excellent draws after straight cuts—with only two of the samples needing a couple of touchups.
• Along with the above, while Cameroon wrappers have a well-deserved reputation for being extremely fragile—especially in colder weather or dry climates—I had no issues whatsoever with the cover leaf on any of my samples.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time for all three samples averaged one hour and 37 minutes.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Córdoba & Morales Seasons Spring Toro cigars, site sponsors Cigar Hustler and Corona Cigar Co. have them in stock.