Room101 Farce Connecticut Super Toro

While many people in the cigar industry were surprised when Matt Booth parted ways with Davidoff of Geneva USA and left the cigar business in early 2017, very few were shocked at his return.

That return came a short six months later in the form of two different collaborations with Robert Caldwell of Caldwell Cigar Co.—Hit & Run and The T.—that launched at the 2017 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show. However, the joint efforts turned out to be just the opening salvo, as the brand owner then announced the first non-collaboration cigar for the new era of Room101 in February named Farce.

Farce used an Ecuadorian wrapper covering an Indonesian binder and filler tobaccos from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Pennsylvania.

Fast forward four months to the 2018 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, when Room101 announced it was producing a Connecticut version of the line, appropriately named Farce Connecticut. While the two lines share a moniker, the blends are quite different: the Farce Connecticut features an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper over an undisclosed binder and fillers from both the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.

In addition, there are only four vitolas compared to five in the Farce line—none of them the same—and while the bottom price is similar between the two lines, the top price of the regular Farce is more than $2 higher than its Connecticut-wrapper brother.

• Room101 Farce Connecticut Churchill (7 x 48) — $10.90 (Boxes of 20, $218)
• Room101 Farce Connecticut Robusto (5 x 50) — $11.80 (Boxes of 20, $236)
• Room101 Farce Connecticut Short Corona (4 7/8 x 42) — $10.30 (Boxes of 20, $206)
• Room101 Farce Connecticut Super Toro (6 x 56) — $12.40 (Boxes of 20, $248)

• Cigar Reviewed: Room101 Farce Connecticut Super Toro
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Tabacalera William Ventura
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Connecticut)
• Binder: n/a
• Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 56
• Vitola: Toro Gordo
• MSRP: $12.40 (Boxes of 20, $248)
• Release Date: August 2018
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

The pale golden brown wrapper covers the Farce Connecticut is extremely smooth to the touch and features almost no visible oil at all. In addition, there are a number of very prominent veins running up and down its length and the cigar is surprisingly hard when squeezed, with almost no give at all that I can discern. Aroma from the wrapper is a combination of sour hay, barnyard, manure, cedar and nuts, while the cold draw brings flavors of creamy oak, earth, leather, white pepper, varnish, citrus and slight spice on my tongue.

Starting out the first third, the Farce Connecticut begins with a fairly standard combination of creamy cedar and leather notes on the palate, along with other flavors of milk chocolate, almonds, toast and a slight floral flavor. While there are noticeable amounts of both white pepper and honey sweetness on the retrohale, I am surprised at the amount of spice on my tongue, which is both significant and does not seem to be calming down any time soon. Along with a copious amount of smoke billowing off of the foot, the burn and the draw are excellent so far, with the extremely thick burn line the standout. Strength-wise, the Farce Connecticut barely rises past the mild mark by the end of the first third, although it does seem to be increasing.

While the leather note remains one of the stronger flavors in the profile during the second third of the Farce Connecticut Super Toro, it is replaced by a more dominant creamy almond note that combines nicely with the still strong cedar. Some additional notes of hay, lemongrass, espresso beans, dark cocoa and very slight roast beef flit in and out, although none come close to overtaking the flavors at the top. Although the honey sweetness remains very evident on the retrohale, the white pepper begins to recede right around the halfway point and the spice on my tongue has—thankfully—deceased considerably from its high point in the first third. Construction-wise, the draw continues to impress, but the burn starts to stray off course in a major way, forcing me to touch it up before it gets out of control. The smoke production remains quite high and the overall strength does increase noticeably, ending the second third quite a bit closer to the medium mark than it was before, albeit with ways still to go.

There are very few surprises during the final third of the Farce Connecticut, as the profile features pretty much the same flavors that have become so familiar by now: strong creamy almonds, leather and cedar, followed by notes of hay, citrus, peanuts, bitter espresso, milk chocolate and toast that rotate in and out. However, there is one major change to speak of, as the white pepper on the retrohale actually reverses course and increases noticeably, which helps the honey sweetness become quite a bit more distinct compared to the second third. Thankfully, the burn has evened up nicely and the draw continues to give me no problems at all, while the strength increases a touch before I put the nub down with about an inch left, hitting a point close to the medium mark.

Final Notes

• Interestingly, not one of the four vitolas that the Farce Connecticut debuted with are the same as any of the five vitolas being produced for the regular Farce line. This is notable because of Booth’s penchant for using the same vitolas across various lines the past: for example, the Room101 Master Collection One, Two and Three all featured the exact same sizes, as did the Room101 Daruma, Daruma Nappy B and Daruma Gold.
• There were notable some differences between the three samples, as two of them were very creamy with very little spice while the other —the second one I smoked, incidentally—had some significant spice on my tongue that did not calm down until well into the first third.
• This is one of those blends that gets bitter very, very quickly if you puff on it too hard, so keep it slow and steady.
• After a simple straight cut, I had absolutely no issues with the draw on each of the cigars, but all three had to be touched up at least once during the time I was smoking them.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time for all three samples averaged one hour and 56 minutes.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Farce Connecticut, site sponsor Atlantic Cigar Co. has them in stock now.