Tailgate by Karen Berger Toro

It’s funny how a certain word can steer your mind in one direction, and then when you see that word in use on a product, it switches things up a bit.

When I saw the Tailgate by Karen Berger Toro pop up my review calendar, I have to admit that I didn’t know a lot about the cigar, which debuted at the 2023 PCA Convention & Trade Show. Karen Berger Cigars wasn’t part of my coverage assignments, and in the flurry of new product announcements that led up to the show, I probably glanced at it but didn’t commit much of it to memory. Which brings me to the word tailgate, which I had assumed was referencing the pregame festivities that happen in parking lots before sporting events.

While that’s part of the story, the cigar is really also named for the tailgates of pickup trucks, which often set the stage for those parking lot festivities. The box is designed to look like a classic truck, with the tailgate session opening downwards and providing access to the cigars.

The blend features an Indonesian Sumatra wrapper, with Nicaraguan tobacco used for the binder and filler. It is offered in a single 6 x 52 toro vitola that is produced by Estelí Cigars S.A. in Nicaragua. Pricing is set at $7.75 per cigar and $108.50 for a box of 14 cigars.

• Cigar Reviewed: Tailgate by Karen Berger Toro
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Estelí Cigars S.A.
• Wrapper: Indonesia (Sumatra)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Toro
• MSRP: $7.75 (Box of 14, $108.50)
• Release Date: July 1, 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

The cigar is quite dry to the touch, with little to no oiliness present and a ton of texture for the fingers. It’s not rough in any sense, but I am pick up some tactile sensations. The three cigars all appear to be rolled well, and when I give them a slight squeeze, I find that they have some give and that the wrapper feels a bit fragile, so I’m not inclined to pursue my inspection of each cigar’s density. That said, they do seem a bit light in the hand compared to what I would call the average toro vitola. The foot has a slightly sweet aroma led by orange juice, followed by something that reminds me of a concentrated sweet and spicy sauce that would go on chicken or pork. There are also occasional appearances from graham crackers and hands of dry tobacco. Air moves smoothly, carrying flavors of cedar, thick orange juice and just a touch of apple cider vinegar on the finish. I don’t find pepper to be a large part of the pre-light experience, as it shows up only sporadically and in very small quantities.

The first puffs have an interesting blend of creaminess and lightly toasted wheat bread, with just a bit of black pepper appearing on the finish. It’s a very approachable start, flavorful but not overpowering, and while the main flavors are familiar, they combine impressively well out of the gate. Retrohales don’t have the complexity that the flavor does, delivering more of both the toast and black pepper, and in near-even quantities. There are some puffs that have a bit of a dry cereal flavor, sometimes reminding me of Cheerios while at other times wheat flakes. It’s an incredibly quick-burning first third, as I’m through it in about 25 minutes, even with my fairly moderate puffing rate. Construction is good, with the cigar producing good amounts of smoke. Flavor is medium-plus, body is medium-minus and strength is mild.

In each of the three cigars, I’m into the second third much quicker than average, as I’m guessing there are lighter, faster-burning tobaccos in the blend helping that cause. This makes it a bit more challenging to get some detailed flavors, but the start of the second third sees the flavor pick up some earth and additional pepper, which in turn increases the body of the smoke. The finish is also a bit heavier, though it doesn’t linger on my taste buds for very long. The flavor is fairly consistent, though with maybe a touch less creaminess than the first third. Retrohales are largely the same toast and pepper combination, slightly less intense than in the first third and also seeming as if the pepper is now taking the dominant role. As for construction, the burn rate slows as the body of the cigar increases, while the other aspects are all very good, including a smooth draw, even burn line and good smoke production. Flavor is medium-full for much of this section, body is medium-plus and strength is mild.

The addition of peanut shells opens up the final third of the Tailgate by Karen Berger Toro, giving the profile a bit lighter spin after it had gotten heavier in the second third. It also dries out the profile a bit, and there are some other dry flavors joining the profile in this final third, with some dry pretzels, wheat crackers and plain croutons all making an appearance. The burn rate continues to slow down a bit in this section, and while puffs don’t feel any more labored than they did earlier, each one results in a shorter movement of the burn line. The flavors begin to lose a bit of their definition in the final puffs, holding onto much of what the profile has offered thus far but just not making any of the individual flavors as identifiable as before. A lingering finish from the final puffs starts toasty and ends up having a bit of a peppery burn on the front half of my tongue. The ash suddenly gets flakier in this portion of the cigar, with little bits coming off with puffs and movement of the cigar. Flavor finishes around medium, body at medium-plus and strength is fairly mild.

Final Notes:

• Editor’s Note No. 1: These cigars weighed 12.1 grams, 13 grams and 14.4 grams. This would be on the lighter side of a 6 x 52 toro, though all three of the cigars measured 51 ring gauge. — Charlie Minato.

• Editor’s Note No. 2: One of the cigars had some interesting white stuff around some of the veins. None of the other cigars we purchased had any signs of whatever this is.
• The consistency of flavors and the flavor profile were impressive across the three cigars, which smoked nearly identically.
• During the 2024 Puro Sabor festival, Estelí Cigars S.A. hosted one of the lunches, holding it next to one of their tobacco fields.
• In April 2023, the company formerly known as K by Karen Berger changed its name to Karen Berger Cigars.
• The K by Karen Berger name dates back to 2016, when the company debuted at the 2016 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show.
• In October 2012, General Cigar Co. released a tailgating-themed sampler and ran a corresponding contest for a grill, gift cards to a steak retailer and the ticketing site StubHub, as well as a tailgating lounger, game table, and a lighter and ashtray.
• None of the three cigars hit me with any strength.
• Final smoking time was two hours and 15 minutes on average. Given how quickly the first third smoked, I was pretty surprised to see this as the final smoking time.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.