Cigar Review: Timeless TAA Limited Edition 2023

Brand: Ferio Tego Timeless
Vitola: Toro
Filler: Nicaragua Jalapa
Wrapper: Nicaragua Estelí
Binder: Nicaragua Estelí
Smoking Time: 1.5 Hours
Body:  Medium
Flavor: Full Intensity
Price: $16

What Makes it Special:

The Tobacconists Association of America (TAA) each year presents the TAA Exclusive Series. Michael Herklots, founder of Ferio Tego Cigars, began with his first TAA Exclusive from the Timeless brand in 2020.  This year, 2023, is the third offering of the exclusive series. It features the same blend as the previous offerings, with fillers from the Jalapa region, better known for wrappers. Michael describes this as a “bit of an inside-out blend,” further stating that the “Jalapa filer provides fortitude but with grace.” The cigar is made entirely from Plasencia tobaccos and rolled in their Nicaraguan factory.

Visual/Pre-light Draw:

The dark Maduro wrapper, with black and gold bands, shows the cigar’s elegance and exclusiveness, synonymous with the letters TAA. With a smooth texture, the wrapper reveals only a few veins and a slight glistening of oils. The cigar showed an even distribution of tobacco in the foot and firmness along the body. Finally, the pre-light aroma was filled with cocoa and deep forest notes, whereas the cold draw was creamy chocolate, building the anticipation of what was yet to come.

First Third:

Upon first light, the area was filled with aromas of cocoa and cooking spices, and the experience was pleasant and enticing.  The initial draw presented rich gamy mushrooms and hints of toasted nuts and finished with a sweet peppercorn that transitioned from the tail end into the retro-hale.

Second Third:

Into the second third, a small canoe started forming that required touching-up. The aroma started filling with more intense cooking spices, that of cardamon and rosemary. The notes on the palate carried on from the first third with a cream sauce opening, which strengthened the gammy mushrooms, reminiscent of a creamy portabella mushroom dinner.

Final Third:

The notes continued into the final third, which created consistency throughout the smoke, with only the peppercorn increasing in intensity. Finishing up, I never felt the need for a drink to moisten my palate; the smoke was pleasing salivating, and made me long for more as it came to an end.

Score:

Outside of the canoeing and needing to touch it up to correct the burn, this cigar from Ferio Tego performed top-notch at every level. Michael continues to create excellence with his blends and desire to push the envelope with those blends. When you have the opportunity to experience a TAA exclusive, you expect excellence, and the offering from Timeless by Michael Herklots does not disappoint. Good construction, consistent burn, complex notes, and great presentation are all that you come to expect from a cigar of this caliber.

Originally printed in the 2023 Winter edition of Leaf n Grain Society Magazine