Espinosa Laranja Azulejo Toro Box Pressed

When someone askes me for a recommendation on a cigar that offers a decent amount of pepper and spice, the Espinosa Azulejo always comes to mind. Of course, that is not the only note this cigar had to offer, but it is definitely a prominent one. Espinosa Cigars have been climbing the charts in the last several years, and it is cool to see that growth. Due to their ever popular collaboration with Guy Fieri on the Knuckle Sandwich trio, their partnership with AJ Fernandez’s factory, and icons like Murcielago and Laranja Reserva, they have transitioned out of a small company to a sizable one. One might say the orange banded Laranja Reserva is what launched their notability, however, I would argue their tightly knit portfolio is the real reason why they have gotten such a great response.

The Laranja line is made of three different blends: The Brazilian original known as the Laranja Reserva, the Laranja Esucro using a Mata Fina wrapper, and the Laranja Azulejo. Released in 2021, Espinosa Laranja Azulejo is still fairly new. The cigar is wrapped in a dark Ecuadorian Sumatra leaf, over a Brazilian Arapiraca binder, and fillers from Nicaragua. The cigar is rolled at AJ’s San Lotano Factory in Nicaragua. All sizes are box pressed and packaged in twenty count boxes.

In terms of flavor, as I eluded to, their is a fair amount of black pepper at the light up. If you retrohale, you will notice it. There is a host of notes like leather, salt, dry sweetness, a twinge of paprika, and earth. While sweetness isn’t a dominant flavor it is definitely intermixed with everything else. Their is a raisiny quality and I find the smoke dense in a satisfying way. I also like the stark box press. All in all, Azulejo is a great medium plus strength cigar that I find myself revising quite often. In terms of the Espinosa Cigar lineup, Laranja Azulejo is one of my top picks.