One of the first stops Brian and I made at IPCPR 2016 was the Fratello booth and talk with Omar de Frias about his new releases.  One of the cigar lines he was introducing was the new Oro line.  The Oro line is Fratello’s foray into Connecticut wrapper cigars.  Omar wanted add this missing piece to his line up cigars, but make a Connecticut that was still full of flavor.  He partnered up with La Aurora to create the Oro.  The binder uses a Cameroon binder, which La Aurora is famous for their use of Cameroon tobacco.

• Wrapper:  Ecuadorian Connecticut
• Binder:  Cameroon
• Filler:  Nicaragua and Dominican
• Size:  6 1/4 x 52
• Vitola:  Box pressed torpedo
• MSRP:  $8.50

The is the third line for Fratello cigars, join the standard line and he Bianco.

Prelight and Construction

The cigar looks really nice.  The wrapper is very smooth with a beautiful golden tan color.  The draw is also excellent with flavors of sweet tobacco and hay.  The box press gives the cigar a good feel in the hand and mouth.

First Half

The cigar starts off with more spice than I was expecting.  There is a white pepper note in the first inch of the cigar that gives the cigar a nice kick.  It’s not alone as notes of sweet cream and honey notes help balance out the bolder spice note.  The cigar also develops a nice almond note nearing the midpoint.  The burn is excellent and the burn line is remarkably straight considering box pressed cigars usually have issues with that. It’s just the nature of the beast.  The body is medium bodied.

Second Half

The sweet cream notes has faded somewhat, but the honey note is still there.  I’m picking up a little bitterness now as well, but its soft.  The white pepper note is still there, but I get it mostly in the retrohale now.  The almond note has gotten a little more dominate, but not overly so.  All the flavors are pretty even and the cigar is very balanced.  The burn is still excellent and the body is now medium-full.

Conclusion

I was really impressed with this cigar.  Not being a big fan of Connecticut cigars, I’m pretty hard on them. This one is definitely a good one.  The flavors are very nice and it has more body than most Connecticuts.  I think most, if not all, types of cigar smokers would enjoy this cigar.  Its has enough for the full bodied cigars smoker, but not too much for mild cigar smokers to enjoy.  The sweet cream, honey and almonds notes almost remind me of some of those breakfast bars you can buy at the store to eat on the run.  I really enjoyed this cigar and look forward to trying the other sizes. Check these out at your local brick and mortar stores.