Aganorsa’s Supreme Leaf line was introduced to showcase the brand’s premium tobacco and blending techniques. You may not know this, but the brand has a history of focusing on commercial relationships. Aganorsa makes and supplies a lot of tobacco for other companies (Warped, HVC, Illusione). It’s only recently that it has been offering cigars to everyone. Good thing, too, because it’s one of my favorite brands.
They release Supreme Leaf only twice a year, typically in a different vitola. This year, we get the Gran Toro size (6 by 56) and it marks the 11th size change.
My all-time favorite vitola was the Supreme Leaf Robusto from 2022 (5 by 54). It was extra salty, with just enough sweetness to cut down on some of the harshness of the salt and pepper, and an all-around incredible smoke. Aganorsa’s Terence Reilly often refers to it as a “gusher,” because of how much saliva your mouth produces while imbibing. They did release a smaller Supreme Leaf Robusto (5 by 52) in 2020.
This year, I sat down with the Gran Toro, sampled some and got the lay of the land. More specifically, I compared the experience to previous vitolas, including my favorite. Let’s smoke this one out and see how it compares. Grab a cold beverage and light one up with me if you haven’t already.
If you make a habit of reading my reviews, you’ll notice this section is pretty standard across them all. That’s because I like to share how I store my cigars, note the humidity range, so that you can take that information and compare when you eventually smoke the same blend.
I keep my humidor’s relative humidity (RH) between 64 and 67 and the temps in my house stay around 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, I always let my cigars rest. The Supreme Leaf Gran Toro had two weeks to rest in my preferred humidity conditions before lighting. I will also admit there were one or two I did not let rest and chose to light them up right away. I know, I know, shame.
During testing I deployed my usual straight cut, V cut, and punch — but I prefer straight. I know there are some out there who prefer different cuts, but I’ve talked to several master blenders and they all recommend the guillotine method.
The Supreme Leaf Gran Toro cut with no issues, using all methods. There were very little, if any, tobacco shavings. Moreover, the burn was straight, reliable and I never once had the cigar(s) go out on me. That’s important here because the extra saltiness made me take some longer breaks towards the final third.
Flavors and experience
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
The Supreme Leaf is salty.
That has been a staple of the series since it first dropped, and it has been a driving part of the experience in every vitola. While Aganorsa blends to size, adjusting tobacco blends and fillers to match the cigar’s size to ensure parity across all vitolas, the larger Gran Toro size tones down the saltiness a little. That is not a bad thing.
That saltiness is thanks to the rich Nicaraguan Corojo ’99 wrapper. But it’s complemented well by notes of graham cracker, oak, charred wood, espresso, cinnamon, brown sugar, cayenne, peppercorn, black pepper and a lingering sweetness. Depending on what beverage you pair your cigar with, especially if it’s soda or a sweet drink, that sweetness tapers off a little and the saltiness comes out to play more.
It seems to ramp up as you smoke, growing stronger in the second and final third, but still leaving plenty of room for the other flavors to poke their heads in the door. It’s also rated as a medium to full-bodied cigar, closer to full by my count.
What I really like about the Gran Toro size is that it leaves plenty of smoking time for those flavors to dance and sing. In the Robusto and similar vitolas, the pepper and salt come to dominate, and it pretty much stays like that the entire time. I would say that for most, it’s going to be a matter of preference. If you prefer the heft of that salt and black pepper, or even peppercorns, you’ll want to go with one of the smaller vitolas — if you can get your hands on them. If you want that salt and pepper mellowed ever so slightly with more complex tonal variety, the Gran Toro is your guy.
Aganorsa Supreme Leaf Gran Toro review: Closing statements
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Basically, the Supreme Leaf Gran Toro is more of the same delicious, salty gushiness of the previous releases. It’s slightly mellowed here, but subtle enough that I suspect most won’t discern the difference. That’s not a dig at anyone either. Aganorsa does a really good job of blending with each release.
If you’re not into the salty, peppery mixture of past Supreme Leaf launches, this one isn’t going to change your mind. If you love the label and want more, well, here you go. It’s always exciting to see what vitola they’re going to launch next. I think Terence has already hinted at some new options in the Aganorsa Acolytes group meetings.
They limited this batch to 3,000 boxes of 10 cigars. We’re not sure yet if there will be another release of this size, or if they’ll be moving on in the future. But if you can get your hands on some, I say go for it.
Briley specifics
Recommended: Yes
Would I smoke it again? Yes.
Will I buy more? Yes, I already have.
My preferred size: Robusto (5 by 54)
Supreme Leaf specs
Profile: Full-bodied
Approximate smoking time: 1.5 to 2 hours
Box count: 10
MSRP: $160 or ~$16 per stick (Gran Toro size)
If you like this, you might also like: Aganorsa Supreme Leaf (any size), Guardian of the Farm Cerberus, Crafted by JR Aganorsa, My Father Le Bijou 1922, Lampert Ocean Breeze, Sancho Panza Extra Fuerte, Don Pepin Garcia Blue, RomaCraft Neanderthal, Joya de Nicaragua Antaño.
You’ll notice that my format is meant to be short and sweet, like this La Aurora Fuerte Sol review, or the previous Aganorsa Rare Leaf Maduro review. I don’t intend to keep up with the big leagues, I’m one guy. There won’t be any scores. However, I do want these reviews to be a resource for those looking for similar smokes or experiences.
Briley has over 16 years in the publishing and content marketing business. He's been writing about cigars for nearly half that in various forms. What makes him a tour de force is he also smokes them.
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Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
