Aladino Cameroon Super Toro – Bury the Leaf
There is a peculiar category of cigar that creates absolutely no urgency to buy another one while simultaneously making it difficult to say anything particularly bad about the one you just smoked.
Welcome to the Aladino Cameroon Super Toro.
This thing spent most of the morning behaving like the dependable guy who shows up on time, does exactly what you asked, never complains, and somehow still isn’t the first person you think about when another job comes around. The burn was excellent. The construction gave me virtually nothing to complain about. The flavor was pleasant. The cigar developed enough along the way to keep the experience from going stale.
It just never kicked the door down.
And maybe that’s asking the wrong thing of it.
Because if the question is whether I’d rather start the day with the Aladino Cameroon or another garden-variety Connecticut, this isn’t particularly difficult: give me the Cameroon.
If the question is whether I’d choose the Aladino Cameroon every time?
Absolutely not.
Those are materially different statements.
By the Numbers
- Vitola: Super Toro — 6″ × 52
- Wrapper: Honduran-grown Cameroon seed
- Filler/Binder: Honduran Corojo
- Cut: Guillotine — Xikar XO
- Procured from: Neptune Cigars
- Price Paid: $12.31
- Estimated MSRP: $11.50
- Duration: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Band Rating: 3 Bands — Worth the Smoke
Construction & First Impressions
The Aladino Cameroon doesn’t necessarily look like the cigar that’s about to deliver a mellow morning smoke.
The wrapper is dark enough to suggest there might be considerably more horsepower hiding underneath it, with prominent veins running along an otherwise cleanly assembled cigar. There weren’t any obvious wrapper flaws, soft spots, or construction concerns. There was a little give when squeezed, but it remained firm and consistent from cap to foot.
The aroma immediately went somewhere sweeter. Chocolate was the easiest description from both the wrapper and foot, which certainly didn’t do anything to discourage getting started.
The Xikar XO took care of the cap with a guillotine cut. The initial draw carried slightly more resistance than I wanted, so I cleaned it up a touch more. That was enough. The draw opened considerably and stayed smooth from there.
Then came the surprise.
Cream.
Not “there might be something creamy buried underneath everything else” cream. This was the defining characteristic almost immediately. There was enough cedar, earth, hay and maybe cinnamon floating around to give me something to chase, but the creaminess sat right in the middle of everything.
Given the wrapper and what I expected walking into this thing, it was like ordering black coffee and being handed something with foam art on top.
Not what I expected.
Didn’t mean I wasn’t going to drink it.
First Third
The creaminess didn’t go anywhere.
If anything, it settled in and brought caramel along for the ride. A little honey occasionally poked through as well, producing a surprisingly soft and sweet opening for something wearing a Cameroon wrapper this dark.
The cigar was smooth, approachable and nowhere near heavy.
So smooth, actually, that I briefly started comparing the experience to a Connecticut. That’s not generally where I want a cigar headed, but there was more going on here than the typical mild-wrapper experience. The Aladino wasn’t completely flat; it just wasn’t interested in showing its cards quickly.
The pairing was Hurricane Coffee & Tea Company’s Cuba 1910 Dark Roast, and this is where the purpose of the cigar began making more sense.
Coffee and the Cameroon fit.
The darker roast gave some contrast to all that cream and caramel without simply steamrolling the cigar. Then, toward the end of the first third, the Aladino finally started helping itself. An oak note appeared and put a harder edge against the softer flavors.
That little bit of oak mattered.
Without it, the first third probably gets filed under “pleasant” and forgotten before lunch. Instead, it provided just enough complexity to keep me watching.
Construction was nearly impeccable. The burn line stayed remarkably straight.
Ash retention?
Well.
Apparently the Aladino Cameroon believes ash belongs on the floor.
It dumped the first stack without much warning and would repeat that little trick throughout the smoke. I don’t consider ash retention some definitive measurement of cigar construction, particularly when everything else is working this well, but the Lounge Vac certainly got more participation in this review than expected.
Second Third
This is where the cigar improved.
The creaminess began moving aside and the wood profile took over, first with oak and then increasingly with cedar. There was a little pepper underneath it, some earthiness, and noticeably more body than the Aladino had shown out of the gate.
Now we had something.
The cigar wasn’t suddenly transformed into some powerhouse, but it finally developed enough bite to become more memorable. The soft morning-smoke personality remained; it just picked up a little grit.
There was even a touch of earthy bitterness lingering on the palate. Not unpleasant bitterness. More like another counterweight against the sweetness and cream of the opening third.
And the dark roast coffee loved it.
This was the stretch where I started reconsidering my initial assessment. Early on, I was enjoying the cigar while already fairly certain I wasn’t coming back to it. The second third complicated that conclusion.
The oak-to-cedar transition, added earth, pepper and increasing body made the Aladino Cameroon considerably more interesting.
It felt like a flywheel finally starting to spin.
I kept waiting for ignition.
It never quite got there.
But I was considerably more interested in seeing where it went.
Meanwhile, the burn remained stupidly good. Straight line. No wrapper problems. No construction failures. No fighting with it.
And, naturally, the ash continued launching itself whenever it damn well pleased.
Manage accordingly.
Final Third
By the final third, the transition from oak into cedar was basically complete.
This wasn’t background cedar anymore, either. It became brighter and considerably more pronounced, backed by earth and pepper with the body continuing to build.
Then the Aladino finally pulled something unexpected out of the bag.
Floral.
It showed up late, sitting behind the cedar, earth and pepper as this bright little counterpoint that seemed almost completely out of place—and worked precisely because of it.
That’s the note I wanted earlier.
Not necessarily floral specifically, but something that made me stop and reconsider the cigar instead of simply acknowledging that it was burning nicely and tasted good.
The floral component gave the final third some depth that had been missing through much of the experience. Better yet, it continued becoming more pronounced as the cigar approached its end.
Unfortunately, that also highlighted what kept the Aladino Cameroon from climbing higher for me.
There are genuinely good pieces here.
Cream. Caramel. A little honey. Oak transitioning into cedar. Earth. Pepper. Then that unexpected floral brightness late.
The cigar just takes an awfully leisurely route through them.
I’m generally looking for more boldness, more definition and more movement. The Aladino Cameroon is comfortable living in a medium-bodied lane and doesn’t seem particularly concerned whether you’re impressed by that decision.
And maybe it shouldn’t be.
Because taken on its own terms, this is a very enjoyable cigar.
Millennium of Aftermath
Here’s where I landed.
If I’m standing in front of the humidor looking for something to smoke after a medium-rare ribeye, I’m walking straight past the Aladino Cameroon.
Wrong tool for the job.
But morning? Midday? Mid-afternoon? Coffee sitting beside me?
Now we’re having a different conversation.
The Cameroon Super Toro gives me most of what people are probably looking for when they reach for a Connecticut at that point in the day—smoothness, approachability and enough restraint to avoid beating the hell out of your palate—but with considerably more personality.
That’s the lane where this cigar makes sense to me.
The opening cream and caramel are easy to settle into. The oak and cedar give the middle enough structure to prevent the cigar from becoming monotonous. Earth and pepper build underneath it, and that floral note near the finish finally gives the cigar a little something weird enough to remember.
Meanwhile, the construction was excellent. Whatever its inability to retain ash, the cigar burned beautifully and required virtually no babysitting.
At $12.31, though, I wanted another gear.
Not necessarily more strength. More distinction.
That’s what keeps this firmly at 3 Bands — Worth the Smoke rather than moving into keep-a-stack-around territory.
Would I smoke another one?
Yep.
Would I turn one down?
Nope.
Am I ordering a box?
Also nope.
If I needed an earlier-day cigar and the decision was between this and a Connecticut, I’d take the Aladino Cameroon time and time again.
But don’t give me the Aladino Cameroon every time.
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