Felipe Gregorio Icon Torpedo

One look at the band and you know you're in good company with this handmade: Winston Churchill, Mark Twain, Albert Einstein, Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin and Groucho Marx are among the world's most celebrated cigar icons, hence the name of the cigar. The Icon is the creation of the Dominican-based Felipe Gregorio factory, owned by Philip Gregory (Felipe Gregorio) Wynne. Our panel feels he deserves more attention from the wider consumer audience than he has received—which is why this is the second of his stogies we've featured recently. Felipe Gregorio makes some solid blends that continually get better—among others, Felipe Power, Pelo de Oro, and the Petrus Reposado. His cigars are highly popular in Europe despite outrageous retail prices of $12 or more each. Across the pond his blends rival Davidoff and the best Cuba has to offer. With its striking wrapper of triple-fermented Costa Rican top priming grown from the very special Vuelta Abajo seed, the Felipe Icon is an eye-catching stick. The wrapper is ultra-flavorful and loaded with natural oils that are buttery-smooth and rich throughout the burn. The fillers are comprised of a bold blend of Cuban-seed tobaccos from the black soils of Condega, Nicaragua and Dominican-grown Piloto Cubano from 2002. These aged long-fillers have been blended to complement the beautiful wrapper, creating a complex core of rich, mocha-like flavors with notes of coffee and leather, finished by a touch of pepper. The smoke remains medium in body all the way through. Pair it with a robust red Cabernet or Shiraz.