No, it’s not Nordic and you won’t find a Viking jumping out of the box. The name is derived from its creator, famed pipe maker Eric Nording. Crafted in Rocky’s Honduran factory, it’s wrapped in Costa Rican maduro with Mexican binder and Nicaraguan filler for punch. I should point out that the Nording I smoked was a re-blend. The brand has been floating about for some time with a plain white wrapper. The version I smoked is considered the ‘shiny’ wrapper.
The literature claims ‘full’ body, however it falls short of that expectation, which is a good thing. If it did contain that much strength, the cigar would have been horribly unbalanced. As it is, it seems as though they were able to maintain some measure of body, and just a enough hints of something different that you just can’t put your finger on; in the true Rocky Patel tradition.
Construction appears solid, just the right amount of flexibility in the body when given a modicum of pressure. The old Nording possessed a curly-top head; the new espouses a finished cap. The vein in the wrapper is about what one might expect from any of the myriad of Rocky Patel brands. There appears nothing overtly spectacular or significant in the presentation of this cigar to differentiate it from its brethren.
One pleasant surprise; clearly this particular cigar, from this particular box of toros was well cared for. When clipped the edge remained pristine and intact, not even the slightest crack or imperfection. While some of that may be attributed to construction, I place the majority of it in the hands of those who have been responsible for preserving the integrity of said smoke in storage and transit.
The burn was even-ish(a bit rough on the end), with a singular exception when I caught an air pocket and a substantial run began traversing up one side, eventually righting itself sans intervention. The ash was salt and pepper, leaning more towards the sodium side of the house and fairly stable. Aside from that brief interlude of weakened ash due to the blow-hole, the tensile strength remained quite resilient. There was an above average amount of smoke on this one, which I found pleasantly surprising.
I wish I had such similar high praise for the taste. It’s not that it’s a bad cigar, nor does it lack that tell-tale Rocky odd hint of *something*, which makes it enjoyable enough. It’s just nothing to write home about; not on my list of ‘have to have in my humidor’. It may be a bit green though I didn’t get any grassy nature… something was just ‘young’ about this cigar. Perhaps they would improve with a bit of age.
If you are looking for a decent, inexpensive smoke, the sort I have often heard be called a ‘golf course cigar’ I would imagine this would be it. The price point after tax seems to hover around seven bucks, which equates to a fine, every day smoke. For me, it will be a ‘once in a while’, ‘I need a change’ type of choice.
I’ll give it a solid 89 on technical merit.
