The Mayflower Dusk Toro is a 6.5×52 cigar from Mayflower Cigars, the brand founded by Daily Wire host Michael Knowles. It's made at Oliva Cigar Co. in Esteli, Nicaragua, with an Ecuador Habano wrapper, a Sumatra binder and Nicaraguan long fillers, at $14 a stick. It scored 86/100 from Norm, one of the first formal scores published for this vitola. The blend runs medium-to-full, molasses and cedar early, dark roast coffee through the middle, black pepper on a bold finish.
- The Mayflower Dusk Toro (6.5×52, $14) pairs an Ecuador Habano wrapper with a Sumatra binder and Nicaraguan long fillers, rolled at Oliva Cigar Co. in Esteli, Nicaragua.
- Expect medium-to-full body at medium strength, molasses, cedar and baker's spice up front, dark roast coffee and milk chocolate through the middle, black pepper on a bold finish.
- Michael Knowles launched Mayflower in November 2023 with the milder Dawn alongside this darker Dusk. Norm scores it 86/100 with a WORTH A FIVE-PACK call.
FROM THE PORCH
Dallas can't remember brands, lucky for him. I can, and the last time I had a Mayflower it was the Dawn, and I remember that session for a reason that had nothing to do with the cigar. Within seconds of lighting up, gale-force winds tore through the neighborhood. I posted it on social media in real time. Trees came down, our neighbor's old tree landed on his own house up the street, and multiple trees took out power lines while I sat there working through that Dawn.
This time, with the Dusk, it was about as calm as a porch session gets. Dallas found his spot and stretched out in the sun, no drama, no fallen trees, just a quiet afternoon and a darker, fuller cigar than I remembered from the Dawn. I'll leave the full notes below. Dallas approved.
BEHIND THE BLEND
Mayflower Cigars belongs to Michael Knowles, the Daily Wire host, who founded the brand and runs it as creative director. He's no blender by trade, so he spent roughly 7 to 8 months directing development with the team at Oliva Cigar Co., the Esteli factory that builds every Mayflower size. Knowles says the name honors his family's Mayflower ancestry. The brand launched November 8-10, 2023 with two blends, the Connecticut-wrapped Dawn and this darker Dusk, and the first run of roughly 50,000 cigars reportedly sold out.
BLC BLEND BREAKDOWN
BLEND SPECS
THE VITOLA LINEUP
| VITOLA | SIZE | MSRP |
|---|---|---|
| Robusto | 5.5 × 50 | $13 ($195/box-15) |
| Toro ← reviewed | 6.5 × 52 | $14 ($210/box-15) |
| Toro Gordo | 6 × 60 | $16 ($240/box-15) |
| Special Edition Corona Gorda | 5.5 × 46 | $65 per 5-pack (direct only) |
In my opinion the Toro is the natural pick here. You get a full extra inch over the Robusto for one more buck, and the 52 ring keeps it on the classic side rather than the fat-cigar side. If you just want to test the blend, the Robusto does that job for $13. The Special Edition Corona Gorda sells direct from the brand only, at $65 per 5-pack it works out to $13 a stick, that one's for people who already know they like the blend.
THE COLD DRAW
Off the foot you get earth and a hint of cedar. The cold draw, the few unlit puffs you take after cutting, runs molasses, cedar and baker's spice. Expect a touch of resistance, closer to firm than loose.
BLC CIGAR PROFILE
Burn: The record splits, one session needed touch-ups while another ran dead even start to finish.
Draw: A touch of resistance, on the firm side of right.
Treat the complexity mark as an open argument, sessions with this blend genuinely disagree on how much it moves. Balance rests on one reviewer's note of oak and a faint sweetness showing up at times, so hold that one loosely too. The burn split looks like stick-to-stick variation, keep the lighter close and move on.
THE FIRST THIRD
The opening depends on the stick, and I'd rather say that plainly than fake a consensus. Some sticks lead molasses, earth, cedar and baker's spice with cocoa underneath. Others start creamier, almond and oak up front with black pepper close behind. Either way, the pepper shows early and stays for the whole smoke.
THE SECOND THIRD
The middle is the steadiest stretch of the Dusk. Dark roast coffee moves up front while a vegetal, grassy edge sits in the background. Kitchen-cabinet spice, the catch-all for that cinnamon-and-nutmeg baking mix, cycles through with milk chocolate, honey and earth. One reviewer noted oak and a faint sweetness showing up at times to balance the coffee, it comes and goes rather than settling in.
THE FINAL THIRD
Everything picks up in the last third. Black pepper comes back to the front and the finish turns bold and pepper-forward. Strength holds around medium, one session logged a slight climb late. It's the loudest stretch of the smoke.
OVERALL RATING
BLC OVERALL RATING
There's no formal published score on record for this vitola, so this stands as one of the first. Here's the reasoning behind the number. The flavor core is honest, molasses and cedar early, coffee and chocolate through the middle, pepper on the close, and Oliva's Esteli construction is mostly there. What holds it back is agreement. Some sessions read shifting and interesting, others read plain, and the burn record splits the same way. At $14 you're paying fair boutique money for a blend that still divides the room. A five-pack settles the question for your own palate, for me anyways that's the right-sized bet.
WHO GRABS THIS CIGAR
Grab this if you smoke medium-to-full in the evening and like your Nicaraguan profiles on the sweet side, coffee, chocolate and molasses with black pepper underneath. It also fits anyone curious about what Michael Knowles and the Oliva factory built together, my guess is curiosity moved a lot of that first run. Skip it if you're chasing real strength, this one sits medium. And if you need a cigar that changes every inch, know that some sticks of this blend keep it simple.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Common questions about the Mayflower Dusk Toro.
