West Tampa Circle of Life Toro
Dominican Republic Cigar Review

Cigar Review: West Tampa Tobacco Company Circle of Life Toro

In 2024, West Tampa Tobacco Company announced the Circle of Life.

In 2025, Circle of Life would become the first notable new release of the year. This sets an early benchmark for cigars released in 2025. One could liken it to the Daytona 500 and winning the pole position which has not seen someone win from that position since 2000.

Circle of Life sees WTTC brand owner Rick Rodriguez team up with Ernesto Perez-Carrillo “Ernesto has had such an incredible impact on my career. As the first of four Hall of Famers to train under, reuniting with Ernesto on Circle of Life was an opportunity to connect with my past and lay another brick in my future,” said Rick Rodriguez.

The cigar is available in three sizes; Robusto (5 x 52 /$12.99), Toro (6 x 54 /$13.99) and Gigante (6 x 60 / $14.99) with all prices being listed at MSRP before any local or state taxes.

Cigar Review: Circle of Life
Size: 
6 x 54 (Toro)
Wrapper: 
Ecuador Habano Oscuro
Binder: 
Ecuador Sumatra
Fillers: Nicaragua (Condega, Esteli, Jalapa), Dominican Corojo ’99
Factory: Casa Carrillo
Release Date: January
Production: Ongoing
Box Count: 20

The Cigar: The cigar is one of the oiliest wrappers I have seen in a long time. Featuring a black on black band with a gold Tiger Woods West Tampa Tobacco Company logo and the words of Circle of Life underneath it. The cigar is topped off with a gold ribbon foot band. The mahogany colored Ecuador Habano Oscuro wrapper has some notable veins with an above average weight and a slightly porous foot.

The Notes: The cold draw offers notes of freshly popper non-buttered popcorn and a subtle hint of molasses. It’s incredibly tasty as I take a few draws from the unlit cigar. The foot of the cigar offers up the same though it is a more muted version. Once the cigar is toasted and lit there is slightly floral component on the taste and aroma.

As we settle into the first third there are notes of blackberries, figs, baker’s chocolate and some caramel all of which remind me of a port wine. As we lose the ash near the end of the first cigar there is a subtle amount of growing earthiness. The retrohale of the cigar is slightly floral with nuances of cinnamon and hazelnuts.

The second third of the cigar loses a lot of its sweetness as notes of charred oak become dominant with a continually growing amount of earth. The is also some black peppercorn encrust steak notes that make me wish is was warm enough (8 degrees farenheit in New Hampshire) to fire up the grill. Occasionally, some caramel or blackberries show up, but it is becoming less and less frequent as we smoke deeper into the Circle of Life. The retrohale and aroma remain somewhat floral with hints of cinnamon thrown in.

The final third sees the cigar develop notes of cashews that become the focal point with a lot of earth and leather added to it. The strength of the cigar ramps up considerably and black pepper becomes dominant on the aroma and retrohale. The leather notes create a long finish where is joined by graham crackers and blackberries. Occasionally some sweetness appears to keep things interesting. In addition to the black pepper on the retrohale there is elements of cinnamon and a touch of butterscotch.

Conclusion: The cigar was supposed to come out in May, 2024 and at PCA a few months prior, the cigar handed out was of an undisclosed blend. This leads me to believe that a lot of the reviews posted on the internet with a 2024 publishing date are of a different blend then the actual cigar that was released in 2025. It would also explain why Rick Rodriguez disclosed the blend to Cigar Aficionado.

For me my favorite blend from WTTC has been the original release of the Attic Series. Amongst a group of friends we have purchased an exorbitant amount of boxes of that blend. So for me it is natural to ask how does this cigar compare to that. The answer is, it is entirely different which is a huge plus. I don’t like when a company produces a cigar that is way to similar to a previous blend as it runs the risk of them becoming a one trick pony.

The cigar which is made at Casa Carrillo (formerly Tabacalera La Alianza) is a very Dominican Cigar which I have continuously moved away from in my cigar enjoyment history. For me the construction of a Dominican cigar feels different, the fermentation process seems different and the way the tobacco is worked is different. This isn’t necessarily fact, but is my opinion.  With all that said and done, Circle of Life is one of the best cigars I have had that comes from the Dominican Republic in a very long time.

Score: 94
Price: $13.99 (Before any local or state taxes)

Small Batch Cigar carries this cigar and if you log in when ordering and use the coupon code BARRELBURNER you can save 10% off your order with free shipping. Just visit https://www.smallbatchcigar.com/west-tampa-tobacco-co-circle-of-life to check it out.

 

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