Origin : Nicaragua
Format : Robusto
Size : 4 7/8 x 52
Wrapper : Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro
Filler : Dominican, Nicaraguam
Binder : Nicaraguan
Hand-Made
Price : ~$6.50 per single

The Casa Torano Maduro is by far the darkest Maduro I have ever seen. This cigar has a jet black wrapper with virtually no veins and has a solid feel to it. The roll is seamless but has a sloppy double cap.

It has a nice draw with a bit of resistance. The burn is fairly even and the ash is a whitish grey color that is solid and has no flowering or flaking. The body of the cigar is medium as well as the strength of the cigar.

The Carlos Torano Casa Torano Maduro has a base flavor of wood and natural tobacco but features nice notes of roasted nuts, coffee beans, and a fruity sweetness that reminds me of maraschino cherries; you know the ones they put on your ice cream sunday, or in your Old Fashioned’s. However, as the cigar progresses, the cherry sweetness turns more to an apple flavor which is quite interesting. Overall the flavors are about medium in intensity on this cigar.

Overall I thought this was a nice cigar. It has some nice complexity to it and for $6.50 I think it’s a superb deal. This is usually not the style of cigar I smoke but I really enjoyed the Casa Torano. I am one of the Don Pepin, heavy hitting, fuller the better cigar smokers and I think that crowd may not like this cigar because it doesn’t have that pop or flare that those types of cigar typically have. However, I think if they are in the right mindset that this is going to be a delicate smoke I think they could really enjoy it.

Origin : Dominican Republic
Format : Robusto
Size : 4 3/4 x 52
Wrapper : Ecuadorian Connecticut
Filler : Dominican Republic
Binder : Dominican Republic
Hand-Made
Price : £6.50 each

I regularly contribute my own views (as something of a newbie to this pleasure) and I find it interesting how these converge/diverge with those of other readers/contributors. I have contributed to the Montecristo (Open Master, Open Regata and No. 5) and El Rey del Mundo Choix Supreme reviews predominantly, but also others.

I would like to share my views on other brands which I sample, mainly drawn from my favourite stockist, Fox’s of St James’, London. As a newbie, I think I can add something to the experience of other beginners, as reviews can, with time, become quite in-depth (rightly so) but would benefit from sharing a newcomer’s take as well.

I am particularly interested in being able to draw out cigars which may suit the palate of the beginner which will include bigger names with less demanding flavours and, crucially, other non-Cuban cigars which, on account of perhaps more modest pricing, may be more attainable on a regular basis.

To this end, I’d like to start with the Fox’s new, in-house brand, the Carlos Torano Dominico Robusto 1.

Read the full review of Carlos Torano Dominico Robusto 1…

Origin : Nicaragua
Format : Robusto
Size : 5 x 56
Wrapper : Ecuadorian Sumatra
Filler : Nicaragua
Binder : Nicaragua & Dominican Republic
Hand-Made
Price : ~$5 each

The Torano Loyal was officially released at the 2011 IPCPR show and despite wanting to sample it on the advice of a friend last summer I never got around to it. Instead, it sat in my humidor resting nicely and undisturbed except for the regular rotation so I imagined it would be that much better when I finally got around to it.

I was finally able to get to it this past weekend. Unfortunately, I only had one sample so I made sure to sit down and take very detailed notes, not having the luxury of going back to smoke a second one as I usually do to test for consistency or factor whether or not I just got an unlucky sample. Thanks to the fact that it is a dense, tightly packed cigar, the burn was slow and therefore the total smoking time for this beefy robusto was just under 90 minutes.

Read the full review of Torano Loyal Robusto…

Origin : Nicaragua
Format : Robusto
Size : 5 ½ x 50
Wrapper : Nicaragua
Filler : Nicaragua
Binder : Nicaragua
Hand-Made
Price : $6 each

What a year 2010 proved to be for Toraño cigars (can you believe it was just 3 years ago?). Not only was the company able to recover the distribution rights for their brands but they also founded the Toraño Family Cigar Company. The first thing the Toraño Family Cigar Company did was release three new blends: Single Region Jalapa Series, Brigade, and Master by Carlos Toraño.

Master by Carlos Toraño was created by master roller, Felipe Sosa. This blend is rolled in a small factory in Esteli Nicaragua with intent to be a small production cigar. The Master is available in three different sizes and each retails for under $6.00 USD: Robusto 5 x 50; Churchill 7 x 50; Torpedo 6 ¼ x 52.

Read the full review of Master by Carlos Toraño…

Origin : Honduras
Format : Robusto
Size : 4.75 x 52
Wrapper : Ecuador
Filler : Honduras, Nicaragua
Binder : Indonesia
Hand-Made
Price : $6.15

Four generations ago, the Toraño family began making fine cigars in Havana, Cuba. In 1959 the family left Cuba and was instrumental in pioneering the art of processing Piloto Cubano in the Dominican Republic. Today, Casa Toraño has 13 cigar lines with factories in Honduras and Nicaragua.

Read the full review of Casa Toraño Robusto…

Origin : Honduras
Format : Short Churchill
Size : 6 x 48
Wrapper : Brazilian Arapiraca Sun-Grown
Filler : Nicaragua
Binder : Nicaragua
Hand-Made
Price : ~$5-6 each

I believe, without a doubt, that situational context affects any smoking experience. So to begin this review I am going to relay a short holiday story regarding this cigar. If this is something you wish to bypass, by all means do and just skip to the second paragraph. I will think no less of you and neither will the cigar. Having spent slightly more than the past year of my life married to my wonderful wife, I find, like many of you, that sometimes it requires a little bit of circus talent to juggle everything going on. As my wife and my families live about 2.5 hours apart, we both agreed that trying to make it to both Christmases every year would end up causing more stress than needed. To compromise, we alternate visiting one side of the family for Christmas and the other on Thanksgiving and New Years. This year was the first Christmas that we spent with her family. Everyone had a great time and I felt extremely welcome, as always, but certain holiday traditions and feelings associated with your own family on Christmas are almost impossible to recreate elsewhere. Fast forward to our arrival at my parents’ house for our pseudo Christmas celebration on New Years. It was joyous and you could tell that the family was happy to be together after being apart. After a hearty meal, with my wife and mother both asleep on the couches, my father and I decided to have a smoke. I brought him a Tatuaje J21, which he greatly enjoyed; although probably not as much as the one from my prior review. For myself I decided to try out the Carlos Torano Exodus 1959 50 Year Anniversary Short Churchill.

Read the full review of Carlos Torano Exodus 1959 50 Year Anniversary…

Origin : Nicaragua
Format : Churchill
Size : 7 x 50
Wrapper : Ecuador
Filler : Nicaragua
Binder : Nicaragua
Hand-Made
Price : ~$90.00/Box of 20

The Toraño Master cigars were released at the end of the summer this past year. I have been a big fan of the Toraño cigars, especially the Exodus 1959, so I was very excited to smoke and write about the Master which is a collaboration between the Toraño family and Master blender Felipe Sosa. You can refer to the previously published press-release for more details. Today’s featured cigar is the Toraño Master Churchill.

Read the full review of Torano Master Series Churchill…

Origin : Nicaragua
Format : Robusto
Size : 5 1/2 x 52
Wrapper : Cameroon
Filler : Honduras, Nicaragua
Binder : Nicaragua
Hand-Made
Price : ~$5-6 each

The Carlos Torano – 1916 Cameroon was introduced in 2003 to commemorate Don Santiago Torano’s emigration from Spain to Cuba. It is hand-made in Esteli, Nicaragua in four vitollas: Robusto (5.5″ x 52), Corona (5.5″ x 42), Torpedo (6.5″ x 54), and Churchill (7″ x 48); each of which are cellos with a thin cedar wrapping. The capa is Nicaraguan grown Cameroon, the capote is Havana-seed Nicaraguan, and the tripa is a blend of Honduran and Nicaraguan. Torano describes the 1916 Cameroon as being a, “slow burning, well balanced, medium body cigar with distinctive hints of pepper, caramel, nuts, and sweet spice with a long, smooth finish.” The vitolla I smoked for this review was the Robusto.

Read the full review of Carlos Torano 1916 Cameroon…