Talu Signature Toro

1 review for Talu Signature Toro

1. 

   Rated 3 out of 5

   F******** P***

   – March 20, 2020

   Talu Signature Toro. Indonesia has a long history of tobacco. And a long history in cigars, yet not in premium handmade longfillers. Most of the cigars hailing from the South East Asian country are machine-made dry-cured shortfillers. And of the cigar tobacco that’s being imported, most is used for those machine-made cigars as well. These kinds of cigars are extremely popular in Western Europe. But there are a few premium handmade longfillers from Indonesia, and the number of brands seems to be growing. Most are produced in Yogyakarta, at Taru Martani.

   Taru Martani translates to the leaf that gives joy to life. The name was given to the factory by the Sultan of Yogyakarta after the independence war with The Netherlands. In the past, the factory produced roll your own tobacco as well. We are not sure if that is still the case. But we do know that there are several Indonesian premium cigar brands made at the factory.

   Name: Talu Signature Toro
   Country: Indonesia
   Factory: Taru Martani 
   Size: 6×54
   Vitola: Toro 
   Wrapper: Indonesia, Jember
   Binder: Indonesia, Jember
   Filler: Indonesia (Jember, Tambolaka, Boyolali, Kebu)
   Price: € unknown
   Cutter: none, twisted the pigtail off
   Lighter: single flame
   Smoke conditions: indoors with ventilator
   Smoke time: two hours

   The review

   The cigar has a typical Indonesian wrapper. The look and feel are slightly different than its Caribbean cousins. It feels a little more sandy, and the color is a shade that you won’t find anywhere else. The cigar is finished with a pigtail. The ring is beautiful. White, gray and copper. The logo and the brand name are clear. Nothing bad to say about the looks of this cigar. The construction feels good. And the aroma is different too, sawdust and lovage are what comes to mind. Medium-strong.

   Just twisting off the pigtail is enough to create a good draw. The cold draw tastes dry, dusty with wood. Sawdust is a good description. Once lit, there is a lot of earthiness with some black coffee and spices. After a few puffs, a heavy, thick old leather flavor shows up. There is some pepper too. But the flavors aren’t balanced and taste charred, burned. The pepper and leather are the strongest flavors of the bunch. The burnt flavor fades away, instead, the cigar now tastes like leather, coffee, pepper, and sweetness. Somewhat later, the cigar turns to toast, leather, wood, pepper, all with a hint of sweetness and hay. In the second third, the cigar turns more to dried leaves with spices, pepper, and sweetness. That mixture continues to last into the final third. But then some hay and milk chocolate join the leaves, spices, and pepper. That’s what lasts until the end.

   The draw is great. The ash is white as can be, dense and firm. The smoke is decent. Not very thick, but still sufficient to be pleasant. The burn is pretty straight. The Tambolaka tobacco boosts the strength of the cigar to medium. Flavors are medium too. This is a rare cigar, only a very limited number of boxes were made. It’s nice to have had the chance to smoke it, but our palate is so accustomed to the Caribbean tobacco that this is not a cigar for us. The smoke time is two hours.

   Strength: medium
   Flavor: medium

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