Last year was a phenomenal year for Torano Family Cigars. There were three outstanding releases including the Brigade, Single Region, and the Master. With a lot of excitement around the new releases, it was also nice to see some attention made to the classic cigars in their line. In addition to the new cigars, last year at IPCPR, Torano released a new vitola in its Casa Torano Maduro line in a Churchill size. I admit I always love a cigar that smokes longer. In my opinion, the Casa Torano Maduros are some of the more beautiful Maduro cigars in any retail humidor. After smoking a couple of cigars in this line, the cigar experience completely blew me away. In addition to looking pretty, these cigars are true gems in any retail humidor.
Blend Profile
The Casa Torano line comes in two wrappers – Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade and Connecticut Broadleaf. The Connecticut Broadleaf is used on the Casa Torano Maduro. For the purposes of this assessment, I will focus on the Casa Torano Maduro.
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan, Dominican
Vitolas Available
With the addition of the Churchill vitola, there are now five vitolas in this line:
Lancero: 7 x 38
Robusto: 4.75 x 52
Toro: 6.25 x 50
Torpedo: 6.5 x 54
Churchill: 7 x 48
Preparation for the Cigar Experience
For this cigar experience, I smoked the new Churchill that was added to this line. It’s been a while since I’ve used a punch cut, so I figured why not. To no surprise, I got some nice chocolate notes on the pre-light draw. Sometimes I wonder if a rich Maduro wrapper plays tricks on my mind, but I felt pretty confident saying the notes were chocolate. It was then on to fire this up and enjoy.
Flavor Profile
The initial notes confirmed the chocolate notes I got on the pre-light draw. I also got a decent amount of pepper, but I wouldn’t categorize it as a “pepper blast”. The pepper did subside rather quickly and hints of cherry and leather emerged. It was somewhere between the 5 and 10 percent point where I was surprised to get notes of tea. I’m not normally a fan of tea flavors in a cigar, but layered with the other notes – namely the chocolate, pepper, cherry, and leather, I really enjoyed it.
The chocolate and tea notes seemed to alternate in terms of what flavor was in the forefront for the remainder of the first third. By the time the second third comes, the tea notes won out. I was still digging the flavor as the other notes did not fade completely out. Around the 60 percent market, the chocolate notes transitioned to more of a cocoa powder – again I still was enjoying the way the tea flavors blended in.
The last third I saw some of the pepper notes begin to kick up a bit, but the spice was not still overpowering. The tea flavors still held their own toward the end. While I did get a little bitterness at the end, this is probably because I went over 90 minutes with this cigar. There were no issues with the nub – a nice and cool nub is what I was left with.
Burn and Draw
I wish I took more pictures of this cigar because the burn was amazing on this cigar. This had one of the best burns of a cigar I had in sometime. The burn was razor sharp and did not need any help in staying that way. A perfect burn rate and burn temperature accompanied this. Needless to say, the draw reflected the same quality as the burn.
Strength and Body
Sometimes when you look at a nice dark Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro, it does make you think of a powerful smoke. This was not the case with the Casa Torano Maduro, This was a smooth smoke and definitely comes in at medium in the strength category. As for body, the flavors are robust – and definitely fall right in line with medium to full category here.
Final Thoughts
There isn’t much more than I said above. This was a fantastic cigar. This smoked as good as any cigar I’ve smoked in 2011 – a truly memorable smoke. I’d recommend this cigar to any cigar enthusiast – novice or experienced. Not only would I buy this cigar again, but it is one I’d target for a box purchase.
Summary
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium to Full
Assessment: Memorable
Disclaimer: This cigar was provided to myself from Oliver Hyams, Marketing/Customer Relations Manager at Torano Family Cigars. The request was initiated by Torano Family Cigars to myself (Cigar Coop) to provide an assessment. Cigar Coop is appreciative to samples provided but this plays no role in a final assessment rating.
I’ve just finished my second box of these most excellent cigars. Torano Churchill Maduro has now become my go to cigar of choice. Perfect for finishing my day and making me glad that I am alive. The light, the medium rich flavor, the even, even, even burn, the architecturally perfect ash stack, and the total (1/2″) finish simply make me glad that I’m a cigar smoker, having moved over some months ago from strictly pipe. And…that the God in heaven helped me discover this very special smoke. I mean, I really mean this. It’s like a religious experience for me to find something so reliable and enjoyable. And did I say…reliable.
Still very much on board, here. Even more so. Since my first reaction to this special cigar, I’ve made a point of smoking over three dozen different brands in conjunction with Torano Casa Torano Churchill Maduro. Haven’t found one that can even touch it…in every category important to me, including price (for a quality stick). I would like to find other brands that can show me this kind of quality and consistency for my retiree’s budget—but so far no go. The closest I’ve found (actually) are a couple of the Torano contract cigars (no brands mentioned). Isn’t that ironical. I’m a two-to-three stick-a-day man, so I get plenty of opportunity to do comparisons. I’m finding myself wanting to soak up all the information I can about these wonderful smokes; I wish they had a topical encyclopedia that I could muse over in my retirement leisure…since I’m thinking I’m pretty much a thinking man’s smoker.