Camacho Ecuador – Toro

The Camacho Ecuador is the seventh core line to be released by Camacho Cigars since the company initiated its “Bold Standard” campaign last year.  This campaign not only involved rebranding their cigars with a new logo and new packaging, but it also involved line consolidation and blend changes. The company launched six core line releases under the Camacho line. In terms of the Camacho Ecuador, this cigar is an entirely new line and a new blend.  The name comes from the fact that this cigar features a Habano Ecuador wrapper. I’ve recently had an opportunity to smoke the new Camacho Ecuador. This cigar is an outstanding release. It truly embodies the “Bold Standard” experience and in my opinion now stands at the top of the new Camacho core line releases.

Back during our recap of the 2013 Year in Review, we highlighted Camacho’s revamping of their lines as one of the top stories.  Here is what I wrote:

In 2013, there was little doubt that Camacho rolled the dice in terms of making changes to their blends and radical changes to their iconic packaging – and the result paid off.  Camacho also helped themselves by positioning some more competitive pricing on their lines.  The results have been amazing.  I’ve talked to several retailers who have told me Camacho is selling – and selling well.  Orders have turned into re-orders and cigar enthusiasts seem to be sharing in this re-energization of the brand.

Now a year later the timing seems right to build on the momentum of the success of the “Bold Standard”.  Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the Camacho Ecuador and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profile

The cigar is being made at Agroindustras Laepe, S.A. in Honduras and features a four country multi-national blend:

Wrapper: Habano Ecuador
Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina
Filler: Corojo, Criollo Ligero, Pelo de Oro (Honduras and Dominican Republc)

Vitolas Available

The Camacho Ecuador has been launched in five sizes.  Each of the five sizes are available in 20 count boxes:

Robusto: 5 x 50 
Toro: 6 x 50  
Gordo: 6 x 60  
Figuardo: 6 1/8 x 54 x 42
Churchill: 7 x 48

Appearance

For this cigar experience, I smoked the toro-sized vitola.  The wrapper of the Camacho Ecuador has a nice rosado shade to it.  There is some darker marbling. There isn’t much oil on the surface of the wrapper. There are some visible veins and visible wrapper seams.

The band to the Camacho Ecaudor is a aqua / teal color with black font.  it features the text “CAMACHO” representing the brand’s bolder font.  Above that logo is the text “INFAMOUS SINCE 1962” in a smaller font.  Below the “CAMACHO” text is the text “ECUADOR” in a very small black font with a thin black line below it.  Below that the brand’s new scorpion logo – also in black font.  The remainder of the band has black trim.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

Prior to lighting up the Camacho Ecuador Toro, I went with my usual choice of a straight cut. Once the cap was removed,  I moved on to the pre-light draw phase.  The dry draw provided a mix of earth and wood notes.  There was an interesting red pepper note I picked up.  Overall I was quite pleased with the pre-light experience.  At this point I was now ready to put the lighter to this cigar and see what the smoking stage would have in store.

Flavor Profile

The start to the Camacho Ecuador provided a mix of red pepper and earth notes.  This was soon joined by a sharper cedar note.  The cedar notes provided a mix of sweetness and spice.  In the early part of the first third, the cedar notes went primary with the earth and red pepper notes secondary.  On the retro-hale, I picked up more of a traditional black pepper note.

As the Camacho Ecuador moved into the second third, the cedar and earth notes switched back in forth in various combinations as to what flavor was primary.  The red pepper notes were still in the background, but were a little more prominent on the finish.

Just past the midway point, I picked up a subtle and creamy chocolate note in the background. This flavor joined the red pepper in the background. In the last third, the cedar and earth alternated as to what flavors were primary. The cedar notes took on a little more of a spicy quality. This is the way the cigar experience came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch, but cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

The burn of the Camacho Ecuador performed quite well.  While there was a little jaggedness on the burn line early, the burn line remained relatively straight from start to finish.   The resulting ash was a silvery gray with some dark speckling to it.  The ash was firm and not prone to any major flaking.  The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

 

Burn of the Camacho Ecuador Toro

The draw performed outstanding as well as it was just right – not too loose and not too tight. This made the Camacho Ecuador an enjoyable smoke from start to finish.

Strength and Body

As I mentioned at the beginning, this cigar truly embodies the bold standard.   From both a strength and body perspective, I assessed this cigar to be full strength and full-bodied.  I was a little surprised that the Mata Fina binder provided a cigar this strong, but can pretty much infer the fillers were really playing a key role here.

Both the strength and body counter each other very nicely with neither attribute overshadowing the other.

Final Thoughts

Overal this was an excellent release by Camacho Cigars.  As I mentioned at the start, I would put this cigar at the top of the releases under the core line by Camacho.  This cigar delivered excellent flavor and had excellent construction.  The strength and flavor balanced each other very well and gives you the best of both of these attributes.  It’s possible this cigar will be dialed back over time, so its certainly worth keeping a watch out.  Given this is a full strength, full-bodied cigar,  I would probably recommend this to a more experienced cigar enthusiast who likes a cigar with that profile. As for myself, this is easily a cigar I’d smoke again – and it’s box worthy in my book.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Full
Body: Full
Finish: Good
Assessment: 4.0 – Box Worthy
Score: 92

References

News: Camacho Ecuador
Price: $7.00
Source: Purchased
Stogie Geeks Episode: Episode 98
Stogie Feed: Camacho Ecuador Toro