United Maduro Toro (2013)

Today, we take a look at the 2023 edition of the United Maduro Toro. The United Cigar line is the eponymously named brand in the United Cigars portfolio. United Cigars is the distribution company owned by David Garofalo, best known as the owner of Two Guys Smoke Shop. The United line was introduced in 2010 in both a Natural and Maduro offering. Initially, the United Maduro and Natural were released as box-pressed offerings, but fast forward to 2023, and the United Maduro and Natural cigars were blended and changed to parejo offerings.

United Cigars is a brand with a long history. If you know Garofalo, you know his admiration for cigar history, so it’s no surprise he acquired the United Cigars trademark. Brothers Charles A. Whelan and George J. Whelan founded the brand as a tobacco wholesale company in Syracuse, New York, in 1901. They eventually turned to retail. By 1926, the chain had nearly 3,000 stores. United Cigar eventually became part of the corporation that bought Marvel Comics in 1968. The United Cigar chain represented the interests of the Consolidated Tobacco Company, the tobacco trust that controlled the American Tobacco Company. By 1986, the company was liquidated, and Garofalo eventually acquired the United Cigar name. Subsequently, he decided to release an eponymous cigar brand under that name.

Let’s turn our attention back to the United Maduro Toro and see what this cigar brings to the table.

United Maduro Toro Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The blend for both United Maduro and United Natural was revamped entirely. As for the United Maduro, it features a San Andres Mexican wrapper over a Dominican binder and fillers consisting of an all-Dominican filler that includes Dominican Broadleaf, Dominican Olor, tobaccos from the Quisqueya region of the Dominican Republic, and Dominican Seco. Production comes from Tabacalera Magia Cubana in the Dominican Republic, the facility owned by José Dominguez.

Wrapper: Mexican San Andres (Maduro)
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican Broadleaf, Quisqueya, Dominican Seco, Dominican Olor
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Tabacalera Magia

Vitolas Offered

The 2023 edition of the United Maduro and its counterpart, United Natural, are available in the same three sizes. Each is presented in 20-count boxes.

Robusto: 5 x 54
Toro: 6 x 54
Churchill: 7 x 54

Appearance

The San Andres wrapper of the United Maduro Toro had a milk chocolate color. It was nice to see that this was not an overly “cooked” dark wrapper. Upon closer examination, there was some mottling present on the wrapper. There were also some oils present on the wrapper. In addition, there were some visible veins and visible seams.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

Before lighting the United Maduro Toro, a straight cut removed the cigar cap. Once the cap was removed, it was time to commence with the pre-light draw. The cold draw wasn’t overly complex, delivering bittersweet cocoa and earth notes. This wasn’t a pre-light draw that had me doing handstands. Since the pre-light draw is not scored, there is no loss of points in the final score or the assessment rating. From here, it was time to toast the cigar and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The United Maduro Toro opened up with notes of mocha, earth, and classic wood. The mocha notes were a fusion of chocolate and coffee notes. Early on, the mocha notes moved into the forefront. The “chocolate” component of the mocha note was the more dominant. Meanwhile, earth and wood notes settled in the background. Meanwhile, there was an extra layer of wood on the retro-hale.

The second third of the United Maduro Toro saw the mocha notes remain at the forefront. The mocha was still dominated by its chocolate component. The earth notes remained in the background. By this point, the classic wood notes were now converting to more of a cedar note. At the same time, some black pepper started to show on both the tongue and the retro-hale.

The last third saw the mocha notes remain in control. By this point, the coffee component of the mocha had a slight edge over the chocolate. The pepper notes continued to increase and closed in on the forefront. There were also notes of cedar and earth rounding out the flavor profile. This is the way the United Maduro Toro came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

Overall, the performance of the United Maduro Toro was fantastic. The cigar didn’t require much in the way of touch-ups to maintain a straight burn path and a straight burn line. The resulting ash was light gray. This was an ash on the firm side. Meanwhile, the burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

Burn of the United Maduro Toro

Draw

The draw of the United Maduro Toro also was fantastic. This draw was in my sweet spot with a touch of resistance. This was also a draw that produced a decent level of smoke production.

Strength and Body

The strength and body of the United Maduro Toro stated more dialed back, falling into the mild to medium range of the spectrum for both attributes. By the second third, the intensity levels of the strength and body were in the medium range. The intensity increase continued until the end – although the strength and body remained in the medium range.

The body maintained a slight edge throughout the smoking experience regarding strength versus body.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES

The United Maduro and the United National underwent a packaging overhaul a few years ago. These cigars had bands with a refresh, and they popped. The new logo has almost a metallic look to it. The boxes are now much more sleek (while the Natural box is shown below, the Maduro has the same design).

United Natural Toro (Photo Credit: United Cigar)

A nice feature is that each box includes a piece of American flag inserted into each box in honor of veterans. United Cigars collaborates with the nonprofit organization Stars For Our Troops to source these stars.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

In today’s market, an $8.00 is a bargain – and that’s exactly what the United Maduro Toro is. I am often not thrilled when a cigar is reblended, but it worked quite well in this case. I also don’t think rounding this vitola into a parejo hurt. The United Maduro Toro delivers nice flavor, excellent construction, and the right amount of complexity. Ultimately, this is a cigar I could recommend to any cigar enthusiast. As for myself, this is not only cigar I’d smoke again, but I would get multiples to keep in my humidor.

I look forward to trying the other sizes and the revamped United Natural line.

Summary

Key Flavors: Mocha, Earth, Cedar, Wood, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Mild to Medium (1st Third), Medium (Remainder)
Body: Mild to Medium (1st Third), Medium (Remainder)
Finish: Very Good