Today, we review the Clásico in the Toro size from Raíces Cubanas Cigars. Raíces Cubanas is a cigar brand established by the renowned factory of the same name, officially known as Fábrica de Tabacos Raíces Cubanas S. de R.L. Since being established in 2003, Raíces Cubanas has primarily focused on making cigars for third-party companies. The most notable was Alec Bradley Cigars. The Raíces Cubanas brand is a partnership between Hugo Endemaño (the son of factory founders Romay and Maria Endemaño) and Ralph Montero. If the name Ralph Montero sounds familiar, it’s likely because he was a longtime business partner of Alan Rubin at Alec Bradley. Consequently, the partnership between Endemaño and Montero feels like a natural progression.

Clásico is one of four brands with which Raíces Cubanas has gone to market. Each of the cigars has a different profile, but all four use a wrapper grown in the Trojes region of Honduras. The Trojes region was the home to many tobaccos used in Alec Bradley blends, and it was also commonly seen as a wrapper on Alec Bradley products.

Clásico: Mild to Medium
Liga de Reyes: Medium/Medium Plus
C5 Black (Corte Cinco): Full
GRD3 (GRanD3): Large Ring Gauge

For now, we will focus on the Clásico Toro and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Raíces Cubanas Clásico Toro – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The blend of the Clásico is all Honduran. A wrapper from the Trojes region of Honduras highlights the cigar.

Wrapper: Honduran (Trojes)
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Honduran
Country of Origin: Honduras
Factory: Fábrica de Tabacos Raíces Cubanas S. de R.L.

Vitolas Offered

There are five regular production cigars in the Clásico line. Each size comes in 21-count boxes.

Robusto: 5 x 50
Toro: 6 x 52
Figurado: 5 3/16 x 54
Churchill: 7 x 50
Gordo: 6 x 60

Appearance (*)

The Clásico Toro’s Trojes wrapper had a light brown color with a slight rosado tint. While it’s not listed as a “Connecticut Shade” wrapper, I have no problem calling this wrapper a “Dark Connecticut.” There wasn’t much in the way of oils. The wrapper had a bumpy surface and a silk complexion. There were some visible veins, and the wrapper seams were minimally visible.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

A straight cut was used to remove the cap of the Clásico Toro. Once the cap was removed, it was time to commence with the pre-light draw. The cold draw delivered notes of cream, cedar, and baker’s spice. Overall, the notes from the dry draw were excellent. At this point, it was time to toast up the Clásico Toro and head into the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The Clásico Toro continued with the notes of cream, cedar, and baker’s spice. In addition, notes of natural tobacco and mixed pepper surfaced. Early on, the cream notes took a slight edge as the primary note. The cedar, baker’s spice, natural tobacco, and red pepper settled in the background. Early on, there was a slight increase in the natural tobacco and cedar. Meanwhile, the retro-hale produced additional layers of cedar and mixed pepper.

By the second third of the Clásico Toro, the natural tobacco and cedar took over as the primary note. The cream settled in the background and slowly diminished during this section of the smoking experience. Meanwhile, there were still notes of pepper and baker’s spice in the background. Just past the midway point, the pepper and baker’s spice slowly increased.

The final third still featured the natural tobacco and cedar notes. The pepper was now the most prominent of the secondary notes, while the cream notes were no longer present. There was some muddling of the flavors during this section. As the Clásico Toro came to a close, the cigar finished with a soft and cool nub.

Burn

Of the three samples smoked for this assessment, one of the burns proved to be very problematic, and the cigar could not keep a straight burn path. The other two samples had a more manageable burn, but both required frequent touchups to maintain a straight burn path and straight burn line. The ash was neither loose nor firm, having a nearly white color. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both maintained ideal levels.

Draw

The cigar that had the burn issues did have a tight draw. It’s safe to say that the cigar did have construction issues. The other two draws were open, but not loose. While none of the draws were overly problematic, they weren’t in my sweet spot, which is a draw with a touch of resistance to it.

Strength and Body

The Clásico Toro started with mild to medium strength and medium-bodied flavors. Both attributes increased in intensity throughout the smoking experience. By the second third, the strength had reached a medium level. In the final third, the body nearly crossed into medium to full territory. I was surprised; this cigar was more robust than I anticipated, as it was categorized in my book as “mild to medium.”

In terms of strength versus body, the body maintained the edge from start to finish.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

I’ve been pretty impressed with Raíces Cubanas, and the Clásico does not disappoint. As the name indicates, Clásico leans toward classic style packaging. I like the blue, cream, red, and gold color scheme of the band. The inner vista of the box features an image of Honduras with the Raíces Cubanas Clásico logo draped over it. Overall, an excellent presentation.

Raíces Cubanas Clásico Packaging (Gordo size shown)

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

Two things worked against my experience of the Clásico Toro. The first is that there was a dip in the flavor performance in the final third. Second, I had construction problems with one of the cigars. While two of the three cigars had outstanding construction, the experience with the problematic cigar cannot be overlooked. The good news is that this cigar delivers good flavors for the first two-thirds. In addition, the $8.00 price point is quite attractive.

The cigar presents several positive attributes and is priced at $8.00, which is considered a good value. Given that the other two cigars did not exhibit any construction issues, this cigar may be suitable for both novice and seasoned cigar enthusiasts. As for myself, this is a cigar I would reach for and smoke again.

Summary

Key Flavors: Natural Tobacco, Cedar, Cream, Baker’s Spice, Pepper
Burn: Good
Draw: Good
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Miled Medium (1st third), Medium(Remainder)
Body: Medium (1st 2/3), Medium to Full (Final Third)
Finish: Good