Summary:

A rich-flavored, medium-bodied, maduro cigar, with an excellent aroma. A smooth, refined and sophisticated smoke that is extremely consistent.

Background Information:

The CT Signature Toro is 6 inches long with a 50 ring gauge. The cigar has a sun-grown Brazillian Arapiraca maduro wrapper over a Connecticut Broadleaf binder. The filler is a mix of Dominican Cubana ligero and Nicaraguan Habano ligero tobacco. Each cigar is individually wrapped in a cedar sleeve. Manufactuered at the Cuevas y Hermanos factory in the Dominican Republic for Toraño y Cia.

[more…]

New from J.C. Newman Cigar Company this season is an opportunity to sample three popular, inexpensive cigars in one of the most popular vitolas in a special gift set.

The brands included in this sampler are the Don Jose, the Alcazar, and the Quorum — three of the company’s dependable and popular handmade bundle cigars. In addition to the cigars, this sampler also includes a double-bladed Craftsman’s Bench cigar cutter.

The Don Jose is blended with superb Cuban-Seed Honduran tobaccos, and is of surprising quality for a cigar that retails at around $1.80 each. It is medium to full-bodied with notes of cream and coffee throughout, delivering at its best a sweet, earthy, Honduran flavor profile.

More information about the other cigars in the sampler is below the fold.

[more…]

CAO has announced a new cigar line called Vision that will launch at next month’s Retail Tobacco Dealers of America annual convention and show in Las Vegas. The CAO Vision is the first Dominican-made CAO cigar.

The Vision will be available in three sizes: a 5×50 Robusto, a 6×50 Toro, and a 6.25×52 Torpedo. The cigars sport a Dominican Corojo wrapper, and a Dominican Piloto Cubano (cuban seed) Binder. The filler is a blend of Dominican, Nicaraguan and Brazilian tobacco. I’ll be posting a review of the cigar as soon as they are available for sampling.

Along with this being CAO’s first Dominican release, it is also being packged in an innovative way. What could be special about the way a cigar is packaged? CAO has another surprise for us.

[more…]

Cigarfan, a blogger who started up in January of this year, has accumulated an impressive collection of concise cigar reviews on his site. His latest offering is a review of one of my favorite Rocky Patel cigars, The Edge Maduro Toro.

Here’s an excerpt of what he has to say:

I found this toro to be an extremely well constructed cigar, somewhat better than the RP Vintage lines. It burns evenly, draws perfectly, and earns an A in deportment. The ash is a mottled light gray and is fairly solid.

It’s a good look at a very good cigar, and I recommend it to you.

Cigar Insider gave this one an 87 last year, and commented on “good oils and tooth” and “a nice range of cocoa, cream and wood notes. The earthy finish carries coffee and mellow spice.”

[more…]

Richard over at Blank Mind Blog has an interesting short review up of the Camacho Corojo Toro. As usual, he mixes some very good insights into the cigar with some other interesting observations made while enjoying the smoke. Here’s a short excerpt:

“The Camacho Corojo Toro is a beautifully made cigar. The wrapper was medium brown in color with a silky smooth, almost oily, feel to it. It balanced very well in my hand as I walked.”

I’ve had a case of the flu for the past week that just won’t quit, so further reviews of new sticks from me will wait a little longer until I can breathe. In the meantime, meader over to Richard’s place for an enjoyable time and find the answers to some burning questions about a cigar that gets a mixed review in the end.

Richard Hendrix at Blank Mind Blog recently reviewed the Carlos Toraño Casa Toraño Toro. Here’s an excerpt from his review:

“I had high expectations for the Carlos Torano Casa Torano Toro after looking over the construction, the wrapper was a beautiful light brown, tannish color with very few veins. A wonderful silky smooth texture and a slight cedar scent made me think this third smoke was to be a notable one.”

Unfortunately, the cigar he sampled did not live up to Richard’s expectations. This is a stick that I haven’t tried myself, but I’m usually quite fond of Toraño offerings and I was disappointed to hear of problems with one of their cigars. Check out the review for yourself at Richard’s Blank Mind Blog. Perhaps you’ll have a suggestion on what went wrong with the cigar.