The brand I’m referring to is of course Carlos Torano. In fact, there’s only one other review up on our site from a Torano line and it’s the Carlos Torano Casa Torano that I reviewed back in March 2011, almost a whole year ago. Today’s line I’ll be reviewing is the Carlos Torano Signature Collection in the Toro vitola.

This particular blend seems to be hailed by a few retailer websites as the best blend in their inventory, so it will have some big shoes to fill in this review. The interesting mix of fillers and binder leaves is a curious one, and on paper it sounds very tasty. The blend seems to have been first released back in 2000 and according to the official website, Torano.com, it comes in 5 vitolas ranging from a Perfecto up to a Churchill.

It’s interesting to see that for a cigar that’s been available for 12 years there isn’t much history or interesting news on it. The basic word is that it sells well and is a top performer in the Torano brand. The factory that makes this particular cigar is located in Honduras and is rolled completely by hand. I haven’t had one in awhile but we’ll see how close my older notes hold up to today’s experience…

Cigar: Carlos Torano Signature Collection
Drink: Lake of Bays Brewing Company Mocha Porter
Vitola: Toro (6 x 50)
Wrapper: Sun Grown Brazilian Maduro
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Dominican Cubano Ligero & Nicaraguan Habano Ligero
Price: About $7.50
Burn Time: About 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The wrapper on this cigar looks like it got beat with a meat tenderizer, it’s got bumps and dents and even looks a bit crooked
• The wrapper looks to be a very dark and consistent chocolate color, almost too dark and consistent, perhaps a bit of dye was used here?
• Despite the rugged nature and shape of the wrapper, there are very few large veins here but the wrapper definitely has a sandpaper type of feel to it
• The single cap has a slightly rough application to it which fits in with the rest of the cigar
• The foot looks very well packed and the entire length of the cigar has a fair bit of firmness to it

Burn:
• Toasting was nice and slow and resulted in a evenly glowing foot after about 30 seconds
• We’re off to a good start with some razor sharp burn through the first inch or so
• No problems as I pass the halfway mark, the burn is moving along at a very nice pace
• When I don’t have much to say in this section it’s a good thing, damn near perfect burn right to the end

Smoke & Ash:
• Each draw is giving me a good amount of smoke with very little effort
• Even though it’s pumping out lots of smoke on the draw, the resting smoke is actually fairly moderate and not overpowering at all
• Ash looks to have a nice pattern of medium gray and some dark, almost black striping
• The ash is lasting just over an inch before it shows some signs of weakness and I tap it off
• No flaking on this ash, it’s clean and tight

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper doesn’t have too much aroma but I do get a faint hint of sweet tobacco
• The foot tells a very different story giving off tons of barnyard aromas
• The pre-light draw reveals lots of woodsy and earthy notes with a touch of the barnyard flavors thrown in there
• Initial flavors are some mild woodsiness with a touch of sweetness and a slightly creamy, yet dry, finish
• Within the first inch, I get a nice introduction of some subtle cooking spices, somewhere in the white pepper range
• The body has started off fairly mild so far with a small bite on the retrohale and a barely detectable woodsy finish
• The flavors are continuing to develop nicely as we hit the halfway mark, some more woodsiness, a bit of leather, earthiness and still a touch of those spices is lingering
• As I move into the last third the body as barely reached medium and I’m starting to get some sweetness added to the mix, maybe like a coffee with sugar type of flavor
• A lot of the flavors seemed to fade into a woodsy and leather mix near the last 1.5 inches, not bad but not as interesting as they were

Final Thoughts:
If you’ve been following some of my posts here or even on Facebook (Like us Please! ) and Twitter, I think you’ll find I’ve historically not been a huge fan of the Carlos Torano lines. I’ve never found any of them to be bad but just not exactly the profile I would gravitate towards. I think we found a slight exception to that rule today. Although this cigar didn’t knock me off my socks, I did find it to be a nice relaxing and enjoyable cigar. The burn was nice, the flavors were varied and enjoyable and it never tried to go out on me. I was a bit surprised that the body was a lot weaker than expected, the ligero didn’t pack the punch I was preparing for but I’m fine with that. The last bit of the cigar did go a little bland but it wasn’t off putting or bitter, just bland. My only real gripe is the price. I know, I sound like a broken record here but if I’m forking out almost $8 for a cigar it should be a very good cigar, not just a “good” cigar. Having said that, I did see them on sale for some more attractive prices so if you can find them on sale I’d say they are worth a try.

Pairings:
I don’t find too many bottles from the Lake of Bays Brewing Company at my local store but when I saw this one recently I decided to give it a try. The brewery is located about 2.5hours north of the city of Toronto in a place called Muskoka. You might have heard of Mukoka before, it’s a pretty popular escape to a cabin or cottage on some beautiful lakes and forested areas where a lot of celebrities actually own cottages. Todays offering is their Mocha Porter. I was expecting a bit more chocolate in this brew but for the most part it’s more like a coffee porter. Lots of smooth and tasty coffee flavors without any bitterness and very little malt. There is a touch of chocolate in there but not much. It actually paired very nicely with the Carlos Torano Signature Collection since the brew wasn’t too bold and complimented the flavors nicely.

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Not long ago I reviewed the My Father Cedros Deluxe Eminentes and before that was the My Father Le Bijou 1922. Looking over those two reviews, it’s easy to see they were both tasty cigars so the My Father factory must be doing something right. One other thing that stands out to my about all the My Father cigars is their presentation. They really know how to make a cigar, from the beautiful wrappers to their crisp and well designed bands. Read up on one of the two previous reviews to get more information on the My Father company.

The My Father Limited Edition 2010 is a very special cigar. What makes this cigar special is the person who rolled it, Jose Pepin himself! With the help of his son, Jamie Garcia who did all the bunching. This is truly a collaboration between two great people in the cigar world and a testament to the families dedication to what they do.

The information regarding the tobacco used in this cigar seems to be a tightly held secret and very little is known other than rumours. One thing that does seem to be known is that the wrapper used is the same as the one you can find on the Le Bijou 1922. The Pelo de Oro wrapper is very rare and banned from growing in some regions due to it’s cost and sensitivity, among other factors. I really enjoyed the Le Bijou 1922 and I’m excited to see how this cigar turns out.

Cigar: My Father Limited Edition 2010
Drink: Hockley Valley Brewing Co. Traditional Irish Stout
Vitola: Toro (6.5 x 52)
Wrapper: Pelo de Oro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $20
Burn Time: 2 hours

Construction:
• Talk about a gorgeous looking cigar, this thing has everything going for it.
• The wrapper is velvety smooth and presents with a warm milk chocolate type of color.
• The wrapper shows signs of only minor veins and the top is finished with an amazingly clean triple cap.
• I did notice a decent sized green spot on the wrapper
• The length of the cigar has a fair bit of firmness but still has a nice springiness to it.
• The foot looks to be fairly well packed but still has 2 smaller holes in it.
• The cap cut nice and easy but exploded into a small mess in the ashtray
• The initial draw seems a bit open
• As I peeled off the lower band, there’s some writing where the glue was that said “One out of 24000 made”

Burn:
• Toasting was easy and even, the open parts of the filler near the foot didn’t cause any problems
• Through the first few inches this cigar is burning razor sharp with no problems at all
• About 2 inches in the cigar is going a little wavy, it may correct itself so I’ll see how it goes…
• Looks like the wavy burn was caused by a vein under the wrapper
• The burn isn’t getting uncontrollable, staying with a slight wave as it burns through what seems to be a pretty long vein
• After the ash fell I decided to give it a quick touch up so the next section starts off nicely
• I gave it another quick touch up after the second ashing as it seems this subterranean vein will not go away!

Smoke & Ash:
• Right off the first draw it’s easy to tell that this cigar is going to be a smoke machine, it fills your mouth completely with very little effort on each draw
• The ash on this cigar is a beautiful thing, very tight and neat with an almost white color and some smaller accents of light grey
• There is a bit of resting smoke slowly coming out of the cigar, it leaves a nice sweet roasted cedar aroma in the air
• The ash continues to impress, staying nice and clean and easily hitting the 2 inch mark before falling into the ashtray

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on this cigar gives off a wonderful cedar aroma with a touch sweet cocoa
• The foot of the cigar has aromas of wood and hefty helping of spice, mostly pepper and raw nutmeg
• Pre-light draw brings an interesting mixture of cedar, nuts and some coffee all held together by a prominent pepper spice. There’s also earthy notes in there
• The first few draws bring a blast of pepper and cedar, with some of the nutmeg tossed in there
• Within the first inch, the “in-your-face” peppery punch tapered off, I’m left with a nice bittersweet coffee and cocoa flavor with some hints of nuts
• The retrohale has a small bite, just enough to keep it interesting and a super smooth cedary finish
• The balance at this point is stellar, all the flavors are playing an equal role and the finish is amazingly smooth
• The coffee flavors are slowly developing as I progress and the body has stayed in the medium range from the start
• I’m not sure if it’s just the pairing or a combination of the two, but this cigar has some awesome coffee notes, maybe even a nice espresso flavor
• I’m surprised that as I get near the halfway mark the pepper and nutmeg spices are nowhere to be seen after that initial burst
• I want to re-iterate how smooth this cigar is smoking, very balanced, creamy and smooth!
• Approaching the last third, I can sense the body building here, the flavors are also getting more intense
• I think the initial spice is starting to make a re-appearance near the end, I was hoping for this!
• The spice definitely came back with a vengence, lots of pepper, raw nutmeg, and maybe a bit of paprika all mixed in with the cedar, coffee and creaminess
• The last bit of this cigar is an absolute flavor bomb and a bit of hefty body, but it’s still balanced very well

Final Thoughts:
If you didn’t figure it out from my notes above, I loved this cigar! The coffee notes in this thing were over the top and they stayed well balanced and smooth with everything else. The burn had a bit of trouble due to a vein but nothing that got me annoyed or relighting multiple times. The ash was also spectacular as was the whole visual presentation of the cigar. I went into this cigar expecting a lot of spice but it never really overpowered the cigar other than a little burst at the start. Now this is obviously a limited edition cigar and along with that title comes a limited edition price. The My Father Limited Edition 2010 carried a retail price of about $20 so it’s not something I can justify having too often but it’s definitely worth splurging and enjoying on special occasions. The cigar doesn’t seem to need aging but I think it would taste even better after a little time in the humidor.

Pairings:
Today’s pairing is from a local brewery about 45min North from where I live. It’s a nice little town with a small ski hill for the winter and a beautiful lodge. Their brews are fairly small batch and I tend to have a hard time finding them but so far I’ve enjoyed each one that I’ve had. I thought I had done a review with their Dark Ale but after a quick search I can’t seem to find it… but back on topic! This brew is a Traditional Irish Stout from Hockley Valley Brewing Co. It has a neat little catchphrase on the can as well: “Pours like liquid midnight”. And indeed that phrase holds true. The Hockley Stout is a thick and dark brew and pours with a full head of foam. It has some wonderful coffee notes and a sight hoppy bitterness, all held together with a smooth creaminess. I have to say I think this was an awesome pairing for this cigar. The thick brew stood up to the bold flavors of the My Father LE 2010 and was flavorful enough to add to the whole experience. I would highly recommend a good stout with this cigar. As always, I think Port would go well here! Also, you can try a nice scotch or a strong coffee.

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