The Good Stuff: In 2011 Torano released two new blends. The Loyal, which was a value line, and the Vault. The Vault is said to be based on a blend that is contained in files that reference every blend Torano has ever experiemented with. The “Vault” is based off a blend created in 2000 called the A-008.  The A-008 contains a Shade Grown Nicaraguan Colorado wrapper, Honduran Jamastran Binder, and Nicaraguan Condega and Esteli fillers. After recreating and testing he blend, Charlie Torano decided to add an ingredient that wasn’t available at the time, a second Nicaraguan Ometepe binder.

The Vault comes in four basic sizes: The Robusto (5 x 52), Toro (6 x 50), Torpedo (6 1/4 x 52), and Corona Gorda (5 5/8 x 46). The cigar comes packaged in boxes of 20 and run between $6.80 to $7.95 a stick Though I do see these go on sale quite often. Big thanks to one of our great readers Jeff who sent this my way to get my thoughts. I’ve smoked a few of these prior to the review, but never got around to reviewing one.

Size: 5 5/8 x 56
Wrapper: Shade Grown Nicaraguan Colorado
Binder: Honduran Jamastran / Nicaraguan Ometepe (Dual Binder)
Filler: Nicaraguan Condega and Esteli
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Medium
Price: $6.80
Pairing: Dogfish Head’s Festina Peche (Berliner Weissbier 4.5% ABV)

Prelight: Torano’s Vault starts out with a beautiful, chocolate brown wrapper. The wrapper is crazy consistent in color with only a few dark blemishes throughout the body of the cigar. There are a few very small, smooth veins and lots and lots of oil. The slender body leads up to a nice, round, double cap. The cigar has a few soft spots throughout the body of the cigar but the wrapper feels tough and firm. Let’s just hope those soft spots don’t lead to burn issues down the road. The Vault is polished off with an elegant silver and black band with the word “Blended from the VAULT” and the Torano crest on the front. The Vault also carries a salute to it’s parent blend with a small silver foot band with “Blend A-008” scribbled on it.

The wrapper on the Vault gives off only a very slight tobacco aroma while the foot of the cigar lets out some soft sweetness, chocolate, and tobacco. The cap cup very easily using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw was surprisingly full with very bold spice and an oaty/grainy type mixture.

First Smoke: The Vault starts out with some very sharp spice, a bit of citrus, lots of cedar and chocolate with just a pinch of black pepper. The pepper faded very quickly leaving behind even more sweet spiciness. The draw is very nice. I get a perfect amount of thick smoke with every puff. The burnline started out pretty crappy with two huge waves. It’s a bit gusty out so it may be due to the wind, or it may be those soft spots that I encountered in the prelight. Either way, I’m not going to touch this up just yet. The ash left behind is pretty flaky and dark gray and black in color only holding on for about a half an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: I’m not getting any of that citrus that I picked up in the first third now. Instead, Torano’s Vault has ramped up in terms of cedar and spice, introduced some nice coffee notes, and brought the black pepper back into the mix. This cigar is really starting to shine into the second third and I am anxious to see what we have in store for the finish. The retrohale is what I expected, lots of the sweetness and cedar with some pepper. It’s not bad, just not great. I’ll stick to keeping the smoke in my mouth. I am happy to report that the burnline has really started to correct itself with no attention from my lighter. Just as I had hoped it’s now only slightly wavy and I am feeling almost no nicotine from the cigar yet. My main complaint is the ash is so loose it’s falling all over the place.

Finish: The body flavors, and strength remained very similar in the final third. The pepper is still there, lots of chocolate/coffee, tons of sweetness, cedar and spice. I’m really impressed with not only the amount of flavor the Vault kicks out, but how well it kept it’s flavor without fading out. The draw has been perfect the entire experience. While I never had to touch up the cigar, the waves have returned in the final third making the burnline a bit crazy. I won’t complain about it too much, but I could see it being a nuisance. It took me about an hour and a half to smoke this cigar down to the nub and I experience only a very slight bit of nicotine towards the end, and absolutely no harshness at all.

Overview: This was a solid cigar. I found many of the Torano blends I have smoked in my time are very hit or miss, but just about all of the newest blends I have smoked have been great. The Vault has enough complexity to keep me entertained and the full body approach was great. I really wish I didn’t have to deal with so many burn issues. I encountered this on all the Vaults I have smoked and it might be something to do with the double binder. I’ll tell you one thing though, I much rather have the burn suffer instead of the flavors.

To Sum it Up: It’s a good cigar, at a decent price. This may sneak into my regular rotation from time to time, I just wish the construction was a bit better. The flavors are bold and it makes for a great evening, after dinner smoke while the strength remains on the medium end. This cigar is perfect for novices looking for a full-bodied experience without being knocked on their asses and the complexity is enough to satisfy the pickier cigar smokers. I’d buy it again for sure, but I don’t think I’d shell out for a box of these unless I found them at an unbeatable price (which happens often with this company).

Pairing: Dogfish Head’s Festina Peche has become a staple to their summer portfolio. While it’s labeled as a “Weissbier”, it doesn’t carry the same characteristics as most Weissbiers. In fact, I would consider this brew closer to a mild sour. Thin and smooth Festina Peche starts out with some sharp sourness leaving behind a sweet peach and citrus flavor. This beer is a bit one dimensional, but that’s great when you are just looking for something smooth and refreshing and the brew is just that. It’s one of those beers you’d love to take back after an hour of yard work. It’s also very light and comes in at only 4.5% ABV so it’s not going to fill you up or leave you with any sort of buzz. This pairing wasn’t perfect, as the sourness and citrus really only married up with the first third of the cigar, but it went perfectly with my mood, and the weather. Sometimes, that’s all that counts. If I had to choose another pairing for this cigar I think it would go awesome with a Marzen or even a sweet Brown Ale.

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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.

The post Carlos Torano Signature Collection appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Out of the bunch of Torano cigars that were sent to me I’m already enjoyed a couple of them including the Noventa 90 and the Exodus 1959 50 Years. For today’s review I picked out the Carlos Torano Casa Torano. The wrapper on this one caught my eye due to it’s oily sheen, see more on this in the Construction section below. The Torano Family of cigars has been involved in the tobacco business since the early 1900’s. They have a rich and deep history and would highly recommend reading about it on the Torano website. The have a rich variety of lines catering to a large audience.

The Casa Torano line is avaialble in both Maduro and Natural wrappers and span 4 sizes, Robusto, Toro, Torpedo and Lancero. Today’s pick is the Robusto size. Originally, the Casa Torano blend was only offered as unbanded and freshly rolled cigars at various events. As the success of this blend grew it became it’s own line. Let’s see how this cigar stacks up on one of the warmest days so far this year in the Great White North!

Cigar: Carlos Torano Casa Torano Maduro
Drink: Diet Coke
Vitola: Robusto (4.75 x 52)
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Dominican and Nicaraguan
Price: Between $4 and $5
Burn Time: Just over an hour

Construction:
• The wrapper of this cigar has a variety of color ranging from a medium brown to a very dark brown, almost black color
• The wrapper presented with a nice oily sheen to it that made it initially attractive
• The patchiness of the colors makes it seem like the wrapper may be dyed
• There are no major veins along the wrapper but it is extremely bumpy and some spots look as if branches are poking out the side
• The cigar is very firm throughout the body and hardly any spring when squeezed
• The foot appears to be very well packed
• The triple cap is cleanly applied but also looks to be one of the parts of the cigar that is almost black in color
• My double bladed guillotine cutter sliced through easily but it made a mess of filler all over the place
• Draw is a little more open then I’d like

Burn:
• The foot lit up easily and glowed evenly after a short toasting
• Burn has been razor sharp through the first inch
• The burn has been just perfect through the first half of the cigar, very nice
• Great burn straight to the end

Smoke & Ash:
• A fair bit of smoke from each draw but it could be a bit more full
• There is a moderate amount of resting smoke from the cigar as it sits in the ashtray
• The ash appears strong with no flaking and a light grey coloration to it
• Ash held on for over an inch and a half, no flaking or mess at all
• Subsequent ashes were not as long but they were still clean and fell nicely into the ashtray

Tasting Notes:
• There isn’t much aroma on this wrapper at all, maybe just a bit of faint tobacco
• The foot on the other hand is full of woodsy, spice and tart fruity aromas
• The pre-light draw is mostly woodsy with some hints of peppery spice on the lips
• Initial draws taste mostly of burnt wood, and not in a very good way…
• The burnt flavors slowly dissipated and I’m left with mostly woodsy and some light spice as I get into the second third
• As I hit the half-way mark I’m still getting no new flavors or further development, disappointed so far
• The body has been medium through the cigar and it’s creeping a bit into full near the end
• The retrohale had a small kick to it but the finish was mostly the burnt wood flavor so I didn’t retrohale much at all with this cigar
• As I approach the nub here the burnt wood flavors are returning and some bitterness is creeping in, forcing me to put this cigar down a bit early

Final Thoughts:
Well I think the notes speak for themselves and I can honestly say I was disappointed with this cigar. It didn’t offer me any very interesting flavors and no dimensionality. The only upside to this cigar was it’s great burn and ash. That is clearly not enough to make this cigar a winner in my books…

Pairings:
I actually paired this cigar just with a plain ol’ Diet Coke. Nothing fancy but I find it makes a good pairing for most cigars. I wouldn’t really recommend smoking this cigar if you can avoid it, but if you must pair it with a stiff and strong drink to mask out the boring flavors.

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