With last year’s acquisition by General Cigar of the Toraño brand, I thought that it would be timely to get in a review of a cigar that I had been meaning to take a look at for a while now.  The Vault D-042 line is a follow-up to the Vault A-008 that Tony reviewed a couple of years ago.  The Vault D-042 is a completely different blend that was launched at the 2013 IPCPR trade show, and features a “rare Pennsylvania leaf” in the filler.  While both parties involved in the sale of Toraño to General Cigar assert that nothing will change with the blends and that manufacturing facilities will remain the same, I guess that remains to be seen.  My advice to lovers of the Toraño brand would be to stock up now, just in case.

This little snippet of information  on the Vault D-042 comes from the Toraño website:

This latest “Blend from the Vault” combines select Central American tobaccos, but with an unusual addition. According to President Charlie Toraño, “My father and I discovered a rare Pennsylvania leaf, while on a 1998 tobacco trip. Extensive experimentation revealed it to be an excellent enhancement to the filler tobaccos in Blend D-042 which we recorded in the blend book in 2004. The Pennsylvania tobacco’s flavor perfectly balanced the Nicaraguan filler combination. The original blend had a Sumatra Ecuadorian wrapper which was a popular choice at the time and widely available. In making some small adjustments to the original blend, we added a Habano Ecuadorian wrapper and the result was impressive. Blend D-042 is a powerful smoke, but with long and lingering sweet spice notes, it is very rounded and flavorful. It’s a fitting addition to our Vault line, complementing our runaway top-seller and widely distributed Vault Blend A-008.”

The Vault D-042 come in four sizes:  Robusto – 5×52; Toro – 6×50; Torpedo – 6-1/8×52; and BFC – 6×60.

Wrapper:  Ecuador Habano
Binder:  Nicaragua Habano
Filler:  Nicaragua Jalapa and Esteli; Pennsylvania
Size:  Robusto 5×52
Price:  $7.20
Smoking time:  One hour, twelve minutes
Pairing:  Oakshire Brewing Ill-tempered Gnome Winter Ale

Pre-light

The Toraño Vault D-042 comes draped in a uniformly dark chocolate brown Habano wrapper with noticeable veins and a somewhat bumpy roll.  I’m not sure if this is supposed to have a slight press to it, but it’s not exactly round.  I suspect that’s because I bought this as part of a sampler that came tightly cellophane.  The primary band is a classy looking combination of metallic magenta tinged red, gold, and black, while the foot band is of the same red with black lettering indentifying the cigar as “Blend D-042”.  The bands look quite nice against the color of the wrapper.  The wrapper itself doesn’t seem to have much of an aroma to it, just a tinge of earthy tobacco, while the foot shows a slightly stronger scent with the addition of a bit of hay.  Clipping the cap reveals a loose cold draw with very little flavor.

First third

Lighting up produces a copious amount of peppery and woody smoke, but the pepper dials down quickly and is joined by a bready note along with a bit of earthiness and a faint sweet spice.  The retrohale shows more of the wood and pepper flavor and is relatively smooth.  Early on, the burn line is thick and going off at a slant, prompting an early touch-up.  A light and somewhat bright sweetness is now showing up on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t quite pin down what it reminds me of.  The pepper has almost completely faded out, leaving the cedary wood, light earth, and sweet spice to take charge.  The burn has been behaving well since the touch-up, and the ash has held to a good 1-1/2”+ before being easily tapped off.  By the end of the first third, the body is no more than medium.

Middle third

There was an almost overwhelming muskiness to start out the middle third of the Vault D-042, but it died off quickly and the cigar has now turned smooth and creamy, with the same flavors previously shown dominating.  Just past the halfway point more earthiness has asserted itself and a bit of coffee and toastiness on the wood has emerged, while bread, nuts, and that sweet spice balance things out.  The burn has wavered, but has self-corrected each time, and the ash has again lasted for 1-1/2”.

Final third

The body of the Toraño Vault D-042 has now climbed up near the medium-full range and I have yet to feel much of anything in the way of nicotine strength.  The flavors have deepened, and the pepper has returned on the retrohale.  With about two inches left, I’m obliged to give it a quick touch-up, but it’s not a big deal at all.  The flavors remain consistent down to where just over an inch remains, when it becomes a little bitter and harsh, probably due to me getting cold and rushing things a bit so I can get back into my warm house.

Overview

The Toraño brand seems to draw some rather indifferent views from a lot of people, but I’ve always liked the cigars that I have smoked from them, especially the Exodus 50 Years and the Vault A-008.  Despite the somewhat inauspicious pre-light character, the Vault D-042 proved to be a solid, if not “wow”-type cigar, with flavors that I found enjoyable and the construction, draw, and burn were all very good.  Only a couple of quick touch-ups were required, and no re-lights.  In fact, the one that I had a previously was even more enjoyable, perhaps because I wasn’t stuck outside in the cold while smoking it, and it lacked that short bout of heavy musk that threw things off for a few minutes.  Being that it’s pretty easy to find them at a discount, I think that it’s certainly worth picking up a couple to try.

Pairing

I wanted to match up the Vault D-042 with a beer with some, but not too much, body and a light sweetness, so I went with the Ill-tempered Gnome from Oakshire Brewing.  Oakshire is based in Eugene, Oregon, the home of those dastardly University of Oregon Ducks.  The Ill-tempered Gnome is a hopped up brown ale, with a good amount of roasted and dark malts that give it a bit of fresh roasted coffee nose and a bit of sweetness in a medium bodied quaff, while the hops provide a bittering balance.  The brew actually served as a good palate cleanser and helped to bring out some of the more underlying sweetness in the cigar, while matching well with the other flavors the Vault had to give.

The post Toraño Vault D-042 Guest Review appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

halfwheel.com reported on the Espada back in June:

Altadia U.S.A. is adding a new chapter to the storied history of its Montecristo brand with the upcoming release of Espada by Montecristo, a new collaboration between the company’s Grupo de Maestros and the Plasencia family.

The cigar is a Nicaraguan puro with tobacco coming primarily from the Jalapa region of the country. The wrapper is a Habano Jalapa Vintage 2010, while the binder is a 2009 vintage. The filler draws from a trio of 2008 vintage leaves: Habano Jalapa seco, Habano Ometepe viso and Habano ligero from Condega. The flavor profile is described as spicy, strong, bold and brave but that maintains a worldly sophistication.

The Espada by Montecristo will debut in three sizes: a 5 x 54 called Ricasso, 6 x 50 dubbed Guard and a 7 x 56 named Quillon. The vitola names all draw from terms used in swords and knives in keeping with the name of the cigar, which is the Spanish word for sword. A ricasso is the unsharpened part of a blade just above the handle, while quillon and guard refer to the bar of metal where the blade and hilt meet.

Each will come in ten-count suede covered boxes with single stick prices between $11.25 and $12.50 before taxes. The cigars are made by the Plasencias in Nicaragua.

The release date is scheduled for July 1.

The Facts

Samples Provided by Altadis U.S.A
Price: $11.75
Vitola: Toro
Size: 6 by 50
Wrapper: Nicaraguan – Habano Jalapa Vintage 2010
Binder: Nicaraguan – Habano Jalapa Vintage 2009
Filler: Nicaraguan – Habano Jalapa Seco Vintage 2008, Habano Jalapa Viso Ometepe Vintage 2008, Habano Condega Ligero Vintage 2008
Smoke Time:1 Hour and 10 Minutes
Drink: Water

Pre-light

Like the H. Upmann The Banker, the presentation of the Montecritso Espada is spot on with its triple band. The cigar feels solid in the hand with no soft spots to be found. The oils glisten off the medium tan Nicaraguan Habano wrapper that has only small veins. I am picking up very mild notes of cedar and cardboard off the wrapper, while the aroma off the foot of the cigar is much more appealing with raisin and chocolate notes.

The cap gets the job done but it is not the cleanest cap, making it hard to determine if a double or triple cap has been applied. But knowing how Altadis rolls, I am going with a double cap. My cutter has a difficult time clipping through this tightly packed cigar. Once cut, the draw is more snug than I would prefer, showing some rich cedar, chocolate and raisin and a small amount of spice is felt on my lips. Removing the middle band and foot band, I am now ready to fire up this Montecristo Espada.

First Third

The snug draw is resulting in low smoke production making me take multiple puffs to get enough smoke to discern any flavors. Pinching the middle of the Espada seems to open up the draw a bit more. The flavors in the first half inch of are pencil shaving-like flavor and coffee. The flavors are dark and somewhat bitter. Black, bitter coffee and cocoa sits on my palate for some time on the finish. The burn is thick and wavy but of no concern and the white, flaky ash is holding past an inch.

Middle Third

The second third brings along a similar profile as earlier, with a few minor tweaks. The dry cedar has shifted to a thicker oak flavor, some added citrus and sweetness has joined in, and the coffee is still holding strong. The sweetness is so faint that I am unable to identify what type of sweetness it is but it is rounding out the profile.  As I burn to the halfway point of the Montecristo Espada, the smoke production has significantly increased. This is right around the area that I was pinching earlier to free up the draw. With the smoke production increasing, the flavors seem to be moving from medium to full as well.

Final Third

The Espada Guard is burning rather quickly for a cigar of its size. The soft breeze passing by may be accelerating the burn rate. My mouth is feeling dry after each puff and a sip water is needed to refresh my palate. The pepper spice has picked up,  as well as the cocoa on the finish. Just below an inch and half, the flavors have become a bit charred letting me know it is time to put this Espada to rest.

Wrap-up

The Montecristo Espada has top notch branding and packaging. While removing three bands could be a bit irritating, they add more more than they take away from this cigar. I would give the performance of the cigar a B- with its snug draw, wavy burn at the start, and somewhat ugly and flaky ash experienced in the middle and final third. But overall, there were no touch ups and no real babysitting of the cigar. In regards to the flavors, I am a bit torn. The first third lacked in balance and had some bitterness. The faint sweetness that entered in the  middle third brought balance to the profile. The middle and final thirds flavors were enjoyable, but I don’t smoke a cigar to only enjoy two thirds of it. I think additional rest and aginng of the Espada may relieve the bitterness in the first third. I am going to put my last sample away and revisit in 6 plus months.

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