Torano Cigars make some of the finest cigars available and the Tribute 2004 is part of their premium line of cigars. Carlos A. Torano created the Tribute to honor his grandfather, Senor Carlos Torano, who left Cuba in 1959 to continue his family's cigar legacy. Containing filler from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua this well constructed cigar has a flawless, oily, nearly black Costa Rican Maduro wrapper. Immediately upon lighting the cigar it welcomes you with plumes of aromatic white smoke and bold pleasing flavors. The pleasant palate teasing spice qualities balanced out well against the strong coffee and cocoa body. Torano Tribute 2004 is the one of the best full-bodied cigars on the market. I have made up special occasions just to have an excuse to smoke this cigar. Rating: 9.5/10

Filed under: Cigars

Torano Tribute 2004 originally appeared on Luxist on Thu, 14 Jul 2005 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

When this cigar showed up at my door I was a bit skeptical. The little I knew about this cigar is that it was originally marketed in Germany and is just now starting to show up at United States cigar retailers. I was almost tempted to not review this cigar so I could keep it a secret for just bit longer.

This Dominican cigar has a flawless African Cameroon wrapper, wrapped in a sheet of cedar to help with the aging process. Before lighting this cigar I could detect hints of the spicy flavor locked inside, it started out mellow, taking a good inch of burn before the fireworks started. I had trouble trying to place the potent, sweet-spicy flavor; reminding me of toasted citrus with the aroma of cedar coming through. Yeah I know it sounds strange, but I was honestly at a loss to describe the complex flavor of this cigar.

The Belmore Cameroon Selection has become my favorite cigar with the Cameroon wrapper. It packs more flavor than either the Torano 1916 Cameroon or C.A.O Cameroon. This cigar is a tough one to find, but worth picking up a box when found. Rating: 9/10

Filed under: Cigars

Belmore Cameroon Selection originally appeared on Luxist on Fri, 17 Jun 2005 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

An AVO cigar is one of the first cigars I ever purchased and since that time I've continued to enjoy them. AVO Uvezian, the musician and cigar guru, is the man behind AVO Cigars and his cigar knowledge shines through in the Domaine AVO 40.

The cigar is a well crafted torpedo shape that has a spicy aroma even before lighting. The draw was a little tight, but loosened up with some work. A strong scent of cedar lingered in the cigar with a hint of sweetness. Bold and complex flavors crept in, reminding my palate of a glass of Shiraz. Like the wine in question the cigar hit home with mixture of pepper, wood and a spicy sweetness. My only issue with the cigar is a bit of harshness that got worse near the end.

The Domaine AVO 40 offers the complexity of a fine wine and top notch construction. The harshness is a turn off and might be overwhelming for a novice smoker. Your favorite red wine may help take the edge off the harshness and compliment the cigar nicely. Rating: 8/10

Filed under: Cigars

Domaine AVO 40 originally appeared on Luxist on Tue, 14 Jun 2005 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

The description on their website says "eat before you smoke them," they are not kidding. These cigars are beautifully constructed with an Ecuadorian sun grown wrapper and Dominican binder and filler. The chisel tip makes it a fun and unique cigar to smoke, but even a seasoned smoker can be left sporting a killer nicotine buzz.

The flavors in this cigar are a true pleasure to the palate. A wine like taste and the aroma of cedar were the first things I noticed, the sun grown natural wrapper adds a sweeter flavor than that of the maduro. A spicy pepper flavor emerged leaving a pleasant tingle on the tongue, becoming the predominate flavor for the cigar. The sweeter wine and cedar flavors took a backseat but were still discernible enough to balance out the spiciness.

Even the smallest cigars in the Double Ligero line should be smoked with caution.  This cigar does not hold back, going straight for the knock out blow. A great cigar to end the day after a nice steak dinner. I would smoke them more often if they were not quite so strong. Rating: 8.5/10

Filed under: Cigars

La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Natural originally appeared on Luxist on Thu, 09 Jun 2005 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Below is the first review from new Luxist cigar blogger, Jesse Nachtigal.  Jesse started smoking cigars while on vacation in the Dominican Republic and never looked back. Cigar smoking and the community around it led him to start blogging at www.cigarjack.net, to keep track of what was going on in the world of cigars.

The first thing I noticed is the large bronze and black bands covering almost half of the cigar along with the shaggy foot peaking out past the end of the wrapper. The construction of this cigar is top notch, no major flaws in the wrapper, and the bands came off easily without destroying the cigar. I pulled out my trusty double bladed guillotine cutter, clipping the cigar and testing the draw, pleased with meeting with the right amount of resistance. Getting an even burn on this cigar is fairly easy, the shaggy foot makes the cigar a bit easier to light.

Settling back into my chair I attempted a couple smoke rings and contemplated the complex flavors the cigar hinted at having. The Natural Root opens up with a strong earthy coffee flavor with a bit of a natural sweetness to it. Progressing to midway point the coffee flavor lost some of the earthiness, becoming a bit creamy with hints of chocolate. A pleasant leather tone emerged throughout that last half of the smoke, accompanied by hints of wine to really make a nice ending to this cigar.

I am not a fan of the infused cigars made by Drew Estate so these were passed by as well. I've come to realize what a big mistake I was making. The Root is a nice medium bodied maduro with a tremendous amount of flavor that I can't help but find appealing.  Rating: 9/10

Filed under: Cigars

Root Natural by Drew Estate originally appeared on Luxist on Tue, 07 Jun 2005 11:23:25 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments