First of all a big thanks to AndyMiami for this specimen.

Carlos Torano Signature Torpedo (6x52)

Appearance and Construction (14 of 15 points possible)

Bueatiful and oily, the cigar looks like its been dipped in Lindts 70% cocoa dark chocolate. The Prelight aroma of this cigar is purely an experience all its own, with scents of pepper and rawhide. As usually, a nicely done torp by Torano, IMO they make the best looking Torpedo out there. The Double bands and sleeve of cedar is a nice touch, the colors contrast nicely with the wrapper.

Flavor (22 of 25 points possible)

Prelight draw reviels a cigar box flavor and musky tobacco notes dusted with cocoa. First couple of draws reveal chocolate, hardwood, spice and a blackcherry note(full-bodied). A quarter of the way into the cigar the flavor profile has smoothed out a bit with coffea, cocoa, spicy hardwoods and a blackcherry note on the finish. The cigar is bold, but still has a certain smoothness while being full-bodied. At halfway I'm really enjoying this cigar, nice complexity compliments the bevy of flavors that are intermingling on my palate, a nice long finish so far. As the cigar burns down past the halfway mark it relaxes a bit from full bodied to a medium-full smoke, almost medium. At 3/4 its still going strong picking up more fullness and building to a climatic finish. The blackcherry is no longer a note on the tail-end but a solid flavor in a core of cocoa, harwood and now some earthiness presents itself. Towards the end, the cigar finishes up nicely with no harshness or bitterness. Flavors consist of an intense spice, wood, blackcherry, cocoa and slight earthy-ness on the medium-long finish. I put it out with 3/4 left, this would be a finger with more age on it.

Smoking Characteristics (22 of 25 points possible)

A toasty aroma with spice, musky tobacco and some harwoods mixed in. The draw is perfect, not to loose and not to tight. The ash fell off at 1 1/2 inch, salt and pepper with a nice powdery texture. The burn was good and even, just not razor sharp. No touch ups, relights, runners or soft spots noted on this example. On a side note, the bands come off easily without a hitch.

Overall Impression (33 of 35 points possible)

A nice complex cigar that has a good interplay between boldness, fullness, and smoothness. The cigar looked good enough to take a bite out of and had very good smoking characteristics. This is a love it or hate it cigar that gets better with some good age. I have had this cigar in the Perfeto and Robusto before, this is my first go-around with the Torpedo. I would now have to rate it about the perfecto, as far as which vitola I like the best out of this line. If you like the CAO Brasilia, Partagas Black (one thats had some serious age to it) or just a good full-bodied Maduro with a rich spicy boldness, I would recommend this one.

Overall score - 91

Thanks for a great review. Torano is making some fine cigars.

Great review, as usual Stogie. These cigars are definitely good with age. You nailed it with the black cherry. I always get a fruity/floral aspect when I smoke these but it varies greatly with age.

These are excellent cigars with a few months on them...great review Stoge

Mike

I recieved one in a mailbox nuke and really enjoyed it. It was an outstanding ciger.

i have to say i never tried any of the torano cigars before i got onto this site, but since joining ive tried a few and this will be one more i try. thanks for the great review and turning me onto different smokes.

Well versed Stoge. Can't wait to try those Toranos you sent me.

I decided to take a shot at doing an in-depth review of a cigar. I chose the Torano Sig since I never tried one before. This is my first time trying this. Here it is.

Appearance:
The presentation of this cigar is very classy. It is dual banded with an off white Carlos Torano band with a copper border. The second band has the same color scheme with Carlos Torano’s autograph in copper. The foot is wrapped in cedar. It has a gorgeous dark brown maduro wrapper that is oily and slightly toothy. The wrapper has very small veins throughout. It appears very well constructed, firm with no soft spots. No veins were visible in the foot. The cap was slightly puckered and it clipped perfectly. No veins were visible in the head.

Pre Light:
This cigar has a nice cedar aroma almost certainly due to the cedar wrap on the foot. It had a medium draw and a woody/cedar taste. Again, I attribute this to the cedar wrap it was packaged in. I also detected a subtle spiciness.

Flavor:
1st third-
It lit perfectly and easily with lots of thick white smoke. It was spicy during the light. It had an easy to medium draw. After it was lit I immediately tasted lots of cedar and a peppery spiciness. The smoke left a smoky, woody taste on the palate between puffs. The ash is very nice, white with lines and speck of dark grey. This cigar was smooth and mellow right from the start and the smoke was cool. In the beginning the burn was as close to a straight line as is probably possible. The ash maintained it shape nicely and was not flaky at all. The smoke off the foot held together a long time as if it was almost solid. The smoke I exhaled was the same, very slow to diffuse. About an inch in the spiciness mellowed and the cedar flavor took over along with an undertone I found hard to identify. It was slightly sweet almost like toasted bread…? The smoky aftertaste went away as well. As the smoke progressed it got even smoother. The burn wasn’t as straight but it was still even. The ash close to the burn remained white but the ash near the tip took on a brown tint. The cap held its shape and firmness thru the first third. I still haven’t tapped the ash off at this point.
2nd third-
Cedar still dominates the flavor but a citrus undertone developed. It still had a subtle sweetness to it. The smoke from the foot was still a creamy white but the smoke from the draw took on a beige tint. The different colors of the smoke made an interesting contrast as I watched it dance thru the air. The ash was still holding and was almost three inches long when I finally tapped it. It broke off rather then fell off. Probably could have waited longer to ash. The cedar flavor began to mellow and the spiciness returned. This appeared to have happened once I got past the part of the cigar that was wrapped in cedar. In the beginning I would have said this smoke was on the mild side, but it got stronger as I got further in. As I neared the end of the second third of the cigar I noticed a coffee like bitterness mixed with a peppery flavor. The subtle sweetness I detected early was gone. It was still very smooth but stronger now, less mellow. I noticed small gaps in the ash now and it was slightly flaky on the edges. The burn became slightly uneven but corrected it self quickly. Two thirds of the way thru and the cap were still firm and round. This is a very well made cigar.
Last third-
Entering the last third of this cigar I still have only ashed once. The ash was again over two inches long when I tapped it. It came off easier this time. The peppery flavor increased in strength and dominated the smoke at this point. I detected occasional hint of wood and earth. The cigar was stronger now, less smooth but still not harsh.. Since the burn corrected itself earlier it remained perfect. The smoke lost it beige tint but was still a different shade of white than the smoke from the foot. The cigar finished with a strong peppery flavor with noticeable earthy undertones. I smoked it to the nub. I never had to make a third tap of the ash. In the last third the ash was once again solid and not at all flaky.

Overall Impressions:
This was a very enjoyable medium bodied, medium strength cigar. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is very well constructed and beautiful to look at. This is definitely a favorite and would recommend this cigar to anyone who has enjoyed a premium cigar before. This probably not a good first time smoke for a person new to cigars.

I have to say this is probably the most I have ever enjoyed a cigar and I am sure it is because I took the time to do this review and think of the cigar critically as I smoked it. At the risk of sounding like I am kissing his @ss, I want to thank BinDer for posting that thread on how to do a review. Before I read that I never really thought about trying to do this kind of in depth review. As a result I have a deeper appreciation for cigars. I never took the time to notice all the subtle changes in the flavor as the smoke progressed. It was fascinating and I know it greatly increased my enjoyment of this cigar. Thanks BinDer. I don’t know if anyone will agree with my analysis as I’m still learning how to identify and detect all the subtle flavors in a cigar, but this is how I perceived this smoke and I really enjoyed making the effort to do it.

Sorry, I know it's a little wordy. I'll try to be more efficent in my next attempt.

I think someone is going to be jealous with all the kissing of Binder's @ss going on in here lately. Nice review though. I have two of these that I'm waiting to try.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: S-Rage,

quote:

Originally posted by Lorax429:
At the risk of sounding like I am kissing his @ss, I want to thank BinDer for posting that thread on how to do a review. Before I read that I never really thought about trying to do this kind of in depth review. As a result I have a deeper appreciation for cigars. I never took the time to notice all the subtle changes in the flavor as the smoke progressed. It was fascinating and I know it greatly increased my enjoyment of this cigar. Thanks BinDer.

Nice review. Now quit kissing my ass!

I've got one of these bad boys sitting in the humidor, also from an Andy bomb. After reading this I think I'll fire it up later tonight and share my thoughts.