Robusto, 5" x 52 ring gauge / approx. $6.50
Midway through 2010, Torano announced that they would be taking back distribution of their cigars, revamping their company name, logo, and look, and re-focusing their cigar-making efforts. One of the first releases from the re-energized Torano Family Cigar Company was the Single Region Serie Jalapa, a cigar composed completely of tobacco from the Jalapa region of Nicaragua and meant to show off the characteristics of that area's leaf. I received this tasting sample at Uptown's Smoke Shop's Fall Cigar Extravaganza. This review is of my very first Single Region Jalapa.
The appearance was a bit underwhelming. To be honest, the main "Single Region" band is simplistic to the point of looking like a temporary band that companies use many times for pre-release cigars. The wrapper leaf was a dark caramel color with some darker mottling as well as some medium-to-large veins that were fairly prominent under the fingertips. There was more oil to the touch than to the eye. Lifting the cigar to my nose, I got a grassy hay and faint manure smell on the wrapper and a mix of leather, manure, and natural tobacco on the foot. My Xikar XI took off the barest portion possible of the cap and left a clean, easy draw. I got earth and cocoa notes mostly on the prelight draw, along with a chemical flavor I was not fond of.
The first few puffs gave up mostly cedar notes along with black pepper on the finish and on the retrohale. Through the first 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch, I can honestly say the burn line was ugly and ragged, but at least it was evenly ragged with no need to touch it up so far. As the first third progressed, I continued to get quite a bit of cedar and pepper, but also some underlying earthiness. So far, I was finding the taste experience more appealing than I had expected.
As the second third started, I noticed that the burn line had ended up evening out very well, the ash had grown to just over an inch (after which it dropped into my lap), and I was starting to get a bit of cocoa sweetness from the Single Region. That sweetness increased through the segment as the cedar became more of an afterthought and the pepper a more subtle, low-level burn.
The last third was more earthy with a steadily increasing cayenne pepper burn that added interest to an already surprisingly complex cigar. Why surprisingly? Two reasons. First, a cigar made up of tobacco from a single region is going to be more prone to one-dimensional flavor than something using tobaccos from several regions of the same country...or several countries...that is why blenders usually pick and choose these different tobaccos. Torano's blenders have done a great job delivering a delightful, complex, medium-bodied cigar containing only Jalapa leaf. Second, I had in some ways given up on Torano. While I have long loved the original Exodus 1959, I cannot say I have been a big fan of any of their other cigars previous or subsequent to it. I mean no disrespect to Charlie Torano or any of the other people involved in the company...I just have not found many of their blends that "do it" for me. This Single Region gave me renewed hope that they will produce new offerings that will be more to my liking. The one thing I would like to see is the banding and packing kicked up a notch; otherwise, I fear these sticks may get lost in the crowd of other cigars in the local tobacconist's humidor. I do look forward to what I presume will be more "Single Region" releases as well as trying the Master and other new blends that will be filling out the Torano portfolio in the coming years.
Body: 6/10
Strength: 7/10
Complexity: 8/10
AFP Scale
Prelight: 1.5/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10
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