Full-bodied and flavorful

Full-bodied and flavorful

By DAVID THEUS

I have finally found my size of choice, the Toro. Cigars, regardless of the manufacture are classified by size and shape. You might remember me saying that I was a Churchill fan all the way, as I continue these reviews I have come to the reality that the "toro" is going to be it for me.

As you can see by the picture, the "toro" offers the cigar enthusiast slightly more flavor and length of smoke than a "robusto" and slightly less time of a "Churchill". Keep in mind each manufacture may differ slightly in how they measure up, but a simple rule to remember is this. The larger the ring size (circumference) and longer in length, the more flavor you get when you draw on the cigar. The "toro" I believe offers the best of both worlds. It’s typically the largest in ring size and just long enough to enjoy over a period of thirty minutes to an hour smoke. It seems to fit my hand just right too.

Now on to this week’s cigar. The Quintero Natural Toro. First things first, this natural is slightly darker than your normal natural. It’s by no means a maduro, but it does have a little more bite than not. The wrapper is: Honduran Cubano, the binder is: Nicaraguan, and the filler: Honduran and Nicaraguan. This particular cigar is beautiful in its presentation, the wrapper is very tailored and when I cut the head of the cigar, it maintained its shape without any undoing whatsoever. Before lighting the cigar, I could smell a hint of spice, leather, and oddly enough, chocolate.

Once lit, it seemed to draw fairly even at first but became somewhat labored towards the middle of the smoke. The ash burned awkward, as if the wrapper couldn’t keep up with the rest of the cigar. About half way through, it was as if the filler was not in sink with the rest of the cigar and the ash took on an unraveled pattern to its burn.

The aroma offered hints of leather, old fashioned caramel, and even dark chocolate. I have to say the Quintero Natural Toro is cigar through and through. The manufacturer describes it best: "With its sensual blend of Nicaraguan tobaccos and its rich, reddish Honduran Corojo wrapper, Quintero will satisfy the lover of fuller-bodied cigars like none other." Full bodied is a good term. This weeks cigar rang in at $4.50 from my trustworthy tobacconist in San Marco. Oh yeah, if you are looking for a shop where the staff is friendly and they can offer a helpful hand, please stop in at Edward’s of San Marco at 2018 San Marco Blvd. in Jacksonville and tell them David from North Florida News Daily sent you.

Until next time…