Carlos Torano 1916 Cameroon Robusto

With its black and gold bands and cedar sleeve, the Toraño 1916 Cameroon is beautifully wrapped. No surprise—it was made to commemorate the storied Toraño family’s entry into the tobacco business. The Toraño family is one of the unsung stars of the cigar industry. Although they remain largely behind the scenes and under the radar, they are folks with a long heritage of consistently making quality premium blends. Each Toraño cigar represents four generations of family tradition which began in 1916, shortly after Don Santiago Toraño emigrated from Spain to Cuba. In the mid 1960’s, his son Carlos made a significant contribution to the industry when he introduced the concept of growing Cuban-seed tobacco plants in the Dominican Republic. Today, Don Santiago's grandson and great-grandson continue the family heritage and celebrate it with this handcrafted robusto of unmistakable Toraño quality. The family produces 20 million cigars annually for themselves as well as other major labels. The 1916’s genuine Cameroon wrapper, aged for several years, has a lustrous sheen, an appealing texture and ample toothiness. The construction is impeccable. The blend is a hearty one, consisting of Nicaraguan and Honduran long fillers. Panelists commented on how cool and even the burn is, “smooth throughout .” Tightly packed with a firm draw, the cigar starts off with a fiery bang—look for your palate to erupt with a sweet, spicy flavor. Then toasty notes of wood and pepper follow—and tons of smoke. Upon its debut, the 1916 was named one of Cigar Aficionado’s top 50 cigars for 2004. Along with a ’90’ rating, this is what they had to say (about the torpedo version): "A toothy, well-crafted figurado. It has a fine draw. The medium-to full-bodied cigar has a fine balance, and flavors of nuts, spice and coconut, with an earthy and cedary finish." This is a "sit-down-only" smoke that will add a nice finishing touch to any hearty meal. Pair it with a stiff Cognac or rich Sherry that's big and bold enough to match up to this beauty.

The Nicaraguan cigar industry originated when Cuban cigar makers escaped the revolution and re-established their livelihood in Nicaragua with Cuban-seed tobacco. Blessed with dark, rich soil, their new home was ideal for tobacco cultivation and Nicaragua quickly became known for cigars that rivaled Cuban quality. Unfortunately, revolution and war came to Nicaragua in the 1980s and devastated the industry, but it’s rebounded dramatically and is once again producing tobacco considered by many to be the finest in the world. The Esteli Valley is in many ways the heart of Nicaraguan production and is known for its very powerful and spicy tobacco. The Jalapa Valley produces arguably the finest tobacco in the country: somewhat sweeter and less intense than Esteli, but extremely complex. The tobacco of the Condega Valley is often described as a blend of the other two regions.