Carlos Torano Virtuoso - Encore
4.75 x 52
Monday, 2/26/2007 on a chilly yet not too cold evening
I did not find a review of this cigar on CP. I got this cigar from a contest I had won, hosted by Azoetia. I had this cigar on my wishlist because it is my cousin's favorite cigar, and wanted to see how I felt about it.
Prelight:
After work and full workout at the gym that included a relaxing steam, I am at home pondering my social situation. It is the first time in 10 months that I have 0 female prospects on the horizon, which is both depressing yet positive at the same time. Although it sucks not to look forward to seeing someone, it is nice to not be hassled with meaningless phone calls and mindless chitchat.
I decide it's time for a smoke as I have just binged on some Tatuajes and Gurkhas and need to make some room before they arrive. I take my hardly used Xikar-1, a Christmas gift from my sister, and almost slice my finger off but cleanly cut the cigar.
The cigar is a fatty and the wrapper is a little veiny, but silky and oily. It is an appetizing dark brown. It looks pretty but not too pretty...
Smoke:
I toast and light the cigar with my butane lighter, and we're off. The cigar soon provides earthy, spicey, and chocolatey smoke. These flavors cannot be missed. However, within minutes the cigar's wrapper begins to crack (likely due to the cold), however, I have had issues with other Toranos. The draw is tight throughout.
As I get to the middle of the cigar, the flavors mellow out a bit. It is mostly earthy without the early spice and chocolate flavors I had experienced. The cigar is burning relatively even and provides a nice light grey ash.
The cigar begins to canoe towards the end, and the draw slightly opens up. It returns to the earthy and spiciness tastes from the beginning, but I am finished with an inch to go. The flavors delightfully stay in my mouth after the cigar is completed.
Comments:
The cigar is a mixed bag, strikingly similar, yet mellower than the Exodus series. It provides full flavors that I normally like but lacks the subtleties which usually make a cigar great. When I started smoking cigars, I would claim a cigar with multiple flavors that change as "complex." This cigar makes me question that because this cigar definitely provides different flavors at different points but is very straightforward in doing so. It is like a text book diagram, instead of a piece of art. Like a microcosm of my current situation, there is an array of positives and negatives to this cigar. Good, but not great.
4.75 x 52
Monday, 2/26/2007 on a chilly yet not too cold evening
I did not find a review of this cigar on CP. I got this cigar from a contest I had won, hosted by Azoetia. I had this cigar on my wishlist because it is my cousin's favorite cigar, and wanted to see how I felt about it.
Prelight:
After work and full workout at the gym that included a relaxing steam, I am at home pondering my social situation. It is the first time in 10 months that I have 0 female prospects on the horizon, which is both depressing yet positive at the same time. Although it sucks not to look forward to seeing someone, it is nice to not be hassled with meaningless phone calls and mindless chitchat.
I decide it's time for a smoke as I have just binged on some Tatuajes and Gurkhas and need to make some room before they arrive. I take my hardly used Xikar-1, a Christmas gift from my sister, and almost slice my finger off but cleanly cut the cigar.
The cigar is a fatty and the wrapper is a little veiny, but silky and oily. It is an appetizing dark brown. It looks pretty but not too pretty...
Smoke:
I toast and light the cigar with my butane lighter, and we're off. The cigar soon provides earthy, spicey, and chocolatey smoke. These flavors cannot be missed. However, within minutes the cigar's wrapper begins to crack (likely due to the cold), however, I have had issues with other Toranos. The draw is tight throughout.
As I get to the middle of the cigar, the flavors mellow out a bit. It is mostly earthy without the early spice and chocolate flavors I had experienced. The cigar is burning relatively even and provides a nice light grey ash.
The cigar begins to canoe towards the end, and the draw slightly opens up. It returns to the earthy and spiciness tastes from the beginning, but I am finished with an inch to go. The flavors delightfully stay in my mouth after the cigar is completed.
Comments:
The cigar is a mixed bag, strikingly similar, yet mellower than the Exodus series. It provides full flavors that I normally like but lacks the subtleties which usually make a cigar great. When I started smoking cigars, I would claim a cigar with multiple flavors that change as "complex." This cigar makes me question that because this cigar definitely provides different flavors at different points but is very straightforward in doing so. It is like a text book diagram, instead of a piece of art. Like a microcosm of my current situation, there is an array of positives and negatives to this cigar. Good, but not great.
