Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan Habano
Filler: Nicaraguan, Pennsylvania
Size: 5 x 52 “Robusto”
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $7.20

I received three cigars. Three different blends that were debuted at 2013 IPCPR. I would like to thank Jack Torano for sending them to me.

They include the Vault Blend D-042, Reserva Selecta, and Exodus 1959 Finite 2013.

This blend is a follow up to the very successful Vault Blend A-008. Which I have not reviewed. First thing on my list to do is get some of these.

From CI: “The cigar now named Torano Vault is a blend that has been around the Torano family for the last decade. Originally called Liga A-008, this blend never found a home, but recently resurfaced on Charlie Torano’s radar. While it was always a great blend, Charlie Torano thought it needed some extra power and wow-factor before it could be brought to market.”

Construction is slightly rustic. There are some might big veins on the stick, pardner. So big, that the wrapper’s dark brown color highlights them in an almost white fashion. It looks like a well done triple cap but it is very well made and impossible to verify. There is a slight oily sheen. And the wrapper feels very smooth to the touch.

I clip the cap and find aromas of gingerbread, strong spice, leather, cedar, and cocoa.
Time to light up.

Wham. Get your red hots! Starts off with a big bang of startling red pepper. My kind of cigar.

I can’t discern much else this early and with the big dose of pepper. And then it hits. Flavors. Creaminess shows up in the first ¼”. Remarkable. So does the cocoa and gingerbread. The body hits the 10 ring by being classic medium from the get go.
And then comes the tobacco sweetness. Lip smacking sweetness.

The char line is a bit wavy. No need to panic on my end as it is minor and there seems to be no emergency about to happen.
The cigar starts off its life as a bona fide flavor bomb. I’ve smoked the original Vault many times and enjoyed it. But this Blend D-042 makes a giant leap for mankind.

The sweetness quickly turns to caramel. No mistaking this flavor. It booms and wants to be heard from. The draw is plain perfect. Smoke billows into the dining room where my work station sits.

The flavor profile at the 1” mark is a place that most cigars never reach and others past the halfway point. I am happily impressed.

I should note the accoutrement of this cigar….the cigar band and the foot band. Both are strikingly bold in color and statement. My photos probably won’t show how vivid the red with the black letters is. The gold and black add to this pepper pot of bright color. And the color scheme is metallic. Like the old 1957 Chevys that were candy apple red.
The foot is that same candy apple red with black letters denoting the blend.

The second third begins with a lot of flavors: Creaminess, spice, gingerbread, cocoa, caramel sweetness, some bit of raisin, even a French toast element…minus the maple syrup. Just the flavor of bread, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg.

This has turned out to be one impressive cigar. I am anxious to find out its cost. Knowing that the Toranos maintain a vigil to keep the cost of all their sticks affordable…this cigar is no different.

The robusto I am smoking peaks at 4-7/8”, not 5”. It shrunk. Which means it got loads of aging after being rolled. And the verification of this is that the cigar band keeps slippin’ and a’ slidin’ up and down the cigar.

I approach the halfway mark and the cigar is singing to me with its newly found complexity, character, finesse, flavor and body. This is a helluva’ cigar.

The char line is becoming unwieldy. And a touch up is required.

This stick is one of the most delicious cigars I have smoked in a long time. The Torano family decided to blend a stick in the New Breed fashion of immense flavors, character boldness, and very complex. And they get there toot suite. No need to let this cigar rest for months. I received this cigar yesterday! And I dry boxed it overnight. And I had a gut feeling about this cigar and followed it. The stick is rip roarin’ ready to go on receipt.

The body is moving a tick upwards and away from medium. I begin to feel the effects of nicotine.

The last third begins with the morphing of the flavor profile into an even keel. Nothing stands out from the other. The flavors are perfectly balanced and with a very long finish.

I tell you what…I fully expect a box of these in my humidor when they hit the shelves. The cigar comes in five sizes: 5 x 52 Robusto, 6 x 50 Toro, 5.625 x 46 Corona Gorda, and 6.125 x 52 Torpedo.

I must have been right on the money when I said it has a triple cap. Why? Not a single loose piece of tobacco finds its way to my lips. The cap is perfectly maintained.

The caramel sweetness, along with the creaminess, surface to the top once more. The strength continues to get stronger.
I truly do not want this cigar to end.

I have only one criticism of this cigar…and that would be the burn issues. I had to touch it up twice. As I only have one of these cigars, I cannot compare it to a second cigar.

With a couple inches to go, the power rings the bell and becomes very full bodied. The nicotine is hitting me with a round house. I am light headed. I recommend this cigar be smoked after something is in your stomach; which I failed to do.
I remove the cigar band easily. I received another sample from a different company. And I have smoked two of them. Each time, I had to rip the band off into shreds because there was too much glue. So even the small details like making sure the band comes off easily is a fine tribute to the construction of this cigar.

The flavor profile goes into overdrive now. Everything is blasting with such boldness that it almost makes me laugh. How can a cigar offer more than what this cigar offers?

Yes. I am gushing over this cigar. But it warrants this.
The cigar finds its finish very cool and without a hint of harshness or bitterness.
The powerful body does not interfere with the exploding flavors.
Kudos Torano Family.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS