REVIEW: Torano Loyal

Another cigar that was released at this year's IPCPR and flew kind of under the radar is the Torano Loyal. Torano has been making a lot of moves in the industry recently and seems to be really making a push to be more in the center spotlight of the cigar world.

A quote from the Torano Loyal press release: "Carlos Torano Sr. has always maintained that anyone who enjoys a cigar deserves to smoke a great Torano blend at an affordable price. For decades, Carlos and his son, Charlie, have remained loyal to this philosophy of providing outstanding value to cigar lovers. Loyal provides value, quality, consistency, and most importantly, an abundance of flavor."

We were fortunate enough to interview Charlie Torano and my good friend Miguel Schoedel (regional sales rep for Torano) in Las Vegas, where they gave us even more of the low down on the Loyal, as well as other things going on with the Torano Family Cigars Company. You can view that video here.

I smoked one Loyal while at the show. I thought it was pretty mild, but had a lot of flavor. I'm looking forward to smoking this one on a fresh palate. On to the review.


Specifics
Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5
Ring Gauge: 56
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan and Dominican
Price: $4.95 - $5.50 according to the press release
Smoking Location: House of Cigar
Beverage: Diet Coke

Pre-Light 

My Torano Loyal had a light brown and very toothy wrapper. In fact, this had to be one of the most textured wrappers I've seen in awhile. Even with all the Sumatra wrapped sticks hitting the market recently, I have not seen one that looked like this. Another characteristic that really stands out about this cigar even before smoking it, is just how heavy it feels in my hand. It's only a 5 x 56 cigar, but it feels easily like a 60 ring gauge. The cigar was evenly packed and gave off a mild barnyard aroma. The cap clipped easily and the draw was nice and free with some bread and oat flavors. As for the artwork on the band, I'm torn. It's well done with a retro 50s type feel to it, but maybe that's just not my preferred style. So.. not bad, but not me.

First Third   

The first third of my Torano Loyal opened up nicely and drew large clouds of smoke. The flavors from the start were of a subtle spice on the front (especially on the top of my tongue) with a lot of citrus on the finish. Do you recall from a review awhile back how I described a cigar having some orange peel flavors? This one was very similar and consequently very enjoyable. The burn was a little less than perfect, but nothing that needed any touching up. The strength started out in the medium range, but quickly moved over to a more mild area. Mild in strength, not in flavor.

Second Third  

The second third of my Torano Loyal had the subtle spice that was interesting from the first third more more into a secondary flavor. The main taste I got on the front of the profile now was roasted nuts. I used to pick up this flavor in a lot of cigars, but since I have transitioned my personal liking into medium to fuller strength sticks I miss out on this taste a lot.  It was a nice change of pace for me. The finish of the profile still contained mostly citrus notes, mixed with natural tobacco flavors. The burn was still great and the smoke volume huge.

Final Third and Final Thoughts 

Moving on to the final third and the nub of the cigar the flavor profile stayed pretty much the same as the second third with the exception of the spice picking back up again. It was an interesting spice and I'm not 100% sure how to describe it. It wasn't a pepper for sure, but it had the heat characteristics that go with that taste. Maybe if someone else reviews this cigar, they will have a good way of putting this flavor into text. The flavor lasts long into the finish, so I know people will pick up what I am writing about. The strength of the cigar remained in the mild range all the way to the nub. I never had a single construction problem and the amount of smoke this cigar put off never let up.

My final thoughts on the Torano Loyal? I love the people involved with the company from the top down. They are great business people and great friends. The problem I have had with Torano was my inability to get into any of their products. I am happy to say the Loyal release is a step in the right direction for my liking. Even though I tend to smoke stronger cigars than this one, I still really enjoyed the flavors and the experience. With this, and the other new release shown at IPCPR 2011, I think this could be a big year for Torano Family Cigars.

Would I buy it again? Yes, I will buy this again.

Would I buy a box?  Because I tend to lean towards stronger sticks, I don't think I'd grab a whole box, but if there was a split buy going online, I might jump in it.

Dan