I picked up a bundle of 20 toros from JoeCigar a few days ago, for $20. I've heard good things about these, and figured for $1/stick, can't go wrong. For what it's worth, they're ~$25 on CBid, and $27.50 on CI.
They were on my doorstep yesterday, my wife had a late meeting for work and I was cooking steaks, so I figured it was a good opportunity to burn one. It's getting cold out so I made a small fire, setup my laptop to watch a missed episode of House, and went to work on the cigar.
I made a pretty shallow cut, and was greeted by a bunch of filler bits and pieces. Not a good sign, but not at all unexpected either. Fortunately that stopped after the first few draws and I never had a problem again. The draw was a little tight, but this was fresh off the truck, and I cut the cap in the dark so it may have been a bit TOO shallow. Either way, it wasn't bad enough to re-cut.
The initial flavors were surprisingly good. Very smooth, soft, creamy flavors, maybe a little sweetness. No pepper, no spice, just a lot of toasty, woody, earthy flavors. Plenty of med-full-bodied smoke. It changed a bit after the first third, some spicyness started to creep in while the sweetness faded out a bit. Still very enjoyable.
By the time I got down to the last third, my show was over, the fire was dying down, my steaks were done and my wife was home, so I pitched it. And that's what I love about a $1 smoke.
All in all, I was very impressed. I enjoyed this cigar more than some that cost several times as much, so I'll definitely buy it again.
My rating, on the cigar alone I give it a 3/5, but considering the price I give it a 4.5/5.
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:-) I love them. I got 20 for $1 ea and another 20 on cbid $1.20 ea. They are a sandwitch filler. From Wiki:
Also available is a filler called "sandwich" (sometimes "Cuban sandwich") which is a cigar made by rolling short leaf inside long outer leaf. If a cigar is completely constructed (filler, binder and wrapper) of tobacco from only one country, it is referred to in the cigar industry as a "puro" which in Spanish means "pure". (thanks JBO)
This would explain the small bits of tobacco you got in your mouth. Not quite as good (smooth) as their cousin the Gran Habano #5, but as noted for a buck they are outstanding. I have about 30 or so aging in the coolador.
Suprised you didn't get a bit more spice from a corojo wrapper.
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