Carlos Torano Exodus 1959 Gold Redux Review

[HeavyMetal-cr]

2005 Carlos Torano Exodus 1959 Gold Perfecto 5.75 x 50

Wrapper: Habano 2000
Binder:Honduran
Fillerominican, Honduran, Mexican, Nicaraguan and Costa Rican

Storage: Around 72%RH & 72F (smoked fresh at local shop)

Construction: Very nice oily colorado maduro fine grained wrapper with faint veining. The wrapper is leathery, but not as thick as the H2000 from a few years back. A solidly rolled box-pressed perfecto with not soft spots. Clipped very clean.

Prelight: Aroma is earth, dark roast coffee, oily wood, cocoa, leather. Flavor is primarily Nic but with hints of the other tobaccos: earthy, nutty, dark tobacco with a hint of toast, cedar and black pepper. Draw is medium.

Burn: Fairly sharp, needed a few corrections, likely due to smoking fresh at the high shop RH. Off-white solid ash.

Drink: Iced tea.

Smoking Notes: Initial impression is primarily Nic: very earthy dark tobacco with some dark coffee, cocoa, leather and cedar overtones. An interesting back cherry or berry-like sweetness and some lite peppery notes appear on the finish. The smoke is very thick, soft and oily. By 1/3 the cigar has really pumped up the dark Nic notes of deep cocoa, espresso and leather around a core of rich earthy and nutty tobacco. The berry-like sweetness with the peppery overtones on the finish have become quite prominent as they will remain for the rest of the smoke. Halfway the smoke switches to a more Dominican/Costa Rican profile turning quite toasty and cedary. The cedar notes are especially aromatic like fresh-cut American cedar. The darker Nic, Mexican, and Honduran flavors remain as undertones. By 2/3 the smoke shifts back to the darker notes with the really dark tobacco notes of leather, cocoa and earth being especially noted. A solid 1.5 hour smoke.

Overall Impression: I tried these when they first came out, but couldn’t get past the odd acrid notes and poor burn of the overly thick H2000 wrapper at that time. I can only guess that Torano has vastly improved the strain, retaining the characteristic sweet berry notes while eliminating the negatives. The blend is likewise superb, capturing the best of each country and melding them into a quite complex and captivating full-flavored, medium-strength smoke that should age very well. I rate it a solid A. Thanks to Patrick and others for convincing me to take another look.

[KevinG]

I just smoked this one two nights ago and couldn't agree with you more HeavyMetal.