Carlos Toraño 'Noventa Santiago' Robusto. 5x50. Nice construction with mostly straight lines, smooth wrap, subdued veins. Medium brown wrap with faint dark shades. Excellent cut and light. Medium draw pre-light, a little easier down the burn.

First half tastes of cured leaf, herbal spice, bitter nutty back end. Second half tastes roasty, hard wood, raw almond. Medium body. Aroma is dark, botanical notes. Mostly even burn throughout. Ash is clean with some dark spots, holding at over an inch.

This is a nice cigar, well crafted with a mild to medium taste that is fairly consistent once past the foot. There's a nutty taste throughout that has a slight spice at the front and a mild bitter toward the end. The cigar as a whole is rich and herbal, with a smooth draw that follows to the band. Very good stuff. Well recommended.

From the company:

"Toraño…the name has been synonymous with premium cigars for just about a century. Charlie Torano, the man at the helm of this steamboat of delicious handmade goodness, is a fourth generation in the tobacco industry who has inherited a passion for the leaf, and lucky for us, he retains the knowledge and wisdom of his four fathers. At hand today, the culmination of years of tireless study in the fields, and hours of meticulous blending strategies. Enter, Toraño Noventa. The Noventa was carefully crafted to celebrate the Torano family’s 90 years of tobacco growing and cigar-making. A Nicaraguan puro, the Noventa is expertly blended using a vintage mixture of premium, 5-year-old Nicaraguan long-leaf tobaccos from four growing regions, wrapped in a thick and oily Habano Nicaraguan leaf. Aged further after rolling, the Noventa achieves a rich and robust smoking experience that’s smooth and perfectly balanced. A luxurious medium-bodied super-premium from the Toraño family."

[source: cigarsinternational.com]

Carlos Toraño 'Brigade' Robusto. 5x52. Light brown wrap with some slightly darker shades. Good construction, nice lines, smoothed veins. Poor cut with an uneven fill at the crown. Good light. Draw was medium pre- and post-flame. Even burn across. Ash was clean and even, holding nearly two inches with ease.

First half taste was mild tobacco with some spice on the exhale. Notes of light wood, semi-bitter leaf. Second half was dry leaf, walnut, mild herb.

This is a good cigar, with a consistent taste and draw. Nice even burn and clean aftertaste round out this reliable smoke. Not outstanding but still quite good. Recommended.

From the company:

"Made with a premium quality Ecuador wrapper and rich Nicaraguan filler, the Brigade smokes likes a super premium blend at a value price. The flavor is complex, with good spice and aroma. The Brigade is a hearty smoke which can be enjoyed at all times and in all settings. This robust and dependable cigar will consistently deliver an enjoyable smoking experience."
[source: torano.com]

Carlos Toraño 'The Brick' Robusto. 5.5x60. Excellent build. Even shading on the wrap. Nice cut and light. Good draw pre- and post-light. Mostly even burn across the stick. Creamy Sumatra wrap. Long-leaf Honduran blended fill. Ash held a good two inches before the drop. Box pressed tight without sacrificing that wonderful draw. Mild coffee notes on the intake, nutty aftertaste.

I often gravitate toward value smokes, and this is one of the better ones. This is one of those cheap cigars, made by a top brand, that would easily fool most aficionados in a blind tasting. Recommended.

From the company:

"Hand rolled from premium well aged long leaf Honduran filler, wrapped with a Honduran binder and then rolled in a delicious Sumatra wrapper. Designed for maximum flavor The Brick offers you a delicious medium bodied smoke. After being hand made these beauties are then box pressed, Cuban style, giving you one great smoking experience."

[from bonitassmokeshop.com]

Carlos Toraño 'Loyal' Churchill. 7x47. Nice build with straight lines, some pronounced veins, and a mostly smooth surface. Wrap is cocoa with dark shades. Cut was poor but not a deal breaker. Light was good, roasted foot in just a few passes. Medium draw pre-light. Draw improved quickly after burn. Initial taste is peppery, spicy, nutty. Shortly after, the first half is woodsy, earthy, some spice on the back end. Exhale taste is mild nutty, mild herbal. Second half is more nutty, almond, wood. Medium body. Ash was clean, light gray, dropped promptly at an inch.

This is a good cigar that starts aggressive but soon becomes a mild almost creamy smoke that finishes with consistency to the band. Nice evening relaxation stick. Recommended.

From the company:

"For decades, the Toraño family has remained loyal to the philosophy of providing outstanding cigars at an affordable price. Loyal provides value, quality, consistency, and most importantly, an abundance of flavor. The Loyal blend features filler from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, combined with a Nicaraguan binder and dressed in an oily Ecuadorian Sumatra seed wrapper. Loyal is a solid, medium bodied smoke, that intrigues the palate with a spicy, peppery start and then transitions to a variety of rich flavors with notes of coffee and brown sugar."

I smoked this Toraño Loyal outside with some chocolate chai tea. 

Carlos Toraño 'Master' Churchill. 7x50. Ecuadorian Habano wrap, all Nicaraguan fill and bind. Cut and lit well, keeping an even burn with little effort. Medium draw, you kinda have to work it. Excellent construction, smooth wrap, dark marbled color. Spotty ash that clings well, near two inches. Taste of spice on the draw, black pepper on the exhale. An excellent bold cigar that rivals many Maduros.

From the company:

"A perfect collaboration creates a new premium Cigar. Charlie Toraño, at the helm of a fourth generation family cigar company, and Felipe Sosa, one of the world’s finest master cigar rollers, invite you to enjoy this unique blend.

Determining the final blend for Master was a long and experimental journey. With two passionate tobacco experts working side by side, only the very best blend would suffice and ultimately be worthy of the name 'Master.' "