San Cristobal de La Habana El Torreon Review

San Cristobal de La Habana El Torreon Review

San Cristobal de la Habana El Torreon Solo

I have been wanting to write this San Cristobal Torreon Review for quite some time now. I thought this release to be quite unexpected as most of the jar releases (except the Cuaba Distinguidos Reserva del Milieno) have been reserved for the most popular brands in Habanos SA’s portfolio. I thought that was an interesting marketing push for a brand that can use all the love it can get. Let’s take a look at the ceramic jar in this video I made a while back:

The specs:

The San Cristobal de la Habana El Torreon cigar comes in a porcelain Jar of 25 cigars and it was released only to Habano Specialists throughout the world in 2012. There was 2000 jars produced and they contain 25 Geniales 54 x 150 format cigars.

Pre draw:

Right away when you take the Torreon in your hand you smell the pungent aromas from the wrapper. It is quite strong and reminds me of the smell of a fresh rolled custom cigars in Havana. By the way, that is a must try experience for any aficionados. The wrapper is pretty smooth to the touch with little to no veins. The oils that exude from it coats your fingers and really makes you want to light it up even more.

Construction wise, this cigar is uniformly rolled, there aren’t any tight or loose spots. You feel that whoever worked on rolling this cigar knew what he was doing but also took his this to make sure the air channels are built properly.

San Cristobal de la Habana El Torreon Foot

 

At cold:

After an effortless cut, the San Cristobal presents a perfect draw. YES! I have some notes of young tobacco/barnyard taste with a mix of dandelion, freshly cut grass flavors.  This is very interesting.

Time to light the Torreon (translated from Spanish: The Turret).

1st

This cigar starts smoothly. No loud, horn tooting, high horses bang right in the face you get with some cigar. Instead, a slow but very promising start. First thing that strikes me is the sporadic finish. With every puffs, it seems like you get a different length. 1 short, 1 long, 1 barely… This could happen sometimes when your palate is over exposed but I made sure to smoke this the morning (well, almost lunch time) to have a fresh start. This is a light to medium body cigar.

There is definitely some sweet notes in this smoke. I taste honey sweetness with some floral notes at the bottom. There is also some bread/toasts flavors in the mix. It has a razor sharp burn that doesn’t require any attention. The cigar produces a thin smoke but it very enveloping. It coats all the senses you use to enjoy a cigar. This is very nice. Not an overly complex smoke so far but quite satisfying.

San Cristobal de la Habana El Torreon

2nd

Slowly it is creeping up to medium body and you know what, it suits it quite well. The smoke is a lot dryer and less sweet than the first third. The honey notes are gone but are replaced with floral and woody flavors. I would pin the woody notes as white wood like oak. This is an nice evolution. It might not seem like it when you read it but trust me, it is.

Without being overly complex and mind blowing there is something quite satisfying about this cigar. Whether it is a combination of the medium body, the IPA beer and ice cold club soda I am having with this or just my current mindset (post jogging), there is something that is almost blissful. Unlike the first third’s, the burn now requires a couple touch ups as it wants to go sideways.

San Cristobal de la Habana El Torreon 2

The after taste hits the spot every time. Rarely have I been impressed with an after taste like that. It might seem like a petty thing to linger on but au contraire, it is part of the whole tasting experience. That long Bordeaux that keeps giving even when you are finished your glass enjoys the same benefits.

3rd

I can say the San Cristobal Torreon is a solid and quite satisfying smoke. In the last third, it is sitting at medium body with just splendid tobacco notes. There aren’t any specific flavors here and I think this is where all the magic of the aging process will do most of its work. I predict this cigar to be ripe and ready to smoke by 2018-2020. For now, it gives a smooth retro-hale without any astringent notes or harshness. It smokes cool, not over heating.

San Cristobal Torreon Ashtray

This is perfect relaxation material. Sometimes, gustatory experiences are influenced by the setting in which they take place, the people who are sharing it with you, the mindset you are in or even the accompanying beverages but in this case, the cigar was the reason.

Keep your pairing companion to something light. Pick something you know well and like a lot that isn’t too complex. Light scotch, rum, beer, sparkling wines, tea, mineral water are all great choices in my opinion.

I give it a 9/10

This cigar was purchased here

http://lacasadelhabanomontreal.com

Leave a comment

2 Comments

  1. Where can I buy some ? San Cristobal Torreón like the ones on the video

Send a Comment

Your email address will not be published.