Cigar Review: Kuuts Nicaraguan Blend Toro

This summer, Kuuts launched Nicaraguan Blend. The new line is likely a response to the popularity of Nicaraguan tobacco, and yet another example of a non-Nicaraguan brand introducing a Nicaraguan-themed cigar.

Kuuts Nicaraguan Blend started shipping to retailers only recently. It sells in the affordable $5-7 range, and is available in 5 formats: Momentos (4 x 48), Pequeño (4.5 x 58), Robusto (5 x 52), Gordo Especial (7 x 60), and Toro (6 x 52). The blend recipe calls for Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos surrounded by an Ecuadorian wrapper. It is marketed as a “solid, medium-bodied cigar.”

Like the other Kuuts brands—including Miró, Placeres Reserva, and Tabacalera Zapata—the Nicaraguan Blend is made at the Compañia Hondureña de Tabacos (CHT) factory in Jacaleapa, Honduras. “Although the Danlí region is the source for a large percentage of the cigars manufactured for worldwide distribution, we have the advantage of owning and operating our own factory,” reads the Kuuts website. “Our factory [can produce] over 6 million cigars a year. With 98 pairs of rollers working in a family atmosphere, CHT has the ability to keep all aspects of the manufacturing process under one roof.”

The Nicaraguan Blend Toro has a light brown, almost pale exterior with little tooth or oils. It’s firm to the touch with a neat cap and an interesting band of black and metallic orange. The pre-light notes are subtle and sweet, and the cold draw is firm.

After setting an even light, I find the initial profile to be light, creamy, and characterized by sweet bready notes with some roasted nuts. The texture is smooth and the body is medium to medium-mild. Then, after the first inch, the Toro begins to taste a little more like what I’d expect from a Nicaraguan-heavy blend: black pepper spice, dry wood, and a bit more overall strength.

Still, even into the final third, the strength remains low and the body doesn’t seem to increase beyond medium. Late-arriving flavors include cinnamon and more sweet cream. All the while the burn line stays true and the gray ash holds well. The draw is a little tight for my liking and the smoke production is slightly below average.

Kuuts has a bigger footprint in Europe, where (generally speaking) the Cuban-esque profile reigns supreme. Perhaps that helps account for why the Nicaraguan Blend tastes so non-Nicaraguan (at least to me). The name of the cigar aside, the Nicaraguan Blend Toro is a nice smoke with balanced, subdued flavors that will strike a chord with less-frequent smokers, as well as experienced cigar fans who seek a morning complement to a cup of coffee. I award it three stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys