Cigar Review: Black Label Trading Company Salvation Toro

Once again I will be eating my words at the beginning of this review. When I reviewed the Swag Black, I laughed at the name—until I realized it’s actually a solid cigar. Well, with the Black Label Trading Company Salvation I did the same thing.

When my cigar shop ordered these, we were sent decals and patches with the Black Label logo, and I couldn’t help thinking they were trying to appeal to a hard-rock/biker group of smokers. Which, to clarify, is not a bad thing. I just don’t like gimmicky marketing. So, anyway, I began working my way through the six different lines in Black Label’s portfolio, and each time I had to admit to myself I should not have written these off based on appearance.

Today, I’d like to talk specifically about the Black Label Trading Company Salvation Toro. Toros are not a size I traditionally enjoy, but with all the fantastic box-pressed Toros that have been released this year, I find the vitola growing on me, in both the box-pressed and standard parejo formats.

The Salvation Toro features a beautiful, reddish-brown Ecuadorian sun-grown Habano wrapper, tightly rolled around a Honduras binder with Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Nothing matches the aesthetic appeal of a sun-grown wrapper to me. This cigar has a slight oil to it with a nice natural sheen that makes it catch your eye.

I smoked three Toros for this review. I cut two with my standard guillotine cutter, and V-cut another. I did not notice a difference from either cutting method; both produced a nice amount of smoke on an easy, slightly tight draw. In terms of consistency, I did notice that the third cigar got harsh in the last third, which did not happen in the other smokes. But I am not sure if this was the fault of the cigar, the lighter, the storage, or some other variable.

The flavor from cigar to cigar was consistent—an attribute I expect from a $10 stick. There is nothing worse than loving a single, picking up a five-pack, and being disappointed by the rest.

The flavor starts off as a solid, medium-bodied, leathery experience, with the nice light earth and natural tobacco flavors that sun-grown wrappers normally carry. As the cigar develops, it gains a unique, pleasant herbal spice on the retrohale, almost like an Italian spice mix. It’s a really cool taste that becomes the forefront for the second half of the smoking experience. As the cigar finishes, a lot of the leather comes back, and the body and flavor step up to medium- to full-bodied for the final inch or so.

This is a very enjoyable cigar, and would serve as a great introduction to the Black Label Trading Company. Like all Black Label products—including Redeption—only 1,000 boxes of Salvation are being produced. So, while they certainly are not as rare as some smokes, they are not available everywhere. If you do find one, be sure to pick this stick up. You’ll find a unique, albeit non-complex, flavor at a $10 price point that stands up to most of its competition. Overall, this cigar scores four stogies out of five.

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

–Joey J

photo credit: Stogie Guys