Cigar Review: Añoranzas Toro

The Spanish word “añoranza” loosely translates to nostalgia, or a yearning for days gone. So you’d expect a cigar line called Añoranzas to have classic flavors and a traditional look.

The Miami Cigar & Co. website calls Añoranzas “a soft, box-pressed beauty” that provides “a look into the cigars of yesteryear with the profile and body that today’s discerning cigar smoker wants and expects from a premium cigar.” Añoranzas is “nostalgic in name, but modern in delivery.” To me, that sounds like Miami Cigar is promoting this line as contemporary in taste but old-school in packaging. Truthfully, though, I couldn’t much care what the marketing department wants me to think about Añoranzas; I’m interested in how the tobacco performs.

That tobacco, by the way, is all Nicaraguan, including dual binders and a dark Habano Oscuro wrapper. The blend, launched in 2012, is said to be a tweaked version of the Nestor Miranda Grand Reserve 2011, and the cigars are crafted in Estelí by My Father Cigars. Four sizes are available in what many consider to be Miami Cigar’s boldest blend: Robusto (5 x 50), Toro (6 x 52), Belicoso (6.5 x 54), and Gran Toro (6 x 60).

The list price on the Toro seems to be $7.50, but I believe some retailers are selling it for as little as $5 or less, especially when bought by the 20-pack. Its surface has almost invisible seams and only the thinnest of veins. The cap was applied with care, and the foot shows a cross-section of tightly packed tobaccos. The cold draw has only the slightest resistance.

Once lit, pre-light notes of sweet milk chocolate transition to a rich, full-bodied profile of espresso, dry wood, cocoa, and black pepper. A char-like spice is concentrated on the tip of the tongue, and that char lingers throughout the long aftertaste (this trait, by the way, is one reason I consider this blend such a solid complement to an after-dinner glass of sipping rum).

Throughout, hints of red pepper, cashew, chocolate, and earth come and go, making this an exceptionally tasty and complex cigar—and one that rewards those who take their time between puffs and smoke through the nose. From light to nub construction is also admirable, including a smooth draw, good smoke production, and a sturdy white ash. The burn line may require a touch-up or two along the way, but combustion is certainly not problematic.

So far as I can tell, Miami Cigar is essentially selling the Nestor Miranda Grand Reserve 2011—a cigar, mind you, that was a good buy north of $10—at a significant discount and under a different name. That’s a win in my book. This should definitely be on your radar as a box-worthy full-bodied cigar that’s consistent, complex, and downright delicious. The Añoranzas Toro earns four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys