JC Newman

October 13, 2012

Torano Salutem Robusto Extra (5 x 52)







Video review HERE.



Salutem is one of the new releases by Torano from this year's IPCPR. Salutem is packaged in a unique 12 count box. The cigar is dressed in a beautiful Habano Ecuador wrapper, complemented by a binder from Jalapa, Nicaragua and completed with filler tobacco from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Cameroon. While ToraƱo blends have featured tobacco from Cameroon in the past, this is the first time Cameroon has been a component of the filler, giving Salutem a distinctive, rich cocoa flavor

Salutem is actually a Latin term used when extending a friendly greeting.

The cigar is a beautiful dark brown and well made. It has a very nice density.





The test draw after cutting the cap was effortless. The initial flavors at light up were a sweet, peppery cedar. The black pepper at light up was a solid 8! Very intense. There were underlying notes of orange citrus. 








About 3/4 inch in the flavors stack up like this; rich, sweet cedar, cocoa, and the pepper has toned down a bit to a 6. The finish is a sweet cream with some lingering pepper. The cigar is medium bodied at this point. The citrus notes  have disappeared. I really like the rich cedar notes and they combine very well with the cocoa.







At about the midpoint there are notes of cream on the cedar. They add quite a bit to the rich cedar and cocoa notes.  The pepper remains the same as well as the finish.






This cigar remained very consistent from the midpoint on. The richness in the cedar with the light cream notes were very enjoyable. The pepper was still a 6 out of 10 at the end. The finish remained pretty much one of a sweet cream but close to the end it was a toasted cream in flavor with a little lingering pepper. This is a good addition to the Torano lineup. They should be on shelves now. Give them a try!

Score: 92

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