Fratello Toro (6 1/4 x 54)

Video review HERE.

(Description take from Cigar-Coop.com website)

Fratello Cigars launched their first release in 2013 called Fratello.  Fratello Cigars is being launched by Omar de Frias who is based out of Northern Virginia.  de Frias is a former professional basketball player and long-time cigar enthusiast. 

In terms of the name Fratello, de Frias explained in a press release, “Fratello, has been my nickname since college, means brother in Italian and embodies the true nature of this industry, camaraderie, family and friendship.”

The blend features tobaccos from three countries.  There is a Peruvian component in the filler. There is Nicaraguan tobacco in the wrapper as well as in the filler.  The binder is Ecuadrian Sumatra.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano

Binder: Ecuadorian Sumatra

Filler: Nicaraguan, Peruvian

Vitolas Available:

Fratello is currently available in four sizes.  Each size will be available in boxes of 20:

Corona: 5 1/2 x 46

Robusto: 5 1/2 x 52

Toro: 6 1/4 x 54 (REVIEWED TODAY)

Timacle: 6 x 60

The cigar has an oily wrapper and is very well made. It has a very dense feel in the hand.

The test draw after cutting the cap was good with a touch of firmness. The initial flavors were tea, leather buttery cream, black coffee, and black pepper rated at a 7 1/2.

Only about 1/2 inch in the flavors changed and settled down. They are now a sweet strawberry-like flavor, buttery cream, light leather, and black coffee. The leather tones down the sweet strawberry flavor and the sweet strawberry tones down the leather. The cigar is medium bodied. The finish is a buttery cream with a little lingering black pepper; not much.

1 1/2 inches in you can tell this will be a long smoke. The flavors are the same but now there is more richness. I attribute the added richness to the butter. 

At the midpoint the leather notes are manageable. The primary flavors of strawberry and butter with black coffee are intact. The cigar is still medium bodied at this point.

With over 2 inches remaining we are well over an hour! Now the strawberry notes have some brown sugar. The leather is light. There is still some buttery notes. The coffee is still at the base. Everything else is about the same.

At the end the brown sugar really kicked in with the strawberry flavor. At times the strawberry seemed to want to morph over to a sweet, tangy orange citrus but it never really did. The leather was very mild at the end. The butter and coffee were still around. The cigar reached medium to full bodied and really wanted to move to full bodied. The finish was influenced by the strawberry notes and had a nice cream flavor with an upgraded lingering black pepper. This cigar got better as it went on. You wound up with some significant power out of this cigar too. Good cigar.

Score: 92