Veritas Cigar Company – Torch Habano

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A few weeks back, Veritas Cigar Company contacted the Casas Fumando crew to see if we would be interested in reviewing a cigar they released at the 2013 IPCPR Trade Show. Without hesitation, we agreed. So today, I bring to you a review of the Veritas Torch Habano.

George Edmonson of stogieguys.com sat down with John Staurulakis, the national sales director for Veritas Cigar Co., at the 2013 IPCPR Trade Show. George posted a commentary back in August on their site with this to say on the meeting:

Another new contact was John Staurulakis of Veritas Cigar Co., a Wilmington-based firm that was introducing three blends at this year’s show. No one talked with more zeal about their cigars than John, the company’s national director of sales. He eagerly handed me one to smoke while we talked.

Sitting at the booth, John explained what the company had been up to in the past year. The first thing they did was decide to drop the cigars they had been offering, he said. “We spent the last year blending three new blends to debut here.”

When they got what they wanted, their new Torch line was born. Offered in five sizes, the cigar comes in three variations.

John laid out the details: One sports a sun-grown Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and Nicaraguan filler from Jalapa and Ometepe; another features an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper over an Indonesian binder around Jalapa filler; and the Ecuadorian Habano maduro wrapper on the third is matched with a Nicaraguan Habano binder and Nicaraguan filler from Jalapa and Estelí.

The band shows multiple fists in the air clutching cigars in front of a city skyline. A clenched fist has been symbolic of resistance, as well as unity, for quite some time. Dating back to the early twentieth century, the symbol has been used in all types of movements from revolutions to Occupy Wall Street. With our current state of affairs, especially in the cigar industry, I would say the clenched fist is an appropriate symbol to be used on a cigar band.

The Facts
Samples Provided by Veritas Cigars
Price: Unknown
Vitola: Robusto
Size: 5 by 50
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan (Jalapa & Ometepe)
Drink: Water
Smoke Time: 1 Hour

Pre-light

The look of the Torch is right on beginning with a shaggy foot and ending in a pigtailed cap. Something about both these items change the feel of the cigar for me and add a few extra points to this stick already. The cigar is packed firmly and I do not encounter any soft spots. The aroma is fairly mild off the wrapper, giving off notes of sweet barnyard and cedar.

One small section of the foot is exposed and I am picking up some raisin notes, but mainly the same aroma I get off the wrapper. The pigtailed cap is done up nicely and its a shame that I have to clip it so soon. The cold draw is on the firm side showing off a beautiful rich cedar and a cinnamon spice that is leaving behind a warmth in my mouth.

First Third

Right off the bat, the Veritas Torch Habano has a sour, metallic-like quality and the draw remains firm once lit. However, the firm draw does not seem to be hindering the smoke production, but may be taking away from the flavors. In less than an inch, the draw has opened up, the sour quality is no longer an issue, and a ton of black pepper spice has arrived. The finish of the smoke is satisfying with a deep, dark coffee flavor and cocoa. If you are a coffee lover, you will really enjoy the finish of this stick. A dark grey ash is forming that is tracking my puffs by the number of layers that can be easily seen. The burn line is right in-line. The flavors are full but I am not feeling a nicotine kick at this point of the Torch Habano.

Middle Third

The black pepper has lessened in its intensity, especially on the retrohale. At this point, I could retrohale the smoke all day long. The cedar, woodsy quality is still in the make-up of the profile with an additional oaky flavor. The coffee finish continues to deepen and has become much more earthy. There is just a small amount of sweetness, maybe the cocoa I was getting earlier, that is bringing a nice balance to the flavors. Nothing to report on with the burn, and the ash has become a bit flaky. 

Final Third

As I burn down into the last inch and a half of the stick, the flavors have become much richer and the sweetness has stepped up its game. The sweetness is more of a sugar sweetness rather than the earlier cocoa. My mouth is feeling some heat but it seems to me more of a spice warmth than an actual heat from the smoke. A small crack has formed on the thin Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. At the close of the Torch, I am feeling just the slightest nicotine kick.

Wrap-up

To my surprise, this was a cigar I found myself enjoying. The Torch offered a spicy profile on a backdrop of cedar with a wonderful long coffee and cocoa finish. The performance was to par and I experienced no major issues.  The minor cracking in the final third did not take away from the cigar and the metallic-quality was quickly resolved after the first inch. It is important to note, I found the metallic quality more prevalent throughout the other sample I smoked. The Veritas Torch Habano is a solid smoke that I would recommend you give a shot. And lastly, a huge “Thanks” to Veritas Cigar Company for providing the samples.