MEGA Review: Carlos Torano Reserva Selecta Torpedo

[buzz]

About the cigar:

Brand: ...... Carlos Torano ........... Color: ...... Natural
Name: ....... Reserva Selecta ......... Wrapper: .... Connecticut Shade
Country: .... Nicaragua ............... Binder: ..... Indonesian
Type: ....... Torpedo ................. Filler: ..... Dominican Republic, Honduras & Nicaragua
Size: ....... 6.25x52 ................. Price: ...... $6.29
Strength: ... Mild-Medium ............. Website: .... http://www.torano.com

Information from Camino Viejo Tabacos:
Rated a 90 by Cigar Aficionado, the Carlos Torano Reserva Selecta is a mild to medium bodied cigar with notes of sweet cream and cedar. Each cigar is individually wrapped in a cedar sheet and encased in a crystal tube to preserve freshness. The tobacco used in manufacturing is aged 3 to 5 years making this one of the best cigars ever to come out of the Carlos Torano factory.

[buzz]

| GENERAL:... | .Experience. | Date Smoked | .Where Smoked. | Duration | ..Smoked.. |
| Abyr....... | Newbie...... | Oct 12..... | Home.......... | 1 hour.. | Nubbed it. |
| ashauler... | Newbie...... | Oct 9...... | Garage........ | 1.5 hrs. | Most of it |
| badwhale... | Amateur..... | Oct 7...... | Basement...... | 1 hour.. | Most of it |
| buzz....... | Newbie...... | Oct 11..... | Neighborhood.. | 1.25 hrs | Nubbed it. |
| Daigz...... | Newbie...... | Oct 20..... | Porch......... | 1.25 hrs | Most of it |
| EGQ........ | Been around. | Oct 12..... | Car........... | 1.25 hrs | Most of it |
| Eville..... | Newbie...... | Oct 8...... | Lot........... | 45 mins. | Most of it |
| heftysmokes | Amateur..... | Oct 7...... | Back patio.... | 30 mins. | Half of it |
| Irish79.... | Newbie...... | Oct 7...... | Garage........ | 1.25 hrs | Piped it.. |
| Mangyrat... | Amateur..... | ........... | .............. | 1.25 hrs | Nubbed it. |
| Mizicke5273 | Amateur..... | Oct 1...... | Back deck..... | 1.25 hrs | Most of it |
| MrPlatypus. | Newbie...... | Oct 11..... | Outside....... | 1.5 hrs. | Nubbed it. |
| Tdre977.... | Newbie...... | Sept 29.... | Living room... | 1.5 hrs. | Nubbed it. |

| OTHER INFO: | .......Food...... | .........Drink........ | ........Music........ |
| Abyr....... | N/A.............. | N/A................... | The Simpsons......... |
| ashauler... | N/A.............. | Water................. | Radio................ |
| badwhale... | N/A.............. | Flying Dog Wheat Hefe. | N/A.................. |
| buzz....... | Chicken Fajitas.. | Leinenkugel........... | The wifey............ |
| Daigz...... | Burger from grill | Rogue Dead Guy Ale.... | N/A.................. |
| EGQ........ | N/A.............. | Water................. | N/A.................. |
| Eville..... | N/A.............. | Sam Adams Winter...... | Yes.................. |
| heftysmokes | N/A.............. | Water................. | N/A.................. |
| Irish79.... | N/A.............. | Black Tiger coffee.... | Pandora DBT station.. |
| Mangyrat... | N/A.............. | Water................. | N/A.................. |
| Mizicke5273 | N/A.............. | Diet Coke & Johnnie... | Terminator........... |
| MrPlatypus. | Veg. Spaghetti... | Water................. | Alan Parsons Project. |
| Tdre977.... | N/A.............. | Water................. | N/A.................. |

MISCELLANEOUS:

badwhale: I've lost track of what I'm supposed to be smoking, so here comes this one! Nice straight up Conn shade wrapper with good construction.

buzz: Went on a nice stroll around the neighborhood with the wifey, talking about life.

Daigz: Reading a Golf Digest.

Mizicke5273: Cool night, ~60 degrees out.

MrPlatypus: Start 7:11 PM End 8:49PM.

[buzz]

| APPEARANCE:... | Poor. | Fair. | Good. | Outstanding | Perfect |
| Abyr.......... | ..... | ..... | ..... | .....X..... | ....... |
| ashauler...... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ........... | ....... |
| badwhale...... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ........... | ....... |
| buzz.......... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ........... | ....... |
| Daigz......... | ..... | ..... | ..... | .....X..... | ....... |
| EGQ........... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ........... | ....... |
| Eville........ | ..... | ..... | ..... | .....X..... | ....... |
| heftysmokes... | ..... | ..... | ..... | .....X..... | ....... |
| Irish79....... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ........... | ....... |
| Mangyrat...... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ........... | ....... |
| Mizicke5273... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ........... | ....... |
| MrPlatypus.... | ..... | ..... | ..... | .....X..... | ....... |
| Tdre977....... | ..... | ..... | ..... | .....X..... | ....... |

| CONSTRUCTION:. | Poor. | Fair. | Good. | Outstanding | Perfect |
| Abyr.......... | ..... | ..... | ..... | .....X..... | ....... |
| ashauler...... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ........... | ....... |
| badwhale...... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ........... | ....... |
| buzz.......... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ........... | ....... |
| Daigz......... | ..... | ..... | ..... | .....X..... | ....... |
| EGQ........... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ........... | ....... |
| Eville........ | ..... | ..... | ..... | .....X..... | ....... |
| heftysmokes... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ........... | ....... |
| Irish79....... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ........... | ....... |
| Mangyrat...... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ........... | ....... |
| Mizicke5273... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ........... | ....... |
| MrPlatypus.... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ........... | ....... |
| Tdre977....... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ........... | ....... |

| BURN:......... | Very Uneven | Uneven. | Even. | Perfect |
| Abyr.......... | ........... | ...X... | ..... | ....... |
| ashauler...... | ........... | ....... | ..X.. | ....... |
| badwhale...... | .....X..... | ....... | ..... | ....... |
| buzz.......... | ........... | ....... | ..X.. | ....... |
| Daigz......... | ........... | ....... | ..X.. | ....... |
| EGQ........... | ........... | ....... | ..X.. | ....... |
| Eville........ | ........... | ....... | ..X.. | ....... |
| heftysmokes... | ........... | ....... | ..X.. | ....... |
| Irish79....... | ........... | ....... | ..X.. | ....... |
| Mangyrat...... | ........... | ....... | ..X.. | ....... |
| Mizicke5273... | ........... | ....... | ..... | ...X... |
| MrPlatypus.... | ........... | ....... | ..X.. | ....... |
| Tdre977....... | ........... | ....... | ..... | ...X... |

| DRAW:......... | Too Easy. | Easy. | Perfect | Tight | Too Tight |
| Abyr.......... | ......... | ..... | ...X... | ..... | ......... |
| ashauler...... | ......... | ..... | ...X... | ..... | ......... |
| badwhale...... | ......... | ..... | ...X... | ..... | ......... |
| buzz.......... | ......... | ..... | ...X... | ..... | ......... |
| Daigz......... | ......... | ..... | ....... | ..X.. | ......... |
| EGQ........... | ......... | ..... | ...X... | ..... | ......... |
| Eville........ | ......... | ..... | ...X... | ..... | ......... |
| heftysmokes... | ......... | ..... | ....... | ..X.. | ......... |
| Irish79....... | ......... | ..... | ...X... | ..... | ......... |
| Mangyrat...... | ......... | ..... | ...X... | ..... | ......... |
| Mizicke5273... | ......... | ..X.. | ....... | ..... | ......... |
| MrPlatypus.... | ......... | ..... | ...X... | ..... | ......... |
| Tdre977....... | ......... | ..... | ...X... | ..... | ......... |

[buzz]

| ASH COLOR:.... | Black | Dark Gray | Gray. | Light Gray. | White |
| Abyr.......... | ..... | ......... | ..... | .....X..... | ..... |
| ashauler...... | ..... | ......... | ..... | .....X..... | ..... |
| badwhale...... | ..... | ......... | ..... | ........... | ..X.. |
| buzz.......... | ..... | ......... | ..... | .....X..... | ..... |
| Daigz......... | ..... | ......... | ..... | .....X..... | ..... |
| EGQ........... | ..... | ......... | ..... | .....X..... | ..... |
| Eville........ | ..... | ......... | ..... | .....X..... | ..... |
| heftysmokes... | ..... | ....X.... | ..... | ........... | ..... |
| Irish79....... | ..... | ......... | ..... | .....X..... | ..... |
| Mangyrat...... | ..... | ......... | ..X.. | ........... | ..... |
| Mizicke5273... | ..... | ......... | ..X.. | ........... | ..... |
| MrPlatypus.... | ..... | ......... | ..X.. | ........... | ..... |
| Tdre977....... | ..... | ......... | ..... | .....X..... | ..... |

| ASH STRUCTURE: | Flaky | Typical | Solid |
| Abyr.......... | ..X.. | ....... | ..... |
| ashauler...... | ..... | ...X... | ..... |
| badwhale...... | ..... | ...X... | ..... |
| buzz.......... | ..... | ....... | ..X.. |
| Daigz......... | ..... | ....... | ..X.. |
| EGQ........... | ..... | ....... | ..X.. |
| Eville........ | ..... | ....... | ..X.. |
| heftysmokes... | ..... | ...X... | ..... |
| Irish79....... | ..... | ...X... | ..... |
| Mangyrat...... | ..... | ...X... | ..... |
| Mizicke5273... | ..... | ....... | ..X.. |
| MrPlatypus.... | ..... | ...X... | ..... |
| Tdre977....... | ..... | ....... | ..X.. |

| ASH LENGTH:... | <1 inch | 1 inch. | 1-1/2 inch. | 2 inch. | >2 inch |
| Abyr.......... | ...X... | ....... | ........... | ....... | ....... |
| ashauler...... | ....... | ....... | .....X..... | ....... | ....... |
| badwhale...... | ...X... | ....... | ........... | ....... | ....... |
| buzz.......... | ....... | ...X... | ........... | ....... | ....... |
| Daigz......... | ....... | ...X... | ........... | ....... | ....... |
| EGQ........... | ....... | ...X... | ........... | ....... | ....... |
| Eville........ | ....... | ...X... | ........... | ....... | ....... |
| heftysmokes... | ....... | ...X... | ........... | ....... | ....... |
| Irish79....... | ....... | ....... | .....X..... | ....... | ....... |
| Mangyrat...... | ...X... | ....... | ........... | ....... | ....... |
| Mizicke5273... | ....... | ...X... | ........... | ....... | ....... |
| MrPlatypus.... | ....... | ...X... | ........... | ....... | ....... |
| Tdre977....... | ....... | ...X... | ........... | ....... | ....... |

| AROMA:........ | Horrid. | Poor. | Fair. | Good. | Great |
| Abyr.......... | ....... | ..... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. |
| ashauler...... | ....... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ..... |
| badwhale...... | ....... | ..... | ..X.. | ..... | ..... |
| buzz.......... | ....... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ..... |
| Daigz......... | ....... | ..... | ..X.. | ..... | ..... |
| EGQ........... | ....... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ..... |
| Eville........ | ....... | ..... | ..X.. | ..... | ..... |
| heftysmokes... | ...X... | ..... | ..... | ..... | ..... |
| Irish79....... | ....... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ..... |
| Mangyrat...... | ....... | ..... | ..X.. | ..... | ..... |
| Mizicke5273... | ....... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ..... |
| MrPlatypus.... | ....... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ..... |
| Tdre977....... | ....... | ..... | ..... | ..X.. | ..... |

| STRENGTH:..... | Mild. | Mild-Med. | Medium. | Med-Full. | Full. |
| Abyr.......... | ..... | ......... | ...X... | ......... | ..... |
| ashauler...... | ..X.. | ......... | ....... | ......... | ..... |
| badwhale...... | ..X.. | ......... | ....... | ......... | ..... |
| buzz.......... | ..X.. | ......... | ....... | ......... | ..... |
| Daigz......... | ..X.. | ......... | ....... | ......... | ..... |
| EGQ........... | ..X.. | ......... | ....... | ......... | ..... |
| Eville........ | ..... | ......... | ...X... | ......... | ..... |
| heftysmokes... | ..... | ....X.... | ....... | ......... | ..... |
| Irish79....... | ..X.. | ......... | ....... | ......... | ..... |
| Mangyrat...... | ..... | ....X.... | ....... | ......... | ..... |
| Mizicke5273... | ..... | ......... | ...X... | ......... | ..... |
| MrPlatypus.... | ..... | ....X.... | ....... | ......... | ..... |
| Tdre977....... | ..... | ....X.... | ....... | ......... | ..... |

[buzz]

prelight taste:

abyr: great tobacco flavor, with some undertones of spice.

ashauler: not much at all on the cold draw.

buzz: not much, a little hay maybe.

daigz: slightly acrid taste on pre-light.

egq: a little sweet, a little cedar.

heftysmokes: a bit on the salty side, nothing jumps out.

irish79: creamy.

mangyrat: grass and tobacco.

mizicke5273: floral-grassy taste? Not sure to be honest.

mrplatypus: not much there.

tdre977: my first smoke in a glass tube, how fancy!

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taste (1/3):

abyr: smooth, medium bodied, good tobacco flavor.

ashauler: pretty bland and non-descript tobacco flavor to me. Gives me a "dry" impression. Lots of smoke with this though.

badwhale: light body with a tannic flavor to it. A little bit of leather, oil. There's a musty aspect too. I hope this changes flavor profile, cause it ain't my bag right now...

buzz: mild for sure and not much taste, a little sweet on the finish.

daigz: very mild taste, some creaminess but nothing outstanding.

egq: a bit sweet, some hints of spice.

eville: not a big fan of connecticut wrappers and this doesn't seem to be an exception. Too bitter for my tastes. As far as actual flavors go, i'd say... Cedarish?

heftysmokes: i'm giving this thing 15 minutes to improve. Haven't had anything in my mouth this bad since we went to my sister in laws for dinner.

irish79: smooth & light bodied. A little of spice now and then. Lots of smoke. But this smoke is pretty mild.

mangyrat: started out on the milder side with a not much defined taste.

mizicke5273: there was a slight split at the foot, nothing serious and was uneventful. At the start i picked up a musky-woody taste. This is a very light and mellow smoke, not strong at all. A slight nutty flavor began to appear.

mrplatypus: just a smooth opening. Good mouth feel, smooth retrohale, and pleasant. Nothing noticeable flavor wise that i could pick out, but good smoke.

tdre977: mild, with some cedar notes, creamy.

-------------------------------------------------------------

taste (2/3):

abyr: more of the same.

ashauler: 'bout the same... Not very interesting and pretty one dimensional. Creamy smoke, and lots of it.

badwhale: uneventful. Light body, kinda bland outside of the musty, oily, tannic flavors.

buzz: more of the same, mild and slightly sweet. Not a bad taste, just kind of boring.

daigz: woodsy taste but real mild flavors, lots of smoke, just very bland taste.

egq: more of the same.

eville: again, not diggin the connecticut. More straw-y notes.

heftysmokes: nope... In the trash can. I might not be a good judge of flavors and tendencies, but i like to think i know good from bad... This was bad.

mangyrat: starting to get much better for some reason i think of roasting peanuts when i was smoking this one so i’ll say it had a hint of nutty flavor.

mizicke5273: still mellow and smooth. The flavors are not very robust. No change, the nutty-toasty flavor is still there and smooth.

mrplatypus: still smooth. It doesn't have any flavors i can pick out, but it's just smooth smoke. Can't say it's got cedar, or spice, or floral, but it's still really tasty.

tdre977: picked up in strength a bit, nice spice taste in the back of my mouth.

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taste (3/3):

abyr: a little stronger than earlier, but still a medium, and still very smooth.

ashauler: got bitter towards the end. Purging had to be done regularly. Not my preferred profile for sure.

badwhale: more purging. More oil. Some ash flavor now. I'd go as far as to say this is on the harsh end. I'm not enjoying it. Now i know how everyone felt that got 2 kinky friedmans...

buzz: maybe just a little hint of spice in there, but not much. Got bitter at the end.

daigz: built up a little flavor on the last third, picked up a bit of spice too.

egq: more of the same.

eville: i can't tell much of a difference between this and a sol cubano. Kind of a bitter toastiness.

mangyrat: it finished up much better than it started out with a mild spice.

mizicke5273: no change at all. The ash is very solid even to the end.

mrplatypus: started to get sharp, but good none the less. Can't think of any serious complaints on this smoke.

tdre977: toasty and nice, really liked the last 1/3rd. Stayed smooth through the whole smoke.

[buzz]

| GRADING:... | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Overall |
| Abyr....... | .A. | .A. | .A. | ...A... |
| ashauler... | .C. | .C. | .C- | ...C... |
| badwhale... | .B- | .C+ | .C- | ...C... |
| buzz....... | .C. | .C. | .C- | ...C... |
| Daigz...... | .B- | .B- | .B. | ...B-.. |
| EGQ........ | .B. | .B. | .B. | ...B... |
| Eville..... | .C+ | .B- | .B- | ...C+.. |
| heftysmokes | .F. | .F. | .F. | ...F... |
| Irish79.... | .B. | .B. | .B. | ...B... |
| Mangyrat... | .B. | .B+ | .A- | ...B+.. |
| Mizicke5273 | .B. | .B. | .B- | ...B... |
| MrPlatypus. | .A- | .A- | .B. | ...B+.. |
| Tdre977.... | .A- | .A- | .A. | ...A... |
| AVERAGE.... | .B. | .B. | .B. | ...B... |

| THOUGHTS:.. | ..Smoke Again.. | ...Buy a Box... | ...Recommend... |
| Abyr....... | Yes............ | Probably not... | Yes............ |
| ashauler... | Probably not... | Definitely not. | Maybe.......... |
| badwhale... | Probably not... | Definitely not. | Probably not... |
| buzz....... | Definitely not. | Definitely not. | Maybe.......... |
| Daigz...... | Maybe.......... | Probably not... | Maybe.......... |
| EGQ........ | Probably not... | Probably not... | Maybe.......... |
| Eville..... | Probably not... | Definitely not. | Maybe.......... |
| heftysmokes | Definitely not. | Definitely not. | Definitely not. |
| Irish79.... | Maybe.......... | Definitely not. | Yes............ |
| Mangyrat... | Maybe.......... | Definitely not. | Maybe.......... |
| Mizicke5273 | Definitely..... | Maybe.......... | Definitely..... |
| MrPlatypus. | Definitely..... | Yes............ | Yes............ |
| Tdre977.... | Yes............ | Probably not... | Yes............ |

LAST WORDS:

Abyr: A pretty good stick, it was really well put together. I'll buy more if I catch them on sale.

ashauler: Remember why I haven't smoked these in quite some time. One of the less stellar offerings from Torano, imho.

badwhale: Hopefully, I had a dud. We'll see what the collective thinks.

buzz: Too mild for me, and boring. This one bummed me out cause I had heard it was a complex stick with lots of different spice/sweet flavors.

Daigz: For a newb this is a great smoke, very mild. I would keep this one around for when I wasn't in the mood for a more full-bodied smoke. Maybe I was being to harsh on this because for what it was, it was pretty good, just not my style.

EGQ: Decent, not great - lots of others I'd like to sample before I'd come back to this.

Eville: I really don't like Connecticut wrappers and this one was no different. Too bitter for me. I would probably not pay more than $3 for this cigar. But for someone who likes Connecticut shades, I can see this going for about $6.

heftysmokes: Wow. That was awful. Best thing I ever did was put it out early.

Irish79: I'd suggest this for a new or casual smoker, or for those times you want a smooth, mild smoke.

Mangyrat: For a milder cigar it was not bad at all.

Mizicke5273: Medium bodied that was good but not complex and not a real strong flavor. Still it was a really good smoke that I enjoyed.

MrPlatypus: Very mild, and very mellow, but didn't have a lot of flavor that I could detect anywhere. However, there was something about the smoke that I really do like. Not sure what it is about it that makes me like it, but I like it.

Tdre977: Really nice flavors for a mild stick, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Although I probably wouldn’t invest in a box of em', I'd scoop up a 5er to keep on hand.

[buzz]

PICTURES:

[buzz]

PICTURES (CONTINUED):

[buzz]

EDITOR’S NOTE:
The Reserva Selectas came beautifully packaged in a hinge top box with a cedar separation tray. Each cigar was sealed in a glass tube with a cedar sleeve and I noticed no damage to any of the cigars. A nice looking cigar with consistent construction. They had a nice even burn and good draw with just a couple exceptions. The grading varied widely on this cigar, most likely due to differences in everyone’s tastes, but I suppose there could have been a couple bum sticks in the box too. Only two participants, however, said that they would smoke another one.

-Buzz

[badwhale]

Straight Fs across the board from Hefty....LMAO!!!!

I don't think I had a bum stick, but that just wasn't anywhere's near my idea of a light body smoke for flavors. I'm not a big 5 vegas fan, but I think the gold label kicks this one's ass.

Will