First impressions of a JL Salazar y Hermanos Reserva Especial Torpedo

Well, the Salazar Reserva Torps came today. A five-pack from MD Cigars in Yuma, AZ - Great service.

The cigar is a 6x54 box press with a nice toffee colored Ecuadorian wrapper. By look and feel I could swear I am smoking a cigar made by the same factory that makes Maria Mancini Magic Mountains. The size, press and feel are practically identical. The wrapper is a few shades lighter though and the filler is certainly different. It just looks like it came from the same factory.

Prelight is nice. The cigar feels well packed and substantial. A whiff to the nose yields a clean tobacco note. The wrapper is smooth and somewhat dull with no veining. The label is red, gold and white with a prominent "S". Makes me think of the Punch label. Looks nice. Not too glitzy.

Draw is just a touch tight although I did smoke one right away upon arrival from MD in Yuma. I'm sure it's just a little on the wet side and will improve in a couple of weeks resting up in the humidor.

Upon first lighting the cigar I was hit with a solid sweet floral note. I have only experienced this once before and that was with Padron Anniversarios. A very pleasant taste. This lasted for about the first quarter of the cigar which then began to take on a nutty / coffee profile. Getting closer to the last half it became very heavy coffee and cream and always with a sweet, ever so slightly dry finish. Overall a mild/medium bodied cigar.

Burn was excellent considering it was right out of the package. The wrapper began a split near the last third but this again I am sure is due to the cigar being right out of the box. Ash was light gray and held well.

My initial expectations were for a more spicy cigar like a Fuente sun grown since the filler of the Salazar HR uses sungrown tobacco. None the less, this is a pleasant smoke. Would make a perfect first of the day cigar.

There, now I feel like Thurston Howell III :smiley7:

I don't normally do reviews - they sound so.....so.....snooty!

Oh Lovey! Pass the caviar, will you dear? :smiley36:

Nice review. I have wanted to try those for a while. I guess I have to now.

Ahh....it makes me want one...

I think I'll pick up a few too, and I'll make sure to age them accordingly.

I smoke these regularly. A nice medium bodied box pressed toro with a healthy dose of nicotene and a very nice brown oily wrapper. Not too expensive, but not exactly cheap either. There isn't a great deal of complexity to this cigars flavor profile, but sometimes that's nice too! I like a straight shooter every once in a while. On the downside, the consistency suffers a bit between batches (good batches have a really oily sheen), and the wrapper can be a little veiny. All in all, a nice smoke though. A regular in my humi.

Great review you did there bro:)

MD cigars is a good vendor for those of you who haven't dealt with him

Salazars are a great product from Cuban Crafters,I get their weekly e mail specials and my local carries the line also. Last month 2 boxes of torps came in and they had a 'claro' sticker on the box. Limited expiremental blend that got mixed up and sent to him. Man we are guarding them closely.LOL

K7

for the comments.

Kenyth, interesting you should note the inconsistency and the oily wrapper. The ones I received were a more medium brown and fairly dull, no sheen. :smiley19:

I'm taking a couple to FLA next week to bounce these off of my buddy and in a couple more weeks after I will smoke the other two and make my "final judgement"! :smiley36:

They do seem like a cigar I would like to keep in the humidor though.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MMAB

for the comments.

Kenyth, interesting you should note the inconsistency and the oily wrapper. The ones I received were a more medium brown and fairly dull, no sheen. :smiley19:

I'm taking a couple to FLA next week to bounce these off of my buddy and in a couple more weeks after I will smoke the other two and make my "final judgement"! :smiley36:

They do seem like a cigar I would like to keep in the humidor though.

---

Yep, the first ones I tried were really good and had a real shiny wrapper. This last batch I got was kind of dull and a little lighter in color. It wasn't near as good. I'm guessing they were different years harvests?