Doc's Analysis - United Natural Toro

United Cigars began in 1901 with a tobacco shop in Syracuse, New York. Brothers Charles & George Whelan were able to scale the business rapidly and by the year 1926 had almost 3,000 stores. Fast forward 100 years or more and the story has changed. Those nearly 3,000 shops from the past all have different names on them these days. Now, United Cigars supplies brick & mortar shops across the country with over 20 unique cigar brands. With a portfolio like that, there is bound to be a cigar for every enthusiast. Today we're going to take a look at the United Natural Toro. Snip, fire, and let's go.

Can you hear the marching band?

Simple cap, but tidy

alright, alright

Acceptable bunch, but seam could be tighter

Enjoyable for sure

The Deets

Cigar: United Natural Toro

Origin: Dominican Republic

Factory: Tabacalera Magia Cubana

Size: 6 x 54

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano

Binder: Dominican Cuban-seed Habano

Filler: Brazillian Mata Fina, Dominican Broadleaf, Dominican Olor

Appearance  8.5/10

 The snug band is a patriotic one, shaped like a shield and adorned with stars & stripes. Looks like it could have been Captain America's original shield, but suburban moms didn't like that it had the word "cigars" on it. The wrapper is a durable and smooth one. There are some veins that are raised up higher than I'd like, but the bigger problem are the knots, one of which is on a seam and will be a problem later. A couple locations the seam could have been tighter. The cap is simple, but tidy, and the uniformity is decent. This sample is the new round shape and not the older soft box-press.

Draw  9.5/10

 Using a straight cut, I managed an almost perfect draw. A couple of light, no-removal pokes after the first few puffs and it was easy sailing from there on out. Plenty of smoke output.

Burn/Construction  9/10

Within the first few minutes of being in my hand, the vein knot that was on a seam caught my finger and ripped a piece of the wrapper off. The damage remained localized and the cigar burned right past it with no additions problems coming from it. So not a huge deal. The burn line was tight and the ash was strong & sturdy. Despite the rip, it was a solid performance.

Taste  9/10

 1/3 - A calm & inviting beginning with hay and cedar. Retro is spicy brown soil with some nuts and a buttery finish. This simple profile runs the length of the 1st third.

2/3 - Searching for some changes, yet I find very little. It's not a bad thing though because the buttery autumn leaves, brown spice, and light cedar are quite pleasant.

3/3 - Some leather rolls in. The brown soil and spice now has a hint of lemon on the retro. Finish remains creamy and buttery. Again, little to no transition, yet satisfying.

Overall  9/10

 This is one of those cigars that manages to maintain the same profile from beginning to nub. For me though, if it's good, I don't really care too much about transitions. The profile was very much a straight forward simple one, but it was balanced well and tasty enough to take it down to burn-my-lips small. I suppose that piece of info alone should be enough to have you pick one up and try one if you haven't already. I know I want more!

**Number of cigars smoked for the review: 1