Review of Carlos Torano Exodus 1959 Double Corona Cigar

The Torano Exodus 1959 cigar was named to recognize the exodus of cigar families from the island of Cuba in 1959, after Castro's revolution. The Toranos were one of those families. Carlos Torano moved his cigar business to the Dominican Republic, and is credited with introducing Cuban seed tobacco to that country. After his death, the Torano family expanded the business to other countries, and currently has factories in Honduras and Nicaragua. The Exodus 1959 Double Corona is a boxed pressed cigar made in Honduras with filler tobaccos from five different countries, and measures seven inches long with a ring gauge of 50. The cigar uses a Honduran Habano wrapper and Honduran binder. The company also produces a Silver Edition of the Exodus 1959, which is a completely different cigar than the subject of this review.

The Torano Exodus 1959 cigar is medium in strength, but medium-to-full in flavor. The cigar has a deep rich tobacco taste, and is also somewhat spicy, with a very noticeable peppery flavor, especially during the first inch and a half of the cigar. After that point, the strong peppery taste begins to fade to some degree, as the cigar becomes more balanced. The remainder of the cigar was very enjoyable, down to the last two inches.

The cigar had a good draw, and was firmly packed. The burn was not always even, and required a couple of touch up lights. However, the bigger issue was the need for several relights, especially when the cigar was not puffed for more than a minute or two. I usually go through a cigar this size in a little over an hour, but this particular smoke lasted almost two hours. Again, this is a firmly packed and slow burning cigar, which will last even longer than some larger cigars that burn at a faster rate.

Now for the good news. For a cigar which was rated the fifth best in the world during 2006 by Cigar Aficionado (in the Torpedo shape), the cost for a box of 24 Double Coronas is just over $90, which is less than $4 per stick. If you like a deep rich tobacco flavor with lots of spice and pepper, this could be the cigar for you. Recommended more for seasoned cigar smokers, beginners may want to try a single stick first, just to find out what a world class cigar is all about.