Name: Hiram & Solomon Master Mason Toro

Country: Nicaragua

Shape: Parejo

Size: Toro (6 inches x 52)

Strength: Full

2022 has been a good year for me.

Some of the things I accomplished this year include publishing a book — A Poet’s Cigar Journal and Ten Poems — , meeting new BOTLs, and getting to smoke a lot of great cigars. The Master Mason Toro, which I will review shortly, was one of those great cigars. But before I begin talking about it, allow me to share a thought.

2023 will be here in less than two weeks, and I’m thinking of a new way to review the cigars I smoke.

I understand my pervious “Have a Cigar” posts were more of journal entries and weren’t ‘real’ reviews. And I’d like to keep things that way, especially when the muses come to me with poems. But I’d also like to add more details about the smoking experience itself. For instance, I’m thinking something like the below. In this case, of course, I’m talking about the Master Mason Toro.

Experience:

Construction: Excellent.

Pre-light: Promising.

Cut: Straight cut, no problems.

Burn: Even, all the way. It burned for 90 minutes, and it never went out.

Draw: Near perfect.

Smoke: It produced a decent amount of smoke; however, not as thick and heavy as I expected it to be.

Ash: Good. Light grey. Not perfect.

Flavor: Rich. Strong. Well-balanced. Notes of dark roast coffee, bread, cedar, burnt caramel.

–

I also considered giving each cigar a rating, but I chose not to in the end. But I am happy with the “Experience” section, so far.

We’ll see…

Name: Inca Secret Blend Monumento

Country: Peru

Shape: Torpedo

Size: (6 inches x 52)

Strength: Medium

Honestly, I’ve had much better cigars. I chose this smoke because I wanted to try something new. It became my first Peruvian cigar. But it wasn’t as satisfying as I wanted it to be. I expected at least a little more.

The cigar burned quite evenly, and I got some nutty and leathery notes. Unfortunately, there was nothing about the cigar that was impressive. It was just okay. Will I ever try this cigar again? I’m not sure. But probably not.

Name: El Septimo Sacred Arts Michelangelo

Country: Costa Rica

Shape: Figurado

Size: (5 1/2 inches x 50)

Strength: Medium

From all of the Sacred Arts cigars I liked this one the least. I got a better experience smoking Salvador Dali, Botticelli, and Raphael. The reason? I don’t know. Maybe I was just unlucky this time. This Michelangelo I smoked had a very firm draw, and I had to use a toothpick to open it up a little. Overall, however, it was still a good cigar.