Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the J.C. Newman Tampa Smokers Toro is dark tan and has some raised, knotty veins. The seams are smooth and the caps well applied. There are two bands, both in a creamy white, red and gold color combination. The primary carries the baseball cap insignia, year the team was established, company name and location. The secondary carries the script from the teams logo. The aroma from the wrapper is a mix of hay and earth while the foot brings stewed fruit and graham cracker. The pre-light draw brings cedar, floral notes and dusty earth.
Seth: The J.C. Newman Tampa Smokers Toro is a nice-looking cigar. It has a classic look to the cigar, old-school look, and is finished with a light wrapper that is between Natural and light Colorado in coloring. It is silky in texture and there are medium sized veins throughout. The cigar has a nice give, and has aromas of barnyard, tobacco, earth and soft spices.
John: The J.C. Newman Tampa Smokers Toro comes in cellophane, with no UPC sticker present. The cigar features a primary “T 1919” band and a secondary “Smoker’s” band. I weighed the cigar at 17.6 grams, and measured the humidity at 65.7% using the CigarMedics HumidiMeter Pro. From the wrapper, I detected aromas of hot cocoa, bread and wood. From the foot, there was an unexpected mix of sweet tobacco, clover and wood.
Jiunn: The J.C. Newman Tampa Smokers Toro has a Colorado Claro wrapper shade. The coloration is even, bunch and roll uniform with proper give, seams tight and the head is well wrapped and capped. Pre-light aromas consist of heavy barnyard and cedar.

J.C. Newman Tampa Smokers Toro

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted cedar, hay, earth and black pepper. At a quarter inch in, the black pepper mellows a bit. At a half inch in, a creamy chalkiness joins the profile. The retrohale is toasted cedar, hay and some earth. At an inch and a half in, the black pepper is now very mellow. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar and hay are even up front, with earth a bit behind. The creamy chalkiness is in the back half of the profile with black pepper in the background. The strength was slightly below medium.
Seth: The first third starts out with aged cedar and dry wood notes. Bits of barnyard are present with some leather and tobacco notes. Not overly complex, and between mild and medium in strength and body.
John: The first third opens with sweet tobacco, followed by a mild herbal and wood center, with dry wood on the finish. Through the retrohale, creamy herbal notes combine with sweet tobacco. As the first third settles in, baking spices join the retrohale and later fade to a supporting note, making room for a creamy bread note to emerge.
Jiunn: The first third starts with ample roasted chestnuts. Roughly an inch in, the nuttiness takes a backseat to a combination of minerals and cedar. Retrohaling gives nostril awakening dried red pepper spice. The finish is short with lingering soft cedar and nuts. Strength and body is medium.

J.C. Newman Tampa Smokers Toro

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the creamy chalkiness has now bumped up to the middle of the profile. At a half inch in, the earth increases a bit. The retrohale is now toasted cedar, hay, earth and some creamy chalkiness. At an inch and a half in, the earth becomes even with the toasted cedar and hay up front. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar, hay and earth are all even up front, with creamy chalkiness in the middle and some mild black pepper in the background. The strength remained at slightly below medium.
Seth: The second third is in line with the first third and delivers those cedar, dry wood, barnyard and leather notes. Touches of tobacco and faint cream as well. Again, mild to medium in strength and body.
John: The second third begins with a creamy bread and herbal profile, supported by mildly dry wood on the finish. The profile stays fairly consistent as the cigar moves toward the halfway point, at which time a sweet vegetal and clover note begins to emerge on the finish. Through the bottom half, the cigar becomes sweet wood-forward.
Jiunn: The second third is a let down and encouraging at times, but overall a let down. The profile creates a tannic bitterness to the wood notes, but at the same time ramps up a nice sweet milk creaminess. Given that the bitterness overshadows all the other flavors in general, this creates an overall let down. Strength and body remains medium.

J.C. Newman Tampa Smokers Toro

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the creamy chalkiness mellows a bit. At a half inch in, the toast level increases. The retrohale remains toasted cedar, hay, earth and some creamy chalkiness. As the cigar wraps up. The profile is toasted cedar, hay and earth even up front, with creamy chalkiness in the back half and some mild black pepper in the background. The strength bumped up to medium.
Seth: The final third is right in line with the first and second third. No changes in profile, strength or body.
John: The final third is led by a sweet wood and vegetal combination, followed by dry, medium-minus strength wood on the finish. Faint bread appears at the center of the profile as the third progresses. By the halfway point, a mild bitterness emerges, accenting the wood on the finish.
Jiunn: The final third is the same as second third. The profile is still dominantly a mixture of tannic wood bitterness with minerals. Although I appreciate a lengthier finish, the tannic wood isn’t what I’m looking for. Strength and body finish the same medium.

J.C. Newman Tampa Smokers Toro

Burn

Aaron: The burn was a bit wavy at times and the cigar went out three times, requiring re-lights.
Seth: Burn was good from start to finish.
John: The burn began mildly uneven in the first third and required a touch-up. In the second third, a canoe formed, necessitating another correction. In the final third, the cigar went out twice, requiring multiple re-lights, which ultimately impacted overall enjoyment and consistency.
Jiunn: Great burn performance giving an even burn, tight ashes and cool burning temperatures.

J.C. Newman Tampa Smokers Toro

Draw

Aaron: The draw was pretty snug, even with a second cut and using a draw tool it provided no relief. The draw may have contributed to the burn issues.
Seth: Draw was solid throughout.
John: The draw measured at 83 inches of water using the CigarMedics Draw Machine. Subjectively, the draw was initially 4.5 to 5 notches toward the resistant spectrum, bordering on plugged. As the first third progressed, the draw opened slightly to 3.5 to 4 notches, just enough to raise the score from Subpar to Average.
Jiunn: Draw performance was also great, giving the ideal air flow and resistance.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted cedar, hay, earth and black pepper. Creamy chalkiness joined a bit later. The pepper mellowed throughout the third. The second third saw the creamy chalkiness and earth increase a bit. Later, the earth became even with the toasted cedar and hay up front. The final third saw the creamy chalkiness mellow a bit and the toast level increased. The cigar was packed pretty tight which caused a tight draw and some burn issues. The J.C. Newman Tampa Smokers Toro had a nice start, with a good combination of flavors. From the second third on, it dropped a level as the earth increased and it didn’t maintain the same balance. I’m curious to see the others experience to see if they had better constructed offerings and if that translated to a better flavor profile. As it sits, it’s not a cigar I’d see myself coming back to.
Seth: I was not blown away with the J.C. Newman Tampa Smokers Toro. I felt the cigar was one dimensional and not overly complex. With a medium strength and body, and flavors of salted wood, tobacco, leather and barnyard, it needed a little more to really pop. The burn and draw were decent, and I love that the cigar is made in Florida, but the overall blend was lacking. Not a cigar I would come back to in the future.
John: The J.C. Newman Tampa Smokers Toro delivers a flavor-rich and engaging experience, particularly in the first and second thirds, where sweet tobacco, creamy herbs, baking spices and vegetal notes shine through a consistently layered profile. Unfortunately, significant burn issues, including uneven combustion, canoeing and multiple re-lights, combined with a tight draw, held this cigar back from achieving a higher rating. Despite these technical drawbacks, the flavor performance was strong enough to earn it a good overall rating. I am curious how the flavor profile would have delivered without the burn issues and with a more favorable draw. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 26 minutes.
Jiunn: Although this was a very small part of the cigar (first inch), the amount of chestnut sweetness and creaminess was awesome. Small part but due to the amazeballsness, worth mentioning. But past that, the profile took a downturn, and by the time it reached the second third, there was no stopping the mediocrity. There are better Connecticut shades out there that can be found for ~$5-10 cheaper. It’s such a shame the J.C. Newman Tampa Smokers Toro couldn’t capture the first inch experience for longer.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.40

Cost/Point

$3.70

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

4.90

Cost/Point

$4.08

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.87

Cost/Point

$3.41

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

6.10

Cost/Point

$3.28

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: J.C. Newman Tampa Smokers Toro