My Father El Centurion Toro Review

More time and fuller body than the robusto

The My Father El Centurion Toro is a medium-full 6.25 by 52 - a Nicaraguan puro with a Sun Grown Criollo 98 wrapper over Criollo, Corojo Habano and Sancti Spiritus fillers, in a soft box-press. It's the fuller size of the line, giving El Centurion's signature cedar-and-cocoa character more length and more body than the Robusto. It smokes cedar, bittersweet cocoa, espresso, leather and black pepper over about eighty minutes - the size for letting the blend unfold slowly.

What the bigger format buys you is time and mouthfeel. The extra half-inch and two ring points give the cedar-forward blend more runway to layer cocoa, espresso and leather against the Nicaraguan pepper, and a rounder, fuller weight on the palate than the tight Robusto. It runs medium-full and complex over the long toro, the Criollo 98 wrapper's sweetness rounding the spice, each note getting room to develop. Construction is classic My Father: a rich reddish wrapper, an excellent box-press draw, straight burn, a thick firm ash.

My reservations are about strength and time. It's a genuinely medium-full cigar with real black pepper, so a mild-palate smoker or beginner should start with the My Father Connecticut. The soft box-press won't suit every grip, though it draws beautifully. And at eighty minutes it's a longer commitment than the Robusto, so it's the wrong pick when you're short on time - reach for the Robusto then. For a complex Nicaraguan puro you want to savor slowly with more body, though, the Toro is the pick of the sizes.

Where it fits is the relaxed evening smoke for an experienced smoker who wants El Centurion's complexity with room to breathe - a long after-dinner sit, a weekend cigar, or the size for when you have time to let the blend develop fully. It pairs beautifully with coffee or a dark spirit. As the fuller size of a blend that earned its comeback, the Toro gives you the most of El Centurion.