Camacho Nicaragua Toro

In July, Davidoff of Geneva USA announced it would soon be shipping a brand new release named Camacho Nicaragua, which—contrary to what its moniker implies—is actually blended from a combination of tobaccos hailing from four different countries and not rolled in Nicaragua. Specifically, the blend includes a wrapper grown in Ecuador, a binder sourced from Honduras and filler tobaccos from the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua.

“Camacho Nicaragua is for the cigar smoker who seeks distinctive Nicaragua flavor,” said Lana Fraser, head of marketing for Davidoff Americas, in a press release. “This series was created to add depth to our Camacho Core portfolio to appeal to a wider-range of consumers’ tastes. Although bold, the blend is balanced and remarkably flavorful. In addition to Nicaraguan tobacco, tobacco from Ecuador, Honduras and Dominican Republic are also found in this blend adding depth and character.”

There are three different vitolas in the Camacho Nicaragua line.

• Camacho Nicaragua Robusto (5 x 52) — $8.60 (Box of 20, $172)
• Camacho Nicaragua Toro (6 x 50) — $8.80 (Box of 20, $176)
• Camacho Nicaragua Gran Churchill (7 x 56) — $9.50 (Box of 20, $190)

As with most Camacho cigars, the Camacho Nicaragua is being rolled at the Diadema Cigars de Honduras S.A. factory located in Danlí, Honduras and started shipping to retailers on July 20.

• Cigar Reviewed: Camacho Nicaragua Toro
• Country of Origin: Honduras
• Factory: Diadema Cigars de Honduras S.A.
• Wrapper: Ecuador
• Binder: Honduras
• Filler: Dominican Republic, Honduras & Nicaragua
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Vitola: Toro
• MSRP: $8.80 (Box of 20, $176)
• Release Date: July 20, 2020
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

There are quite a few great things to like about the Camacho Nicaragua Toro from a visual perspective including a gorgeous milk chocolate brown wrapper that is silky smooth to the touch, although it features very little obvious oils. The cigar is extremely dense when held in my hand and there are a number of significant veins running up and down the length as well. Aroma from the wrapper is a combination of sweet oak, earth, leather, hay, barnyard, cocoa nibs and strong raisin sweetness, while the cold draw brings flavors of dark chocolate, hay, oak, vegetal, cashews, black pepper and a large amount of sweet raisins.

There is a significant amount of both spice on my lips and black pepper on the palate immediately after lighting the foot, although both do begin to die down very quickly. In terms of profile, the Camacho Nicaragua features a distinct combination of creamy oak and leather tack as the dominant flavors, followed by lesser notes of salted cashews, barnyard, hay, baker’s spices, cocoa nibs and a touch of orange rind that brings up the rear. There is a nice amount of raisin sweetness seemingly pulled over from the cold draw as well as a fairly large amount of black pepper on the retrohale. The finish is full of rich but bitter espresso. Construction-wise, the draw provides me an almost perfect amount of resistance after a straight cut, while the burn is excellent. There is an above-average amount of dense, white smoke flowing off of the foot, and although the overall strength noticeably increases progressively, it is still well short of medium by the time the first third comes to an end.

Some major changes in the profile define the second third of the Camacho Nicaragua Toro. It starts with the dominant flavors which morph into a combination of creamy cashews and earth, with secondary notes of aged oak, leather, citrus, barnyard, hay and a tiny amount of floral flirting in and out. On the retrohale, both the raisin sweetness and black pepper decrease in strength just a bit while the spice that was present on my lips almost disappears by the halfway point, but the espresso bitterness on the finish has actually increased in strength enough to cause issues with the overall balance, at least for a few puffs. In terms of construction, the draw continues to give me no issues, and although the burn has to be touched up once, it has no problems after that. Strength-wise, the Camacho increases enough to easily hit a point very close to the medium mark by the end of the second third, although it seems to have stalled out there. 

The raisin sweetness that is present on the Camacho’s retrohale changes completely in the final third to a grainy brown sugar note that combines well not only with the black pepper that remains on the retrohale but also with a new dominant flavor of rich dark chocolate. Additional notes of generic nuts, earth, hay, cinnamon, leather, barnyard and a lingering orange citrus show up in various amounts. Both the spice on my lips and espresso bitterness almost totally dissipate but they still remain a lesser part of the profile until the end of the cigar. The burn evens up nicely and gives me no issues after that while the draw continues to be excellent and the smoke production remains well above average. Finally, the overall strength increases slightly compared to the second third to land just under the medium mark and I put the nub down with a bit less than an inch remaining.

Final Notes

• I find it extremely odd that Camacho would name a cigar after the country of Nicaragua when the only tobacco incorporated into the blend of that cigar is one of three in the filler, not to mention the fact that the cigar is rolled in Honduras.
• Having said the above, this is actually not the first time Davidoff has sold a Camacho brand with the country of Nicaragua in the name after it released Camacho Nicaraguan Barrel Aged in 2017, a three vitola line that incorporates corojo tobacco from the Estelí region aged for five months in barrels that previously held Flor de Caña, a Nicaraguan rum.
• Two of my samples featured a much stronger espresso bitterness on the finish in the second third, and while it did not last long at that strength, it was easily enough to throw the balance off for that short time.
• My first sample featured one of the most perfectly round feet I have seen in a long time on a cigar.
• Davidoff of Geneva USA advertises on halfwheel.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• The final smoking time for all three samples averaged one hour and 39 minutes.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Camacho Nicaragua, site sponsors Atlantic Cigar and JR Cigar have them in stock.