Casa Cuevas Sangre Nueva Toro

In June 2022, Casa Cuevas released a new line created by Alec Cuevas, who is the fifth generation of the Cuevas family to work in the tobacco business since the family’s patriarch Juan Cuevas—who was a Spanish immigrant—began cultivating tobacco in the Pinar de Río region of Cuba in the 19th century.

The line is named Sangre Nueva—Spanish for New Blood—and it features a blend made up of a Cameroon-seed wrapper grown in Ecuador covering a Honduran corojo binder as well as filler tobaccos from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Pennsylvania. In addition, Cuevas confirmed to halfwheel that the blend contains a very small amount—about two percent of the total filler—of Kentucky fire-cured tobacco.

“The slogan ‘old traditions, new generation’ signifies so much more to me than a passing of the family torch,” said Alec Cuevas in a press release. “It represents all the experiences I’ve ever been through in this industry, from working behind the counter selling my fellow manufacturer’s products to spending my summers learning all there is to know about our factory from a very young age. Sangre Nueva is a personal love letter to my family, who placed their faith in me to create something from scratch given my knowledge of tobacco.”

The Casa Cuevas Sangre Nueva debuted in three sizes, each packaged in 10-count boxes that began shipping to retailers in September 2022.

Here is what I wrote in my original review back in November 2022:

The Casa Cuevas Sangre Nueva Toro is a tale of two profiles: the first third is saturated in campfire, mesquite and charred meat flavors, all of which mellow out in the second half, transitioning into top flavors of peanuts and cocoa nibs along with a great floral sweetness that adds a nice bit of complexity. Construction overall was decent but not amazing—I had no problems with the draw or the smoke production, but each of the cigars I smoked needed correcting at least twice during the two-hour-plus smoking time—and the medium-plus strength was nicely integrated. In the end, lovers of bold, rustic profiles will be thrilled by the first third, while those looking for more nuance and complexity will love the second half, assuming they can get through the aggressive flavors that start the cigar off.

• Cigar Reviewed: Casa Cuevas Sangre Nueva Toro
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Tabacalera Las Lavas S.R.L.
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Cameroon)
• Binder: Honduras (Corojo)
• Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua & U.S.A. (Pennsylvania Broadleaf and Kentucky Fire Cured)
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Toro Extra
• MSRP: $13.50 (Box of 10, $135)
• Release Date: September 2022
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 1

Unlike the cigars from my first review, this Casa Cuevas Sangre Nueva Toro is covered in more of a milk chocolate brown wrapper, although the small amount of oil that is present is similar. The wrapper is quite dry but also extremely uniform, with very few overt or protruding veins to speak of. The tale-tell fire-cured tobacco aromas emanating from the cigar are instantly evident, led by an aggressive combination of mesquite woodiness, campfire, black pepper and a vegetable note. I also notice a sweet mint aroma that was not present the first time around. Scents from the foot include the same campfire and mesquite, but there is also some light leather, earthiness and sweet barbecue sauce thrown in. After a straight cut, the cold draw brings strong flavors of the familiar campfire and mesquite, followed by tobacco leaves, creamy cedar and a very interesting sweetness that reminds me of bubblegum.

Espresso and black pepper are the first things I taste after lighting the foot of the Sangre Nueva Toro, but the profile morphs quickly as a combination of mesquite and campfire, seemingly pulled from the cold draw, take over the top spots. While that combination of flavors is pervasive, it is nowhere near overwhelming, so I have no problem tasting additional flavors including leather tack, Worcestershire sauce, earth, hay and toasted bread. In addition, I taste a strong mineral saltiness on my lips for the entirety of the first half, while the retrohale features a small amount of black pepper and a new sweet basil note, neither of which come close to strong enough to make a major impact in the profile during the first third. The flavor ends the first half at medium-full, the body hits a point just under medium, and the strength lands at a solid medium. In terms of construction, the draw is excellent after a straight cut, and the smoke production is copious off of the foot, but the burn line does run into enough trouble to need attention from my lighter in both the first and second thirds.

Once again, the profile changes noticeably in the second half; but this time, the difference in the flavors is not nearly as dramatic as I noted in my first review. Having said that, there is no doubt that the profile becomes creamier in nature while the main flavors shift from the campfire and mesquite notes that defined the first third to a much less aggressive combination of salted peanuts and hay. The secondary flavors also have some differences compared to the first half, with notes of cinnamon, cocoa nibs, earth, brewed coffee, and plain popcorn. There is a change on the retrohale as well, as the sweet basil note is replaced by a floral sweetness that remains in place until I put the nub down with an inch remaining after one hour and 57 minutes of smoking time. Flavor decreases slightly to land at medium-plus, but both the body and strength increase enough to reach a solid medium and a point just over the medium mark, respectively. Finally, while the flavor profiles between the first and second halves were quite different, the construction remains exactly the same: an excellent draw, plenty of smoke emanating from the foot and two minor burn corrections.