Earlier this year, Casa Turrent—the brand from the famed Mexican tobacco family—announced that it would be adding four new versions of its signature Casa Turrent 1880.

This is notable for a variety of reasons. Most manufacturers don’t release four new cigars at one time. Most manufacturers don’t release new lines with only one size. And at $20, Casa Turrent was clearly going to price a lot of potential customers out of trying the new cigars.

That was January and as happened to most plans that people had in January, things got delayed. In this case it was the shipping of the cigars, which was pushed back to May. They all share the same 6 1/2 x 55 size, similar packaging and the $20 price point, but each is a different blend:

  • Casa Turrent 1880 Claro — Mexican habano criollo wrapper over a Mexican San Andrés negro binder and Dominican and Mexican fillers.
  • Casa Turrent 1880 Colorado — Mexican San Andrés negro wrapper, Mexican habano criollo binder and Mexican fillers.
  • Casa Turrent 1880 Oscuro — Mexican habano criollo puro.
  • Casa Turrent 1880 Maduro — Mexican San Andrés negro wrapper, Mexican habano criollo binder and fillers from Mexico and Nicaragua.

The company says that the wrappers were all aged for five years while the binder and fillers are aged for 10-12 years. They are produced on a limited basis at the company’s Casa Turrent factory, which is where the family makes its higher-end cigars.

  • Cigar Reviewed: Casa Turrent 1880 Oscuro
  • Country of Origin: Mexico
  • Factory: Casa Turrent
  • Wrapper: Mexico (San Andrés Criollo Habano)
  • Binder: Mexico (San Andrés Criollo Habano)
  • Filler: Mexico (San Andrés Criollo Habano)
  • Length: 6 1/2 Inches
  • Ring Gauge: 55
  • Vitola: Toro Gordo
  • MSRP: $20 (Box of 10, $200)
  • Release Date: May 2020
  • Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
  • Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

It’s listed as oscuro and the wrapper certainly suggests that’s what is presented here. The Casa Turrent 1880 Oscuro has a very dark, muted brown wrapper. There are some obvious veins, though the color is solid throughout the relatively large cigar. Aroma from the wrapper is medium-plus with vanilla, acorns, woods and some weird artificial flavor that I can’t specifically identify. The foot has more of that artificial flavor, though it’s intertwined with the vanilla, so it just tastes like some artificial vanilla. In addition, there’s a sensation that reminds me of POM Wonderful and some melted milk chocolate. The cold draw has lots of artificial chocolate, a flavor that reminds me of the inside of a donut, along with some white pepper.

Given the Casa Turrent’s rather peculiar cold draw, I really wouldn’t be surprised by any starting flavors. Ramen noodles, some meatiness, lemon and a bit of cedar aren’t flavors I would have seen coming, but that’s what happens once the smoke hits my palate for the first time. While the flavors aren’t consistent from the pre-light to the first inch of the cigar, the profile is consistently interesting. There’s goat meat, something that tastes like the minerals in tap water, woodiness and some saltines. Retrohales produce fruity flavors, some sweetness, and a bit of a lemon cake-like flavor. The finish has woods, caramel, some meatiness, creaminess and generic sweetness. Flavor, body and strength are all medium-full. As is oftentimes the case with larger cigars, the construction is great through the first third.

By the start of the second third I’m beginning to get confused by the strength. It’s not that heavy on any particular puff, but the overall impact is certainly something abnormal. I’m not lightheaded yet, but I definitely seem to be heading down that road. Flavor-wise, the profile gets substantially drier and is now led by walnuts on top of a generic meatiness and some grains. Retrohales have a vanilla flavor, though it’s not the artificial version I found on the cold draw, along with some espresso and salted potato chips. The finish has charred meats, a bit of black pepper and more of the grains. The dryness seems to have dramatically increased my salivation, which is definitely well above the norm. Flavor is medium-full, while body and strength are now full. All three samples need help with an uneven burn in the second third, though once the correction is made things go back to being pretty good.

At some point after the two-inch mark, things take a turn for the worse. The most obvious change is that on two samples, the cigar gets much hotter, causing a burning sensation in the middle of my tongue. Flavor-wise, there’s a toasty oak and quite a bit of cinnamon, but I’m just not able to pick up that much. Retrohales are much more punishing with a blast of cinnamon before an oaky finish. If I don’t retrohale—which at this point of the Casa Turrent 1880 Oscuro is my preferred method of smoking—there’s a finish dominated by buttered popcorn, some nuttiness, toastiness and then cinnamon on the sides of my mouth. Flavor remains medium-full, body dips back down to medium-full and strength remains full. Two cigars need help via another touch-up to make it to the finish line, at which I get up and pour myself a glass of sweet tea to try to help alleviate the likely oncoming of nicotine nausea.

Final Notes

  • For those wondering, this wasn’t the worst of nicotine overload. There was no dry heaving or passing out, but I certainly needed to lie down for 15-20 minutes to make myself feel better.
  • I’ve mentioned this in other reviews, but it’s definitely worth repeating here. I think that the nicotine in certain cigars affects certain people differently. This cigar never came across as being  that strong on any individual puff, oftentimes registering on the higher side of medium-full, but the overall nicotine was one that probably happens less than five times per year.
  • It would totally not surprise me if I walked into a cigar shop, gave this to 10 regular cigar smokers, and found that only one of them shared my experience with the nicotine. I certainly don’t think Casa Turrent is trying to make a cigar that would cause this sort of effect.
  • For what it’s worth, I’ve found every other Casa Turrent, as well as other cigars made at the company’s factories, to be quite the opposite in regards to the blast of nicotine.
  • If you want another example of a cigar that has a uniquely strong effect on my system, I’ve found that the Arturo Fuente Añejo is oftentimes something that does not sit well with me. I can—and have—smoked three Fuente Fuente OpusX cigars in a day, but sometimes half of an Añejo after a large meal will cause nicotine overload.
  • I’m a big fan of the copper color on the bands. I’m normally a big fan of the gray, which reminds me of Audi’s nardo gray color, but I’m not sure it necessarily works here.
  • Cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
  • Final smoking time is a lengthy two hours and 45 minutes.
87 Overall Score

It will likely not surprise you to learn that I have a hard time recommending a cigar that sends me to the couch, particularly at this price point. While I certainly have little desire to smoke another one of these anytime soon, it’s actually an above-average cigar. The flavors—while not particularly harmonious—are far more unique than 99 percent of cigars I’ve smoked. Construction—while not perfect—is more than acceptable for anyone not scoring construction for a cigar review. As such, I certainly think that if you are interested in tasing some of the more interesting flavors in a cigar, this is a great start; but I'm going to sit out smoking a fourth sample for quite some time.

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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.