Casa Turrent Origins Miami

As I think all of the halfwheel writers have mentioned at one point or another, when it comes our turn for a redux review, we open up our respective humidors and look for an appropriate candidate. Sometimes it’s a cigar we set out to redux after the original review to see if time smoothed some rougher edges or mellowed some strength; other times it results in finding a cigar we’d forgotten about or one from a company we haven’t written about it in a while.

In today’s case, it’s the latter, and a cigar that gets reduxed as we patiently await the release of some new vitolas announced at the 2021 PCA Convention & Trade Show. Those would be the Short Robustos and Perfectos in the Casa Turrent 1880 Series, which have been delayed until the end of January as of last check. But today, I revisit a cigar that came out in Europe in 2018 and the U.S. in the summer of 2019, the Casa Turrent Origins Miami.

It is one of four blends released to honor different places that were significant in the company’s history, each released in a single 5 1/2 x 54 vitola, each with an MSRP of $7, and each packaged in 12-count boxes:

• Casa Turrent Origins Cuba
• Casa Turrent Origins Nicaragua
• Casa Turrent Origins Miami
• Casa Turrent Origins Mexico

The Casa Turrent Origins Miami uses a Connecticut-seed wrapper that is grown in Mexico, a somewhat unusual spot to see a Connecticut-seed leaf coming from. Underneath that is a Mexican San Andrés criollo for the binder and part of the filler, along with tobaccos from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.

Here’s what I said about the Casa Turrent Origins Miami when I reviewed it in October 2019:

Due to a bit of confusion as to the blend of this cigar, I had no idea what tobaccos were used prior to lighting it up. In fact, I had no idea until just a few hours before this review was scheduled to run. As such, while I figured the Casa Turrent Origins Miami wasn’t wrapped in a typical leaf grown in the San Andrés region of Mexico, I had no idea it was a sun grown Connecticut leaf. Much like having a magic trick explained, the cigar’s profile made a lot more sense looking back on it. The fuller body that grounds the cigar and the prominent pepper are both easily attributable to the binder and filler, seemingly in particular the criollo leaf from the San Andrés region. Yet the softer notes—breads, sweetness, creaminess—now have a logical source in that Connecticut wrapper. Needless to say I am quite impressed by the end result, though I still have to figure out just when it makes the most sense to enjoy this cigar. It is a bit fuller than I like to start my day with, and has enough strength to bring a long day to an abrupt close. But I have little doubt that once I find a time to smoke more of them, I almost certainly will.

• Cigar Reviewed: Casa Turrent Origins Miami
• Country of Origin: Mexico
• Factory: Nueva Matacapan de Tabacos S.A. de C.V.
• Wrapper: Mexico (Sun Grown Connecticut)
• Binder: Mexico (San Andrés Criollo)
• Filler: Dominican Republic, Mexico (San Andrés Criollo) & Nicaragua
• Length: 5 1/2 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Vitola: Robusto Extra
• MSRP: $7 (Box of 12, $84)
• Release Date: August 2019
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 1

As soon as I slide the Casa Turrent Origins Miami out of its cellophane, I’m struck by the texture of the wrapper. It’s not oozing with oils, but it is by no means dry either, and its suppleness is readily apparent to my fingertips. It’s a very well-tanned leaf, even in color with a decent network of small veins, some of which pucker a bit in the way that I associate with Cuban-grown wrappers. While I don’t think the black color of the band goes great with it, the copper color both complements it and pops visually. The cigar is firmly rolled from head to foot with touches of give, though I’m not pushing my luck and risking damage to the leaf. The foot has an aroma that is light at first with corn flakes and other dry cereals along with a bit of kindling and dried tobacco leaves. After working through those smells a bit of light pepper begins to emerge along with just a touch of simple sweetness from the core of the cigar. Air moves just a bit too easily on the cold draw, while the flavors are similar if toned down. The sweetness feels a bit more integrated into the flavor as if it combined with the dry cereal aroma for a dry, slightly sweet cereal. Pepper is minimal here, swapped out for a bit of creaminess, though the tobacco still tingles my lips.

The Casa Turrent Origins Miami starts with a slightly biting physical sensation that seems to be the result of dry, almost stale table pepper, light and dry woods, and a bit more of the cereal flavors in a background role. It tingles the tongue and dries out the mouth, especially without either the sweetness or creaminess to counter these flavors. Fortunately, the flavors begin to sort themselves out with each subsequent puff, and when some creaminess joins the mix just ahead of the one-inch mark, things are much better. There is still some dryness to the profile, and the occasional puff will have a sharp bit of white pepper that causes some irritation, but the profile is in a much better place when the first clump of ash gets tapped off. Retrohales are big and bright with white pepper, softened a bit by creaminess on the finish, and giving me an overall cleaner encounter with the smoke. The draw isn’t quite as open as I was concerned about before lighting the cigar, though it’s toeing that line. My first retrohale after the initial ash clump is gone reveals a very interesting hit of mint, and try as I might to find it again it doesn’t seem to be there, giving me more pepper through my nose, and bringing in more black pepper than earlier. The flavor continues to come together as the burn line progresses through the cigar, improving its balance more than anything, while not necessarily making significant changes to what is being offered outside of adding a bit more black pepper. The draw is smooth if still a tick open, smoke production is plentiful, and the burn line is a bit uneven but not problematic. Flavor is medium, body is medium-plus, and strength is medium-minus.

There has been a steady thickening of the body of the smoke, something that seems to be the result of more creaminess in the profile, bringing the cigar to a very enjoyable place for my palate. I’d also be remiss to mention that the cigar no longer has quite as much of a dryness to it, even though there is still dry woodiness hitting the middle of my tongue as I write this. The finish has a lingering tingle from the flavor, generally on the tongue but occasionally making its way to the back of my throat and becoming a bit of an irritation. I’m incredibly impressed by how the body of the cigar has continued to fill out, now getting into full-bodied territory even as the flavor continues to mellow. A bit of bread comes into the profile in the final third; it’s not terribly distinct at the first encounter but then morphs into something between warm pizza crust and a warm pretzel, particularly the inner portions of both. Black pepper returns to a more prominent role not long after, which costs the cigar its smooth creaminess but does give it a bit more character. As the final third of the Casa Turrent Origins Miami burns, that character picks up a bit more irritation, as well as a bit of a lukewarm black coffee flavor. A smoky campfire aroma comes in as soon as I knock the last clump of ash off, a very pleasant addition that brings the cigar to an enjoyable close after about an hour and 55 minutes of smoking time. Flavor is medium to medium-plus, body is full, and strength has crept up to medium-plus.