Las Villas By the Book Toro (Box of 20 Cigars)
- Length: 127mm
- Gauge: 52
- Flavour: Medium to Full
- Wrapper : Mexican San Andres
- Binder : Nicaraguan
- Filler : Nicaraguan
- Origin: Nicaragua
- Humidor Required
- Single Loose Cigar
Las Villas By the Book Toro – Full Box of 20 Cigars
There's an old saying in the tobacco trade that you can tell a great deal about a manufacturer by the way they pack their cigars. Whether that's entirely true is open to debate, but I reckon the Las Villas By the Book Toro makes a convincing case for taking a closer look.
Open the substantial black presentation box and you're greeted by a large gold Las Villas monogram, accompanied by the date 1939, set against a glossy black interior. Beneath it, twenty Toros sit neatly arranged in their own cellophane sleeves, with decorative black-and-gold bands, white signature-printed wrappers and a black ribbon across the centre. It's an attractive arrangement, particularly with the pale wooden interior contrasting against the dark lacquered exterior.
The name By the Book is an interesting choice. Cigar making is one of those trades where established methods still carry considerable weight. There's machinery involved in modern production, of course, but the selection of tobacco, construction of the bunch and application of the wrapper remain jobs where experience and judgement matter enormously.
These cigars come from Las Villas, associated with master blender Guillermo Peña and the cigar-making industry of Estelí, Nicaragua. The region has become internationally recognised for its tobacco production, and the growth of its cigar factories has helped establish Nicaragua as one of the major names in the premium cigar trade.
The By the Book Toro brings together a Mexican San Andrés wrapper with Nicaraguan binder and filler. San Andrés tobacco comes from the Veracruz region of Mexico, an area with a long history of cultivation. Its darker wrapper leaves have become particularly popular for blends seeking an earthy, substantial tobacco character.
The blend is described as medium-to-full-bodied, with reported notes of cedar, espresso, dark cocoa, roasted nuts, earth and pepper. There's also a suggestion of sweetness, which provides an interesting contrast to the more robust characteristics.
An additional point of interest is the whisky-barrel ageing associated with the By the Book range. The use of barrels as part of tobacco maturation introduces another consideration for the blender, allowing the tobacco to develop under conditions different from conventional storage. It's a technique that has attracted considerable interest in modern cigar production.
Each Toro measures six inches in length with a 54 ring gauge, giving it a generous format. The cigars are also box pressed, creating a squared profile rather than the usual round cross-section.
I've always enjoyed the debates that surround box-pressed cigars. Some customers insist they draw differently, others claim they burn more evenly, and a few simply appreciate that a square cigar is less inclined to roll off the table. That last argument has a certain practical merit, although I wouldn't recommend putting it to the test with a lit one.
The presentation box is particularly handsome. Its black lacquer, natural wood interior and gold detailing give it a distinctly traditional appearance, while the individual cellophane sleeves help protect the cigars during handling.
A full box of twenty makes sense for anyone who has already become familiar with the By the Book Toro and wishes to keep a supply in the humidor. It's also an attractive format for those who appreciate the presentation and craftsmanship associated with premium cigars.
The name By the Book suggests a manufacturer taking its work seriously, and there's certainly plenty of evidence of attention to detail here. Mind you, if every trade followed its instruction manuals as carefully as cigar makers claim to, we'd have considerably fewer interesting stories to tell across the counter.
