A tribute to Carlos Toraño, Sr., the man who brought Cuban seed tobacco to the Dominican Republic for what was probably the first time, and with the cultivation of Piloto Cubano spawned the Dominican cigar as we know it today. There have actually been two “Tributes” thus far: the 2003, which had a natural wrapper, and this one, the 2004 maduro.

As is fitting with a special cigar, this is a limited edition of 1000 boxes only. The Costa Rican maduro wrapper is gorgeous, dripping with oil and redolent of earth and cedar. Within lies Nicaraguan and Dominican filler held by a Nicaraguan binder, all of which have been aged five or more years. The Tribute is rolled in Toraño’s Esteli, Nicaragua factory.

It fires up with a powerful earthy taste, very similar to the 1916 Cameroon, but without the spice of the Cameroon. There is a sharp element that quickly mellows.

But Houston, we have a problem. The draw is very loose, and for the first inch or so the cigar tunnels. The tunneling stops, but the burn remains very hot. I smoked this one very slowly, allowing the burn to correct itself. It does, but remains hot. I rarely do this with a cigar, but I decided to let it extinguish itself and return to it later. It’s such a pretty stick, and the flavor is so rich and lovely that I hate to can it because of a construction flaw. (Not to mention that it’s friggin expensive.)

Unfortunately, letting this cigar die in the hopes of a later resurrection was not such a good idea. Upon relighting it the same rich flavor was there, but the burn was still hot and I got sick of it pretty quickly.

At about 10 USD a pop, I’m not going to give this one another chance. I hope this was just a bad single, since other reviews indicate this is a great cigar. Keep in mind that this review is based on a single experience, but all in all I have to say I was disappointed.