Wrapper: Habano / Nicaragua
Binder: Sumatra / Ecuador
Filler: Nicaragua and Peru (Tarapoto)
Size: Toro (6¼ × 54)
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium → Full (home stretch)
Price: $53.99–$61.99 per five-pack (U.S., varies by retailer)
Factory: Joya de Nicaragua, Nicaragua
Blender: Omar de Frias
Release: 2013 (Regular Production)
Smoking Time: 1:35
Experience Rating: 92
I’m going back to the beginning with this cigar.
This was Fratello’s first cigar, released in 2013. I’m impressed that it’s still around. Many brands move on from their original releases. But thirteen years later, the Classico is still part of Fratello’s core lineup. To me, that’s a good thing.
Omar de Frias has added several lines to the Fratello portfolio over those years without going hog-wild. Some newer brands put out several lines a year and their portfolios feel like a mishmash of blends, which makes me think they’re throwing shit at a wall to see what sticks.
Fratello has taken a more calculated, deliberate path in developing its blends, as if nothing was left to chance. Considering Omar’s prior career at NASA, that careful consideration is not surprising to me.
After smoking a few of the blends, I can see the congruence and continuity Omar has worked to maintain across the brand. While each blend has its own character, I still sense a consistency among the lines. You might call it a signature.
And it all started with the Classico.
The first thing I notice when I remove the cigar from its cellophane is how slick its skin looks. It’s like someone passed it under a mister and gave it a fine coating of oil. Construction is solid all around, and the bunch feels dense and packed.
I bring the cigar to my nose. The wrapper has an inviting aroma of flowers, bread, peach, and rich tobacco. The foot is a heady mix of stone fruit and berries. The draw is a little snug but far from plugged. I get malt and bread, followed by a sugary sweetness.
I light it up, take my first puff, and am hit with an onslaught of richness. It’s difficult to describe. Normally, I can pick out individual flavors, but here they’re blurry, like trying to read without my glasses. I can make out common words like “the,” but the rest is unintelligible. Even in that blur, it’s really delicious.
A few puffs in, a gentle spice alights on my tongue, and I can finally start making out individual flavors, like putting on my glasses. What I see is a gorgeous mix of roasted cashew, light coffee, dark caramel, semi-sweet chocolate, cardamom, malt, and cream. Strength is an agreeable medium, as is body.
I’m struck by the opening because it’s unique. I’ve been hit with a barrage of flavors in the past, but having flavors so complementary that they meld together is remarkable. That’s a new experience for me, and it makes me smile because it’s a Forrest Gump box-of-chocolates moment. You just never know what you’re gonna get.
Somewhere in my ruminations, I realize I’ve already smoked past the two-inch mark. The profile is so easygoing that I lose track of how far I’ve smoked. Taking stock, I notice just how structured and balanced it is. Cedar and black pepper have arrived, reinforcing the darker Habano character. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice join the cardamom, underscoring the Sumatra binder’s influence, and that warmth tempers the cedar and pepper. Earthiness and leather ground the profile, and a light fruity and floral character punctuates the finish. The cream is light but enveloping, smoothing it all out.
The spice has gradually intensified. It now sits on the roof of my mouth with a bright, cinnamon-like heat. It fits right in with the rest of the profile, which says a lot about the balance of the blend.
At the halfway point, I make a slight burn correction. Yikes! The burn line got a little crooked. Five-point deduction because I had to use some butane. Kidding. I know I’ve been a little flip about this recently, but unless I have to make several corrections over the course of a smoke, a couple of minor adjustments or a slightly wavy burn line aren’t issues for me.
Flame off.
As I get into the home stretch, the body moves to full as the cream thickens in a big way. Strength is still medium. The spice still sits on the roof of my mouth, a beacon shining through the fog of the profile.
As I approach the last couple of inches, I can feel the entire profile begin to compress and darken. Coffee, cedar, leather, and black pepper take the lead, and the secondary flavors roam freely around that core.
In the final inch, the spice really starts to assert itself. It pulls against the rest of the profile, keeping it from collapsing as it compresses and darkens. Even at its brightest, the spice stays in proportion with everything around it.
Balance.
That’s the word to describe this cigar. It’s immensely harmonious, with no sharp edges. That balance, combined with the creamy texture of the smoke, provides a nice, smooth cruise of an experience. And while there is considerable energy with the spice buoying the profile, my personal take is that it’s almost too smooth and balanced.
Looking at the blend stats, it’s clear that Omar de Frias was aiming to create a balanced experience. Dark elements from the Habano wrapper are balanced by the warm baking spices and fruity and floral character of the Sumatra binder. These are then grounded by the Nicaraguan and Peruvian filler tobaccos.
Everything is working in concert. But here’s the thing. I’ve seen this movie before. Granted, the cigar came out in 2013. Given how well it was received, my guess is that it offered something unique at the time, especially with the Peruvian filler. But the market has since caught up, and today the profile feels familiar.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s still a great-tasting cigar, and I don’t want to take anything away from it. But I have to be honest: while it hits all the marks in my evaluation framework for technical and behavioral execution and architecture, its familiar profile doesn’t move me as much as I’d like. Had I smoked it when it first came out, I think it would’ve really excited me. But my docket of go-tos is full, and while I like the cigar, it’s not compelling enough to move it into my regular rotation. But it’s something I’ll definitely revisit occasionally.
The Toro vitola is hard to find, but Smoking Pipes has singles, fivers, and boxes in stock. If you haven’t tried Fratello cigars before, I reccommend buying a Toro Fresh Pack that includes the Arlequín, Bianco, Classico, Navetta, and Sorella. I bought a couple of them when trying the brand.
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