The Particulars

The Review

This review for the J.C. Newman The American - Toro (6 x 54) is based on the journal entry dated 2026-06-29

Appearance & Construction (0-3):  Good (3)

A warm medium brown with some reddish-orange hues, featuring a good sheen, mottling, and a light, very small tooth. The veins are all very thin, and it’s a smooth roll overall, despite some stretching and wrinkling. All the veins are tight, disappearing into the wrapper nicely, and the triple cap is perfect. The bands reinforce the 100% American aspect of the cigar, bringing a vintage-looking red, white, and blue scheme with colors that look aged and slightly yellowed. Overall, a great-looking cigar. I also really dig the subtle Easter eggs in the band art—like a spin on the United States seal where the eagle is holding tobacco leaves and flowers instead of olive branches and arrows. You’ll also note the inclusion of the Puerto Rican flag; the original “The American” brand design included it as a way to honor Puerto Rico’s rich tobacco heritage.

Draw (0-3) & Burn (0-4):  Good (3) / Good (3)

The draw is spot-on with good resistance, and the burn starts clean and well-controlled. The ash is a medium gray with tight striations and is covered with oil crystals. The ash was surprisingly fragile and fell just after getting into the second inch, catching me off guard. You might not want to try to stack this one, but the burn line stays flat. While it does need a couple of minor touch-ups to recharge the burn intensity, it’s a very good and well-behaved burn overall. My only gripe was one little section that lagged on the burn because it was tight and needed more attention, but that only happened twice.

It does canoe late in the second third and requires a touch-up and relight, but it’s smooth sailing with an even burn line from there.

Flavor Profile (0-5):  Excellent (5)

Coffee, mocha, molasses breadiness, and nutmeg, with a hint of black pepper right out of the gate. A citrusy sweetness with a lot of zest and some saltiness is hitting my tongue. I’m getting a heavy barley and honey flavor that tastes exactly like biting into one of those crunchy oats and honey Nature Valley granola bars. It’s interesting because I can detect the Pennsylvania Broadleaf at times bringing that dark, charred wood and leathery aspect, but the other flavors really cut right through it. This is off to a delightful start with a delectably creamy finish. Then, at the first inch, pepper brings a nice tingle to the lips and mouth. We’re going for full flavor wheel coverage here, with building complexity and robustness that’s going from mild to medium.

With the second third, the breadiness and honey sweetness are really taking the lead. As I mentioned, there are dark barley notes to it that I’m finding unique and very enjoyable. I don’t usually think about pairing many cigars with beer, but I’m feeling like this could pair perfectly with a rich, darker American lager. The coffee and chocolate notes have pulled back, and it’s a little more woody and a bit more charred. Still strong on the baking spice flavors, bringing good cinnamon and reducing a little on the pepper. The profile has always been dark, but it bounces between dark bread and dark, charred woodiness. Depending on that swing, it’s either more mesquite or molasses brown bread-flavored with some lemon bite depending on the spice mix.

The final third starts with more of that molasses brown bread flavor that’s just so good. The relights would bring it back to being more bready and sweet. But this is a fantastic blend—no harshness, no bitterness, just a lot of unique flavor with that extra barley note and a good peppery tingle.

Overall Experience (0-5):  Excellent (5)

Given the limited options in US-grown tobacco to make an American puro, this is a banger of a blend with some unique flavors you don’t find in other cigars. I don’t always enjoy blends with Pennsylvania Broadleaf, but this was a really nice surprise with how it all worked. If you’re going to celebrate America on the 4th, this is an awesome cigar to do it with. America, fuck yeah! 🫡

Review Base Rating (0-5):

4.75

Is it Burnable?

Without a doubt (box worthy)

Review Final Score (0-10):

9.67

Overall Score and Individual Journal Entries

While the review is based off one instance of journaling this cigar; there’s a number of reasons you can have different experiences smoking the same cigar multiple times. A blend can evolve with age (for better or worse), palates evolves, preferences change, and sometimes you just get a bad example!  This section captures the ratings from each journal entry and the related journal photo.  Below you’ll find an aggregate score based on every time the cigar has been journaled. Unless it was a gift or on-off smoke, this section will be updated every time I journal this cigar!

The Flavor Wheel

With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience.  These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out.  When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.

The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.

• 0:   No flavor detected
• 1:   Mild flavor
• 2:   Medium flavor
• 3:   Strong flavor

Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.

With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience.  These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out.  When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.

The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.

• 0:   No flavor detected
• 1:   Mild flavor
• 2:   Medium flavor
• 3:   Strong flavor

Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.