Las Calaveras LC EL 2020 Toro Review

Overview

The Las Calaveras LC EL 2020 Toro is a compelling argument for Honduras’s continued relevance in a market often dominated by Nicaraguan powerhouses. Released as part of the brand’s annual Edición Limitada series, the 2020 expression is the work of master blender Esteban Disla at the Raíces Cubanas factory in Danlí, Honduras—a facility renowned for its exacting construction and nuanced blends. For this vintage, Disla selected a Honduran Corojo wrapper in a Colorado shade, a medium-dark reddish-brown leaf with a subtle natural sheen and impeccable seams. Beneath it lies a Honduran binder and a core of Nicaraguan and Honduran long-fillers, all aged prior to rolling, then given further cellaring potential as a limited release from 2020. The result is a cigar that speaks with a distinctly Honduran accent: earthy, leathery, and grounded, yet layered with complexity that unfolds deliberately across a 90-minute smoke. The first third announces itself with assertive barnyard and dark cocoa powder, anchored by a nuttiness that feels both rustic and refined. A cedar frame and a peppery retrohale give way in the second third to espresso, toasted almond, dried fig, and a dark cherry leather note that threads through the creamy, thickening smoke. The final third deepens into dark chocolate, charred oak, and a sustained earthiness, with strength increasing pleasantly but never tipping into harshness. Construction is exemplary—a razor-even burn, pale gray ash that holds firm, and a draw that offers just the right resistance for dense, cool smoke. Priced between $14 and $18 per cigar and produced in limited quantities of 300 to 500 boxes, the LC EL 2020 Toro occupies a sweet spot in the premium tier: it is not an everyday smoke, but rather a focused, celebratory experience for the aficionado who values balance, terroir, and the quiet authority of a well-executed Honduran blend. It is, in many ways, an undervalued gem—a reminder that Honduras still has something profound to say in a conversation too often monopolized by Nicaraguan bombast.