Kristoff Tres Compadres Toro

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love a cigar release with meaning, and the Tres Compadres by Kristoff Cigars certainly delivers. In the world of fine cigars, where each puff can transport you to another realm, the Kristoff Tres Compadres emerges as a tribute to friendship and legacy from the minds of Glen Case, Rolando Villamil, and Chuck Finch. Villamil, the steadfast overseer of the Charles Fairmorn Factory (now known as Tabacalera Von Eicken), where these cigars are crafted, and Finch, Case’s unwavering friend since their high school days, are immortalized with their initials on the cigar’s band.

This cigar serves as a solemn tribute to both men—a trio (i.e. Tres Compadres) when including all three friends. Finch departed this world in October of 2021, and Villamil followed just four months later. Both men have left an indelible mark on Case, and are dearly missed.

The Tres Compadres is a Nicaraguan puro with leaves hailing from Condega, Jalapa, and Estelí. This is somewhat unique from Kristoff and the Von Eicken factory, which typically blends cigars around Dominican tobaccos, given the facility’s location. Kristoff has remained elusive on pinpointing the exact blend, only noting the wrapper varietal on the wrapper component.

Kristoff Tres Compadres Toro Breakdown

Appearance

Visible veins cover the Tres Compadres cigar like a coffee-colored lattice. While easily detected, they do not disrupt the roll or give the toro a lumpy texture. The wrapper has a smooth and slightly oily overall appearance and feel, and the veins give only a slight raise under my fingers. It reminds me of snake skin—smooth yet textured. The toro is of average heft, and gives slightly under pressure. The seams are clearly visible and lie evenly, but I can’t help but feel that the cigar itself gives a slightly sloppy appearance when all of these factors are combined.

Moving to the band of the Tres Compadres, I must say that I like it a lot. It’s simple and classic in its design. The blue is a unique hue that catches the eye, and the metallic gold accents don’t overwhelm. It’s not trying to dominate the cigar, it’s simply adding a touch of class to it’s appearance.

The cigar’s pre-light aroma is heavily laden with warm bread notes and dried pine wood. There is almost no pepper present on the wrapper or foot, which is surprising to me, beings it’s a Nicaraguan puro. Clipping the head of the Tres Compadres Toro with my guillotine and giving a cold draw test, I am pleased to find a great resistance: 8/10. Notes of stale cinnamon and sweet wood, (think fresh-cut maple) are the two most dominant aromas I pick up, with only a slight white pepper on the finish.

Smoking Experience

The tobaccos of the Tres Compadres Toro take quickly to the flame of my torch lighter, with the stick only needing a light toasting before I take the first few puffs to start the smoking portion of this review. Woody, raw cinnamon notes wash across my palate, followed with a tangy yeast-laden bread note. It draws my mind to the bread aisle in the grocery store, and the swirl of sweet and bright aromas you are bombarded with whenever you walk past its carb-rich shelves. Joining in the mix is a raw peanut profile that seems out of place, adding a bitterness that I don’t think fits with the previously mentioned notes. The body is medium, flavor is medium-plus, and strength is mild to medium.

Now that I’m past the first light portion of the Tres Compadres, I’m finding notes of coffee cake. The cinnamon has become sweeter, and the bready notes are swirling to create this breakfast treat profile. The burn is rather wavy, and I am forced to touch up the cigar at this early stage to keep it from getting out of hand. The smoke itself is light and rather thin, delivering the flavors without lingering on my palate. The retrohale brings the first real pepper component I’ve gotten from this cigar. It’s a cayenne pepper that comes with a raw, fresh-cut wood note that doesn’t blend very well, having me limiting the retrohales to not sour the rest of the smoking experience. Flavor, body, and strength have not moved since first light, remaining at an overall medium profile.

Crossing the halfway point, I’m finding that I’m getting bored with the cigar. It has kept it’s medium profile, adding little to the smoking experience in terms of depth or complexity. Flavors of toasted bread, steeped brewer’s grains, and a generic lumberyard are only minimally different than the flavors I picked up early on in the smoking experience. The light cayenne pepper on the retrohale has remained constant since the last update, and I’m hoping to see some transitions in what remains of this toro.

Popping the band off of the Tres Compadres gives me a chance to mentally review what has changed in the smoking experience. The answer: very little. Despite the cigar’s fairly promising start, little has changed. The flavors have done some subtle shifting, but I wouldn’t say that any of them would be considered transitions. The main change is that the sweetness that was present through the first half of the cigar is now gone, leaving just a charred wood, light burnt toast, and black pepper profile that is sitting heavy on my palate. The draw has remained excellent at 8/10. Flavor, body, and strength are solidly anchored at medium at this point, and I doubt they will move.

The final puffs of the Kristoff Tres Compadres cigar are filled with charred wood and pepper. Gone is the sweetness that I enjoyed in the beginning, as well as the bready notes. It evokes memories of backyard fire pits in the summer, which is the only positive that I take away from the way this cigar ends.

Would I Smoke This Cigar Again?

More than likely, no, I wouldn’t. I have enjoyed several of Kristoff’s offerings, including the Corojo Limitada and the good ol’ Pistoff Kristoff. However, the Tres Compadres didn’t resonate with me. Its medium profile seemed more boring than balanced, and the same notes kept presenting themselves, leaving me struggling to find new ways to describe them. If you’re looking for a reliable “Steady Eddie” cigar and enjoy woody, bready notes, this one is worth a try. But for me, it’s a pass.

• The Kristoff Tres Compadres currently has 55 check-ins on dojoverse.com, ranking 2,107 out of 5.5k cigars with a “Smokeable” rating of 82%.
• This was one of three releases from Kristoff Cigars that debuted at the 2023 PCA trade show held in Las Vegas, Nevada.
• This cigar is currently available in three vitolas:
  • Robusto: 5 ½” x 54 | $10.00 MSRP
  • Toro: 6 ¼” x 54 | $11.00 MSRP
  • Gordo: 6” x 60 | $11.26 MSRP

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