A toro cigar measures 6 inches by a 50 ring gauge, which is 152 mm long and 19.8 mm thick, and it smokes for 60 to 90 minutes. Ring gauge is counted in sixty-fourths of an inch, so a 50 is 50/64 of an inch across.
It is the most popular size on the market today, and it earns that: a robusto’s comfortable thickness with an extra inch of length. Most toros run 5 3/4 to 6 3/8 inches at a 50 to 54 ring gauge depending on the brand.
Against a robusto at 5 x 50 you gain twenty to thirty minutes without a thicker cigar in hand. Against a churchill at 7 x 47 you keep the fuller ring gauge, so the draw stays cool and the smoke stays full, in a cigar that takes less of the evening. The extra length gives a blend room to develop, so the flavors shift and deepen as you move through it.
Reach for a toro when you have an hour or more and want to follow a blend through its changes. Nearly every brand makes one, which makes it the fairest way to compare two blends side by side. You will find toros across every strength below.