OZ Family Karatoba Arriving This Week
When you combine the Turkish word for “dark” (kara) with Indonesia’s Lake Toba, you get the portmanteau “karatoba,” which is also the name of newest brand from OZ Family Cigars. Karatoba is the most full-bodied blend from OZ Family yet, and it’s on its way to retailers now.
So why Lake Toba? This body of water happens to sit atop a caldera formed by an old super volcano that was responsible for one of the biggest blasts in our geological timeline. Scientists say the eruption happened around 73,000 years ago, and the volcano is (hopefully) dormant, but brand owner Tim Ozgener wanted to translate this idea to a cigar. His use of the word “kara” not only refers to the dark shade of the wrapper, but speaks to Ozgener’s half-Turkish lineage.
“I really wanted something that not only captures the palate immediately, but that takes the smoker on a ride of complex and evolving flavors that really keep the smoking experience interesting and your palate captivated,” Ozgener told Cigar Aficionado in a previous interview.
While there’s no Indonesian tobacco in this blend, the wrapper is grown in Ecuador from Sumatra seeds that originated in Indonesia, so there’s a distant elemental tie to the volcano. The binder is Nicaraguan and the filler is a combination of Dominican and Nicaraguan leaf.
Karatoba is offered in four sizes, all of which come in 21-count boxes: Toro (6 1/2 inches by 50 ring gauge, $12.25), Robusto (5 by 52, $12), Robusto Extra (5 1/2 by 55, $12.75) and Gordo (6 by 60, $13). They are made in Nicaragua by Nicaraguan American Cigars S.A., better known as NACSA, and distributed by Crowned Heads out of Tennessee.
For a vertical brand tasting of Karatoba, see a future issue of Cigar Insider.
