Padilla 1932 Lancero
Jul 24, 2009 Cigar
Sorry for the long layoff. Vacation combined with lots going on at work has kept me away from the site.
The Padilla 1932 Series of cigars is a signature series blended by Don Pepin Garcia and the Lancero is the cigar with the most flavor. As a flagship of the Padilla line, you can expect that the cigars as a Signature blend are sure to please. The Padilla Signature 1932 Churchill got a 90 rating in Cigar Aficionado. These cigars are made with Nicaraguan Criollo and Corojo tobaccos and hand – rolled by the finest cigar makers in Miami, Florida. Because Don Pepin has done so well with his blends, Ernesto Padilla had him make a blend for the Padilla line and the Signature 1932 was it!
And now, on to the review.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Size: 6 7/8 x 42 (Lancero)
Origin: Miami
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
APPEARANCE and CONSTRUCTION -
The Padilla lance has a smooth dark wrapper with excellent construction. Triple cap is well applied and there are no visible blemishes or soft spots. Overall a nicely constructed cigar. Wrapper and foot both have a sweet tobacco smell with a little earth. It was more noticeable on the foot than the wrapper.
SMOKING CHARACTERISTICS -
Cut cleanly with a double blade cutter. Cold draw is a little tighter than I would like, but certainly nothing to complain about. Flavors of leather and earth on the cold draw.
FLAVOR -
Blast of leather on the first puffs. The leather flavor slowly transitioned to a burnt wood flavor as I progressed through the first third. Campfire is what kept coming to mind. Second third transitioned to a sweeter flavor that also added some additional body and that Nicaraguan zing that so many people talk about.
Final third brought back some of that leather and introduced some earthiness.
OVERALL IMPRESSION -
A very enjoyable lancero that was well constructed and burned evenly. The flavors transitioned nicely and had some very interesting combinations of flavor profiles. As a side note, the sample I smoked was part of the original Don Pepin blend. I believe most of the sticks on the market now are probably the newer variations of the lancero without Pepin’s influence.
TOTAL SCORE – 90
Tags: lancero, Padilla 1932
Davidoff Millennium Lancero
Apr 27, 2009 Cigar
Davidoff Millennium Lancero cigars are the most full-bodied of all Davidoff cigars. Blended from heartier, vintage Dominican tobaccos and Ecuadorian sun-grown wrapper leaves, grown exclusively for Davidoff.
All Davidoff cigars maintain well defined standards of quality and excellence. The tobaccos that are used in the different blends have been cultivated in accordance with the most ancient traditions, in the richest soils and ideal climatic conditions of carefully selected fields. The most choice leaves from various harvests undergo four years of aging, which imparts to Davidoff cigars their rich aroma and consistently smooth taste. All Davidoff cigars are handmade in the Dominican Republic, where for over five centuries this art has been passed on from generation to generation.
The experience accumulated over the years has provided Davidoff with the know-how required to produce a new type of cigar made from a balanced blend of stronger tobaccos.
And now, on to the review.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Size: 7 1/4 x 40 (Lancero)
Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Hybrid
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
APPEARANCE and CONSTRUCTION -
The Davidoff Millenium Blend Lancero has a medium brown wrapper and very short, stubby pigtail cap. The wrapper looks well applied and is very smooth to the touch. Like most Davidoff cigars, the wrapper and overall construction of this lancero is of very high quality. No apparent blemishes or problems. The stick is a little soft for my liking. Not overly humidified, just a little too spongy.
SMOKING CHARACTERISTICS -
The wrapper has a faint hay aroma with a little stronger hay at the foot. There’s also a light alfalfa aroma towards the foot. I used my usual punch cut on the stick and it cut perfectly. Cold draw had some sweet hay on the draw. Draw was very good. Despite the spongy feel, the draw had just enough resistance. Again, a good sign of quality.
The lancero lit beautifully and evenly. I had no burn problems at all throughout the smoke. It burned evenly and stayed well lit throughout. A good salt and pepper colored ash throughout. The Davidoff Millennium lancero gave off a good volume of smoke. The smoke was fairly light and drifted easily.
FLAVOR -
Flavors included some cedary wood notes as well as some tobacco sweetness. The flavors remained fairly consistent the whole time without much transition. The lancero was a little more full-bodied than some other Davidoff sticks I recall, but not by that much. The flavor profile remained fairly simple with not much change through the entire smoke.
OVERALL IMPRESSION -
I have no real complaints about the Davidoff Millennium Blend Lancero. That’s the tough part. The cigar is technically well made, well constructed with full flavors and good medium to full body. There’s just no WOW factor with this smoke. It’s fairly simple flavor profile stayed basically one-dimensional the entire time. I would have liked a little more complexity or some flavor transitions at different stages.
A decent smoke, but for the price, I’d look elsewhere.
TOTAL SCORE – 84
Tags: davidoff, Dominican Republic, lancero, Millennium Blend
Lancero Contest Winner!
Apr 26, 2009 Contest, Site News
Congratulations to Tim D.!
He is the winner of our “You pick the smoke” lancero contest.
Tim’s choice for review was the Davidoff Millenium Lancero.
We will have the review of Tim’s choice up Monday night.
Congratulations again, Tim.
Your 2008 Camacho Liberty will be on its way to you shortly.
Don Pepin JJ Series (White Label) Lancero
Apr 26, 2009 Cigar
Don (Jose) Pepin Garcia is arguably making the best cigars on the market. His secret family recipe for blending and fermentation has been handed down generation to generation since his family’s beginnings in old Cuba. Today Pepin is using this time honored process to make cigars which many aficionados consider to very reminiscent of the best Cuban cigars available today.
The Don Pepin Series JJ is the top shelf blend made at Pepin’s El Rey de Los Habanos factory in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami. Each Series JJ is rolled using only the top tobacco available at the factory. The blend is very full bodied and full flavored with a spicy aroma that is well balanced with notes of leather on the palate and a long finish. The Series JJ, also known as the White Label, is a blend of talent and tobacco. Don Pepin and his son, Jaime, created this full-bodied Nicaraguan puro featuring a Corojo wrapper, a Criollo binder and a mixture of Corojo and Criollo filler tobaccos. Deep and rich with a spicy aroma and notes of leather on the palate, these cigars are manufactured in limited quantities. This lancero was part of a Don Pepin Lancero Sampler box that was made available about a year ago. It is still available in limited quantities.
And now, on to the review.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Size: 7.5 x 40 (Lancero)
Origin: Miami
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
APPEARANCE and CONSTRUCTION -
The Series JJ Lancero had about a year of age on it before I lit it up this week. The wrapper is a chocolate brown with a rough bumpy appearance. There is a toothy feel to it and you can actually see some small dimples throughout the wrapper. The lancero is finished with a nice triple cap and pigtail. All in all a nice looking cigar.
SMOKING CHARACTERISTICS -
I used my punch cut on this and immediately discovered it had a tight draw. While not uncommon for some lanceros, still disappointing. I went to my Xikar to take a little more off the head. It helped the draw slightly, but it was still to firm for my liking. the cold draw had a spice to it and a faint flavor of charred wood. It lit evenly and burned very nicely throughout. No touch ups required. The ash was very white and remained firm. A very nice burn despite the draw problems. Because of the firm draw, the volume of smoke was not what it should have been. I had to pull hard to get a decent amount of smoke and that definitely detracted from the overall enjoyment. Smoke was white/gray and was fairly dense.
FLAVOR -
The flavors coming off the Don Pepin JJ Series Lancero were typical Pepin profile. It started with a sweet spice. The spice was just enough to leave a tingle in the back of the throat. I also picked up a green herb flavor on the first third. Around the midway point the spice gave way to some cream coffee flavors. While the smoke was a solid medium to full body, the body definitely started out strong and diminished as I went on. I also picked up a little red pepper on the finish.
OVERALL IMPRESSION -
Overall this was a good smoke. Having smoked many of Don Pepin’s projects, I wasn’t overwhelmed with the JJ lancero. Considering how difficult it is to find, I doubt I would seek it out again. Again, a good smoke, but considering the man making it, he’s got a lot better out there to choose from.
TOTAL SCORE – 84
Illusione -hl- (Holy Lance)
Apr 24, 2009 Cigar
The concept behind Illusione Cigars was to re-create a specific taste profile from years past. Before the Sandinistas took over Nicaragua in 1979, Nicaragua was growing some of the best tobaccos in the world. The cigars made from these prized fields in the Jalapa Valley and Esteli region were strong, bold and clean. After years of neglect, these old Somoza fields have been re-cultiviated by the legendary master grower Arcenio Ramos of Cuba. Along with Fernano, Chandito and famed Cuban agronomist Jacinto, Arsenio has assembled the varitable “dream team” of tobacco production.
They have re-grown these humble acres to yield their fullest potential once again.
This premium, hand-made line of cigars is produced by Dion Giolito, who coined the term “small batch” to us in relation to making cigars that can maintain a level of quality and consistency deserving of the true connoisseur.
As Dion set out to re-create a cigar with a taste profile from long ago in Nicaragua, this line fits our mission of bringing you cigars that represent “The New Havana” in terms of bringing you the best cigars from every region. Using the flavors and strength of Nicaraguan cigars past, Dion blended the line using tobacco produced by a team of growers who took the fields of the Jalapa Valley and Esteli region of Nicaraguan and started producing tobacco that rivals the best of the Nicaraguan tradition.
Using tobacco from first generation Corojo ‘99 and Criollo ‘98 seeds and Cafe Colorado wrapper leaf, these cigars are beautifully constructed and are finished with a cuban style triple cap.
Made at the Raices Cubanas factory in Honduras from 100% Nicaraguan tobacco.
The -hl- is also known as the “Holy Lance” and it is the only lancero in the Illusione line.
Now on to the review.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Size: 7.5 x 40 (Lancero)
Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
APPEARANCE and CONSTRUCTION -
The hl is a pretty looking stick. The wrapper is a dark brown somewhere between milk chocolate and dark chocolate. It is clean and even and has no apparent blemishes. There is a cuban-style pigtail at the end of the triple cap and finishes off this pretty looking lancero nicely. The cigar felt firm to the touch with no soft spots at all.
SMOKING CHARACTERISTICS –
The hl gave off very little aroma from the wrapper, but the foot had a spicy aroma that actually tingled in the nose a bit. I decided to depart from my usual punch and I cut the hl with my Xikar Xi cutter. It cut perfectly and had a cedary flavor on the cold draw. There was also a bit of spice. The hl lit beautifully and evenly. About a third of the way through however, I began to have significant burn issues. The burn line became extremely wavy and I needed to perform several touch ups to maintain an even burn. The burn eventually worked itself out, but not until I was starting the final third. Tough call as to what might have caused this as I have not experienced this before with this smoke despite having several of them over the last year. The hl gave off a good volume of smoke. The smoke was light gray and had a nice woody aroma.
FLAVOR –
The hl had a little more spice than I remember in the past. The first third of the cigar had some nice leather notes and a strong sense of spice to it. The leather gave way to some woodier notes about halfway through but the spice remained fairly prominent. The spice turned a little black pepper in the final third, which I actually did not enjoy so much. Earlier it balanced well with the leather notes, but the spice started to become a little much as the cigar went on. It was medium to full bodied and had a good clean finish.
OVERALL IMPRESSION –
I enjoy most of the Illusione line and I think Dion makes some fantastic smokes. While this cigar was enjoyable, it didn’t distinguish itself so much. The flavors were fairly basic and not overly complex. I am probably unfairly comparing the hl to the other sticks in the Illusione line such as the cg4 and 888, both of which I adore. The hl was a good, but not great smoke.
TOTAL SCORE – 86
Tags: Dion Giolito, illusione, lancero, Nicaragua, Raices Cubanas
