Cigar Review: Revere Lancero by 262 Cigars

Lancero, 7” x 38 ring gauge / $8.80, Silo Cigars
I knew this cigar would work. I know...I know...don’t talk about yourself in a review. I try not to...except that a cigar review is “one man’s opinion” so in that way these words are all about me. Anyway...last November, Clint Aaron (President of 262 Cigars) had an event at the CBC/Burns location in Cleveland. I got there early and was helping him bring in a couple things from his car (that 944 was the bomb!). One of the items was a pre-release box of Revere Lonsdales. I had already had the Robusto (liked it) and the Corona (loved it), but the Lonsdale took it to a whole new level. Too bad they would be destined to only see one cigar shop in the country...no offense to Clint’s important customers, but I wanted to have unfettered access to those tasty stogies, too! So the Lonsdale was killer and I told Clint, “You really should make this in a Lancero.” He smiled, then produced a NDA, made me cut my finger and sign it in my own blood. Clint might actually remember that last part a little differently, but the point is, the small ring-gauge format seemed a complete natural for the Revere blend and Clint knew it right from the start. Savvy business people don’t lay all their cards on the table at the outset, so he made us wait...the Lancero officially debuted at the 2013 IPCPR show, and I finally saw it “in the wild” at Silo Cigars in early November, where I bought a couple. I smoked one in the shop that day and saved the other for this review. In case you are joining us late, the Revere is a Nicaraguan puro, the first of its kind from 262 Cigars.

The band is still the cool modern/throwback mix that has worked so well for the past year. To be honest, 262’s band and box designs are always excellent. I’ve heard some people opine that “It doesn’t matter because you don’t smoke the band or box.” But it really does matter, and here’s why: a great salesman can sell his own cigars all day long while he’s standing in a B&M’s humidor. Once he leaves, though, they have to sell themselves; without a good marketing effort in the way of professional-looking bands, boxes, shelf-talkers, etc. those cigars will simply have a very hard time moving off the shelves and into enthusiasts’ humidors. Suffice to say, I think Clint and the crew do well in this area. The cigar itself was a milk chocolate brown with fairly pronounced veins and a beautiful oily sheen. Giving the wrapper a whiff, I got earth and leather notes, while the foot had mostly a pungent earthiness. I cut with my trusty Xikar Xi and got a great draw; the cold flavor had notes of cocoa powder and black coffee, as well as a mild sweetness.

After lighting the Revere Lancero, I got a lot more pepper spice than I can ever remember getting on any other Revere vitola. It was a black pepper on the palate, and a hot red pepper on the nose. I also picked up a strong earthiness and notes of espresso bean on the tongue, as well as more minor hints of cedar and anise. Nearing the end of the first third, the flavors hadn’t changed much, but what I noted was the body. While the other vitolas of Revere had been medium to full by the end, this Lancero started off there and was into the full-bodied range by the end of the first third. It was much more substantial and powerful...more “Nicaraguan” perhaps...than the other sizes. 

As I cruised through the second third, the burn line of the Revere Lancero was straight and true, the ash was solid up to a half inch or so and the draw was perfect. I continued to get a deep earthiness, notes of coffee and a pleasant sweetness on the palate. The pepper had become a low burn on my tongue and had diminished a bit on the nose.

In the end, the Revere Lancero was everything I hoped it would be: earthy and peppery with lots of cocoa powder and coffee, along with touches of sweetness to balance it all out. The best of a great line of cigars? Absolutely. In a year where everything seems to be coming up Broadleaf for me, this cigar truly stands out as one of the best. Hmm...wonder what would happen if Clint put a Broadleaf wrapper on this beast? 

Body: 8/10
Strength: 7/10
Complexity: 7/10

AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 5/5
Value: 1/1

Total: 10/10

Cigar Review: AKA Nth° Infinite

Infinite (Robusto), 5.” x 50 ring gauge / approx. $7.50, MSRP

Today I will be taking a look at the latest release in the AKA Cigar line, the Nth°.  This cigar is produced in the same Davidoff factory as the other blends.  It is comprised of Dominican, Peruvian, and Honduran fillers, a Dominican binder, with a San Andreas maduro wrapper.  These cigars are billed as medium bodied.  The cigar comes in about the same sizes as the other AKA cigars.  Jay Lundy from AKA was kind enough to send me five cigars for this review after having some major construction issues with the one he gave me at the Tweetup.

The wrapper on this cigar was a nice even milk chocolate brown with a lot of tooth to it.  It also exhibited a fair amount of oils as well.  There were only a scattering of fine veins and it was slightly velvety to the touch.  I will admit I'm not too crazy about the turquoise and silver band.  I really like turquoise and silver jewelry, just not a cigar band.  When I gave the cigar a squeeze it was fairly firm without any soft spots.  When I put my nose to the wrapper I got light notes of barnyard with more intense barnyard coming from the foot.  After clipping it and taking a cold draw on I got a good draw with tastes of cocoa.

Once I lit the cigar I got an overwhelming taste of milk chocolate with some hints of red pepper spice and leather thrown in.  The cigar produced a large volume of smoke with a great draw.  The cigar was definitely in the medium range to start off.  As I progressed through this third I also noted some coffee and earth with a sugary like sweetness building on the finish.

As I moved into the second third I didn't really notice a whole lot of change.  The sweetness started to be a little more prominent though.  The draw and burn continued to be great and the cigar stayed right in the medium range.  I did start to notice some cinnamon spice towards the end of this third.

The final third again didn't see a who lot of change either.  This wasn't a bad thing though.  I noted similar flavors as I had gotten in the first two thirds; chocolate, leather, coffee, cream and cinnamon, but they were slightly more intense.  The strength built a bit but never got out of the upper end of medium.  The draw an burn continued to be great.

I definitely enjoyed this cigar.  The construction issues I had on the first one were no where to be seen on the samples Jay sent me so I'm to believe it was just a bad cigar.  I think that this cigar would be just about perfect to introduce someone to a maduro cigar.  It really showcases the flavors you get out of this type of wrapper without the strength to scare someone away.  I also think that this would be a great morning cigar with a nice cup of coffee.

Body: 7/10
Strength: 7/10
Complexity: 6/10

AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1

Total: 9/10

Cigar Review: Nica Rustica by Drew Estate

Toro, 6” x 52 ring gauge / ~$8
It’s fascinating to trace the line of “regular” cigars in the Drew Estate portfolio. Of course, one of their very first offerings was La Vieja Habana, a non-infused cigar with a bargain price tag (and it’s still available today, although mostly online). Drew Estate really made their mark on the industry in the early ‘00s, though, with Acid and Natural and Ambrosia...infused or otherwise “non-typical” tobacco blends. Next up was Chateau Real, which wasn’t bad, but wasn’t all that memorable, either. Then the big gamble: Liga Privada No. 9. How would the maker of Acid fare with super-premium full-bodied blends? Very well, thank you very much. Soon No. 9 was joined by T-52 and the Unico Series, then Drew Estate took a hard right turn toward something not just “regular” but completely traditional...even Cubanesque...with Willy Herrera’s Herrera Esteli. (And let's not forget the MUWAT and Undercrown lines.) So while the non-traditional, infused cigars remain DE’s best sellers, they are increasingly joined by lines that aren’t employing essential oils, spices, coffee or other flavor enhancements. Which brings us to their newest blend: Nica Rustica.

I was first given a Nica Rustica when I visited the Drew Estate operation earlier this year for the “Blogger Cigar Safari.” I smoked it a couple weeks after coming home and I found it very interesting, quite unique and practically unsmokeable. From what we were told, the blend used a bit of wild, native tobacco from Nicaragua and that bit of leaf was so potent that it thoroughly kicked my butt with nicotine content. The wild, unrefined flavor sent my palate for a spin, too, but I think I could have hung with that if the nicotine content wasn’t so high. I was told that the blend would be changed somewhat before release and, sure enough...the final product has no mention of “wild tobacco.” Or maybe they domesticated some of the wild tobacco a bit through further cultivation...I don’t know. Bottom line is they are proud to say this is a rustic, un-polished, un-refined blend that is made for hard core leaf lovers. The fillers are “Grade A” Nicaraguan tobaccos from Esteli and Jalapa, the binder is Mexican San Andres Negro, and the wrapper is a Connecticut Broadleaf. Drew Estate sent me several samples of this for reviewing purposes; I’ve smoked at least 3 of them before this review sample. The blend is being offered currently in a single size.

Image from Drew Estate website

The presentation of the Nica Rustica is very well done. The box is attractive and unique, with the large “El Brujito” design on the lid; El Brujito is the local Shaman would would use tobacco in ceremonial and medicinal rituals and the pictographic representation of him has become the mascot for this project. The banding has the pictograph on the reverse side, while the front has Nica Rustica in an early 20th century type of font, rendered in a dark red on a yellow-orange background (along with some art and minor type in black). I didn’t get the feeling they tried to ape some old Cuban band with this, but it also doesn’t look like anything DE has produced before, so...original, which is always difficult. On further inspection, the foot is closed (“fold-over” as I like to call it...like a bald man has a comb-over) and the cap is simply finished with a closely clipped pigtail. The wrapper was dark chocolate brown with some lighter mottling and it seemed like the larger veins of the Broadleaf wrapper had been flattened a bit before rolling. The leaf was oily to the touch; when held to the nose, I picked up notes of leather and manure as well as some cocoa powder. The prelight draw was very good and I picked up plenty of earth, as well as semi-sweet cocoa and some coffee bean flavors.

After lighting the Nica Rustica released a deeply earthy flavor with touches of anise, black pepper and wood. There were some sweeter notes as well, but the darker, rougher flavors held sway at the beginning. The retrohale had more pepper and wood. Like some other notable Drew Estate cigars, this stogie chugged out smoke at a prodigious rate, making it a great cigar to bring out to share second-hand smoke with others...not so good if folks around you object to massive amounts of smoke. By the end of the first third, the pepper had died down quite a bit and mostly I was getting dry, barely sweetened cocoa powder and dark roast coffee bean flavors. There was a distinctive flavor that I remember from the pre-release blend, as well as a bit of the harshness that cigar displayed, though not nearly so much as before.

The second third was heavy with flavors of anise and cedar, although the underlying earthiness remained strong as well. There was no pepper to speak of by this point. Construction was mostly very good, with a straight burn line, solid ash and great draw. The only drawback was when the cigar went out on me mid-burn. Nothing to do but re-light and it didn’t seem to adversely affect the flavor.

As I got into the final third, the earth flavors became deeper and more prevalent again, with a bit of espresso note as well. As billed, this was a medium-to-full bodied smoke and the nicotine strength was at a medium-plus level, making it possible to finish easily. The only thing I wished for was more sweetness to balance the earthiness, but even the presence of a Maduro wrapper and binder didn’t get that going in this case. I will say, though, that this was a very good example of Nicaraguan flavors and a very worthy addition to the Drew Estate catalog. And with the very reasonable price tag, it will be one that finds a place in my humidor often. Perhaps in the coming years they will expand the line with a thinner ring gauge vitola so we can see what happens when the wrapper flavor comes through more strongly.

Body: 8/10
Strength: 6/10
Complexity: 7/10

AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1

Total: 9/10

Thanksgiving Cigar: Fuente Fuente Opus X Destino al Siglo

Lancero, 7.5” x 38 ring gauge / $23.99, Burns Tobacconist
This cigar is a culmination of several things. First, and perhaps most importantly, is the fact that the Destino al Siglo (“Destiny of the Century” or “Century Destination”...depending on who’s translating, apparently) Opus X was made to celebrate 100 years of operation for the Fuente Family’s cigar company. The dates shown are 1912 - 2012, although the celebration was a little late with these sticks not showing up until late October 2013. Second, is the fact that Burns had these Opus X sticks in stock at all. The owner, Phil, loves Opus X and most of the stock allotted to the store ends up in his personal collection. I was told he didn’t care for this blend, although from what I’ve read this is just a slight tweak of the regular Opus X. Whatever...I actually got a chance to try this one without going elsewhere. Last, this is only the second “true Lancero” Opus X I’ve ever actually seen. The first was obtained at the Las Vegas Big Smoke several years back and I smoked it that Thanksgiving; so I thought I’d continue that tradition this year by firing this Destino al Siglo on Turkey Day.

As usual with the Opus-es (Opi?), the presentation is fantastic. The satin ribbon around the foot of the cedar sheath, the exquisite regular band joined by the Destino al Siglo secondary band (which matches the regular band for style and color as if it were designed at the same time 15 years ago), the oily wrapper that showed above the band, and the tight fantail finishing off the cap. Removing the cedar revealed no flaws or damage to the wrapper underneath...not exactly a foregone conclusion in my experience, which is why I tend to hate the practice of cedar sheaths. Giving the Opus a sniff, I picked up notes of earth and dried fruit on the wrapper, along with a stronger sweet and fruity aroma on the foot.

Once fire was applied to the Destino al Siglo, I got a solid earthiness, mixed with cedar and molasses-y sweetness. I noticed a subtle black pepper on the palate, as well as a stronger pepper spice on the nose. In just a few puffs, this was shaping up to possibly be the best Opus X experience I had had since the other Lancero, 5 years past. The body on this was medium to full right from the start. The last several Opi I have had seemed to be very smooth and sweet...refined but lacking bite. This one was not so...it had body, some bite, a little pepper, while still maintaining an underlying sweetness. This is more like I remember the blend being 7 or 8 years ago. Overall, a great way to start out my Thanksgiving. Hope you all had a great holiday, too, and got a chance to smoke something special.

Cigar Review: Something Special by Felix Assouline

Sublime (Robusto), 5” x 52 ring gauge / MSRP $4.50
You know that old joke about the bar named “The Office”? 

Wife calls...man answers...”Yeah, Honey, sorry I’m not home yet...I’m staying late at The Office.” 

He’s not lying because that’s where he is...just not the office she’s thinking of. The last in the series of cigars I’ve been reviewing for Felix Assouline Cigars is kind of like that...

Charlie: ”What are you smoking today?” 
Fred: “Something Special.” 
Charlie: “Cool, must be a special occasion, what cigar is it?” 
Fred: “Something Special.” 
Charlie: “Oh...so you don’t want to tell me?”

Yes, this cigar is literally Something Special, made with very familiar ingredients to the rest of the Felix Assouline lines: Nicaraguan and Honduran filler and binder, Indonesian binder, and a Habano 98 wrapper (all the descriptions for makeup of cigars are the same for their blends, but they all have different outcomes, so I’m guessing percentages of filler leaves changes quite a bit and I believe there may be differences in growing locations and primings of certain tobaccos). These are available in 6 sizes, in boxes of 50.

To be totally fair, this cigar is priced at the low end of the Felix Assouline catalog of cigars...not quite bundle territory, but not far off, either. The band is nice, although not quite as nice as some of their other cigar art, relying here on just two regular colors along with some metallic gold ink and light embossing (rather than the foil that we saw on the EGO). The feel of the wrapper was very nice...an oily, almost velvety smoothness under the fingers. Like almost all of their other cigars, this one was box-pressed, albeit quite softly. The wrapper was a dark tan color with some slightly darker mottling and a few veins showing up, although they seemed to have been flattened out in the rolling process. Giving thåe cigar I sniff, I picked up mostly just a fresh hay and natural tobacco aroma from the wrapper and a bit of wood and earthiness on the foot. The prelight draw was good and had a mix of cedar, hay and citrus flavors.

At the outset, Something Special was the mildest of the Felix Assouline cigars, displaying primarily notes of hay and sweet citrus, while hints of earth and wood could be detected underneath. There was very little in the way of pepper spice on the nose and practically none on the palate. The retrohale was more nutty than anything. The rest of the way through the first third, the SS was mellow, smooth, and sweet. It really didn’t stand out to me as the name suggested it should, but it was not bad, either.

The second third went along mostly the same. It was sweet with notes of hay and cedar, but so far it wasn’t showing a lot of complexity. The construction was very good; I had a fine draw and solid ash, while the burn line only needed a couple minor touch-ups so far.

In the last third, Something Special continued to be a mellow and enjoyable smoke that, despite its name, just didn’t blow me away. Without a doubt, it is a good smoke, but I just didn’t find anything all that special about it, which is disappointing when served up a cigar that promises more than “good.” I got more hay and subtle sweetness, along with just a hint of pepper spice creeping in. Maybe the “special” part was the fact that it is a solid smoke without breaking the bank or emptying your wallet. The body was right around medium and the strength was the same. With the name I wish I had enjoyed this one more, but maybe this cigar just needs a different name.

Body: 4/10
Strength: 5/10
Complexity: 5/10

AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: 1/1

Total: 8.5/10

OSOK EH Cigar Winners!

We at the Tiki Bar would like to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

Now to the part you've all been waiting for.  Thank you for all of the entries and buzz you all created for this contest.  We had over 200 entries and the winners are:

EH Cultura: Scott Wilson (@ScottWi17229296)
EH Cultura: Patrick Mulcahy (@HardlyClerkin)
EH Pasion: Matt Rosenthal (@MattSRoss81)
EH Pasion: Donald Kozerow (@DonaldKozerow)
EH Vida: Dani (@usccigar)
EH Vida: Jared Grillot (@JaredG327)

Winners please send me a DM with your mailing address or send it to tikibaronline@mac.com.  Please contact me by next Thursday at 11:59 PM ET or I will draw a new name.

I would like to again thank Edgar for his generous support of us with this contest.

Congrats to the winners!

Cigar Review: AKA Cigars Respect 2013

Hooah (Robusto), 50” x 50 ring gauge / MSRP ~$6.95

When I was talking to Jay Lundy about his new cigars at the Chattanooga Tweetup and he told me he permanently changed the Respect blend to this less strong one.  Since I really liked the original, I was a little bit worried to hear this.  I was very curious to find out what Jay did with this blend.  You can view Dave's review of the original blend here.  According to the AKA website it doesn't look as though the varietals of tobacco have changes just the blend.  Jay was kind enough to provide this cigar and the two previous cigars I smoked of this new blend.

The first thing I notice about the cigar is that the wrapper is definitely darker than the old blend.  There is also a foot band with the year of the cigar as well.  The wrapper is a nice dark brown with a bit of tooth and a good amount of oils to it.  There were some fine veins to it as well.  When I gave the cigar a squeeze it was fairly firm without any soft spots.  Putting my nose to the wrapper brought about the light aroma of leather with barnyard coming from the foot.  After I clipped it and took a cold draw on it I got a notes of sweetness with a good draw.

Once I lit up the cigar I noted flavors of chocolate, leather with a red pepper spice on the tongue and retrohale.  After taking a few more puffs on it I started to get a good amount of sweetness from it as well.  The draw and burn was perfect.  It started off in the medium full range.  As I got to the end of this third the spice had started to tone down.

As I got into the second third the flavors of creamy chocolate and leather had the tastes of coffee and molasses make themselves known.  The cigar was still in the medium full range and the draw and burn continued to be spot on.  One thing I've noticed about these newer releases was that they didn't have the overly flaky ash that the original blend had.  The spice started to come back along with a slight nicotine hit making itself known.

The nicotine really started to hit me at the final third.  It didn't spin me but I could definitely feel it.  The strength was firmly in the full range by now.  The flavors were pretty consistent of chocolate, cinnamon, leather, cream, coffee and earth.  The draw and burn continued to be spot on until the end.

While I was skeptical going into this cigar, I will say that this new blend is definitely better than the original.  It was more complex, rich, and dark which are all things I like.  It still had a lot of strength, which is another thing I like in a cigar.  I will warn you that this isn't a cigar for those sensitive to nicotine.  However if you like a good strong cigar, and the flavors I mention appeal to you, I'd recommend picking at least one up to try.  I know I will be picking up more.


Body: 8/10
Strength: 9/10
Complexity: 7/10

AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1

Total: 9.5/10

And don't forget that today is the LAST DAY to enter the OSOK EH Cigars contest.  Find our the rules and how to enter here!