7.5" x 39 ring gauge, $10.30I have smoked nearly every vitola in La Flor Dominicana's Double Ligero line (one notable exception is the DL-700, but I think I've got one of those resting in my humidor for some evening down the road when I've eaten a large dinner). One of my favorite and most memorable sizes is the Lancero. Like all the DL line, it features Dominican filler and binder with an Ecuadorian wrapper.
The wrapper was a medium-brown with a little mottling. There were a few larger veins but nothing that caused me concern. There was just a little give to the pinch along the body and the cap was finished off with a tight pigtail. The wrapper exuded barnyard and cedar; from the small foot there were hints of coffee and cocoa. The prelight draw was excellent, especially for a lancero. The flavors in prelight were cocoa and coffee with a definite strong spicy tingle on the lips.
The first few puffs were heavy with black pepper, lighter on the bitterness of black coffee and semi-sweetness of dark chocolate. One early impression is how well this cigar went with my sweetened black coffee on a chilly autumn morning. The flavors through the first third were wonderful: a little coffee here, a little cocoa there, a little pepper and spice. As the cigar progressed, though, the ash started to get crumbly and banana-peeled--a good way to end up with a lapful of ash.
In the second third, the spicy/peppery flavors built up and became a constant, all the while keeping the darker, bitter coffee undertones. I tapped ash more frequently to prevent further crumbling. The draw was nothing short of perfection, allowing voluminous amounts of smoke without making the stick burn extra hot.
Just into the last third, I started to feel some kick from the DL Lancero and started to think this maybe wasn't such a great selection for an early morning smoke. It is quite full-bodied and does pack a decent punch for its relatively small amount of tobacco. Make no mistake, this is a great cigar, but it just isn't a great morning smoke. The only other minor complaint I have about it is that the price tag is a little too high.
Body: 9/10
Strength: 8/10
Complexity: 8/10
AFP Scale:
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: .5/1
Total: 8.5/10
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