An Overview and vertical tasting of the Don Lino Africa line.
This line was originally introduced at the 2003 RTDA in three sizes, with a fourth being added in 2004. The cigars are made by Torano for the Miami Cigar Co.
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Dominican Republic, Mexico, Camroon, Nicaragua
Duma: 5x50 Robusto; MSRP: $6.24
Date Smoked: Feb. 8th, 2005
Review: A nice powerful little robusto. A very dark and oily wrapper with no veins or blemishes. The draw was perfect and the burn was even; giving a tight, grey ash. The medium to full bodied cigar produced a nice quantity of thick, white smoke. The initial taste was somewhat sweet. After about an inch or so, the sweetness gave way to cedar and other light wood flavors. These gave way to a more burning-wood flavor over the final third of the smoke.
Overall it was a very nice cigar; well constructed with balanced and deep flavors.
Kifaro: 6.25x52 Torpedo; MSRP: $6.72
Date Smoked: Mar 24th, 2005
Review: Another well constructed cigar. The draw was a bit on the open side, but not bad at all. The burn was nice and even and the cigar produced fair amounts of smoke. Unlike the Duma, I found this cigar to be fairly one-dimensional. The initial tastes were cedar with maybe a bit of nutty flavors, but those soon gave way to an earthy wood taste that dominated the rest of the cigar. I had read good things about this cigar and was kind of surprised that the flavor failed to develop more than it did.
Overall, it was simply a straight-forward medium to full bodied smoke. Nothing special, IMHO.
Punda Milia: 6.5x44 Lonsdale; MSRP: $6.00
Date Smoked: Mar 2nd, 2005
Review: An interesting smoke. Like the previous two, it was well constructed. The burn was even and the draw was perfect. The taste profile however, was a bit different; almost like an “inverse” Duma. It was much milder than the Duma or Kifaro; a true medium bodied smoke. It started off with a nutty character that gave way to burning wood notes by the middle. However the final third gave a pleasant surprise with sweet, chocolate flavors. One thing I did note is that the flavors were not always present and did tend to fade in and out. Also, during the initial portion of the cigar, I noted a few bitter, ammonia like tastes that lead me to believe that this was a young cigar.
I would like to try this cigar again after some aging.
Tembo: 7.5x50 Double Corona; MSRP: $6.96
Date Smoked: Apr 15th, 2005
Review: The final one in my vertical tasting, this cigar was the one with a flavor profile most similar to the Duma. The flavors were the same, but were more spread out over the cigar and never very deep, complex, or powerful. A big different with this cigar was it’s construction. The draw was nice, the burn was a bit uneven, but the wrapper cracked and began to unravel over the final few minutes of the smoke.
Summary: I found that I liked the Duma best and the Punda Milia would possibly be a close second with some age. The Tembo was a nice cigar, just not as strong as the Duma. And the Kifaro was my least favorite, as I found it to be rather ordinary.
This line was originally introduced at the 2003 RTDA in three sizes, with a fourth being added in 2004. The cigars are made by Torano for the Miami Cigar Co.
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Dominican Republic, Mexico, Camroon, Nicaragua
Duma: 5x50 Robusto; MSRP: $6.24
Date Smoked: Feb. 8th, 2005
Review: A nice powerful little robusto. A very dark and oily wrapper with no veins or blemishes. The draw was perfect and the burn was even; giving a tight, grey ash. The medium to full bodied cigar produced a nice quantity of thick, white smoke. The initial taste was somewhat sweet. After about an inch or so, the sweetness gave way to cedar and other light wood flavors. These gave way to a more burning-wood flavor over the final third of the smoke.
Overall it was a very nice cigar; well constructed with balanced and deep flavors.
Kifaro: 6.25x52 Torpedo; MSRP: $6.72
Date Smoked: Mar 24th, 2005
Review: Another well constructed cigar. The draw was a bit on the open side, but not bad at all. The burn was nice and even and the cigar produced fair amounts of smoke. Unlike the Duma, I found this cigar to be fairly one-dimensional. The initial tastes were cedar with maybe a bit of nutty flavors, but those soon gave way to an earthy wood taste that dominated the rest of the cigar. I had read good things about this cigar and was kind of surprised that the flavor failed to develop more than it did.
Overall, it was simply a straight-forward medium to full bodied smoke. Nothing special, IMHO.
Punda Milia: 6.5x44 Lonsdale; MSRP: $6.00
Date Smoked: Mar 2nd, 2005
Review: An interesting smoke. Like the previous two, it was well constructed. The burn was even and the draw was perfect. The taste profile however, was a bit different; almost like an “inverse” Duma. It was much milder than the Duma or Kifaro; a true medium bodied smoke. It started off with a nutty character that gave way to burning wood notes by the middle. However the final third gave a pleasant surprise with sweet, chocolate flavors. One thing I did note is that the flavors were not always present and did tend to fade in and out. Also, during the initial portion of the cigar, I noted a few bitter, ammonia like tastes that lead me to believe that this was a young cigar.
I would like to try this cigar again after some aging.
Tembo: 7.5x50 Double Corona; MSRP: $6.96
Date Smoked: Apr 15th, 2005
Review: The final one in my vertical tasting, this cigar was the one with a flavor profile most similar to the Duma. The flavors were the same, but were more spread out over the cigar and never very deep, complex, or powerful. A big different with this cigar was it’s construction. The draw was nice, the burn was a bit uneven, but the wrapper cracked and began to unravel over the final few minutes of the smoke.
Summary: I found that I liked the Duma best and the Punda Milia would possibly be a close second with some age. The Tembo was a nice cigar, just not as strong as the Duma. And the Kifaro was my least favorite, as I found it to be rather ordinary.
