Don Lino Africa

ree ree robusto said:
Got this out of Grandpa's pass I believe. It's time to fire it up. What's everybody's 411 on this?

Ree
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Let me know your thoughts on it. Got a few given to me the last time I stopped in to one of my local haunts. Still haven't tried one yet - just found myself wanting to smoke others instead, though I'm suddenly seeing them pushed everywhere. Will be interesting to see what you (and others think).
 
Methinks it is like smoking a CAO Italia. Not a similar taste mind you. Just that both these cigars have a very distinctive taste. They aren't on my short list but I do keep some around.
 
I like these cigars. I have smoked several of the Tembos. They all had a beautiful wrapper with nice oils and good shine. They are firmly rolled with a fairly firm draw(I like to use a punch which tends to produce a slightly firmer draw). They had a nice earthy taste with no bitterness. Nice ash with even burn. I keep several of these in the humi.
 
I was disappointed with these. Not a bad taste but had extreme burn problems. May have to try them again. Let us know what you think ree. :)
 
Loved these at the RTDA show last year. Great flavor, fantastic burn. I have bought a box of the Dumas (robusto) and split another box. They are one of my everyday "goto" cigars. However, I have noticed recently, that the wrapper is so oily it won't burn. The last couple that I have picked up in a retail store and smoked there have had burn problems and the taste was just not as good. The cigars that I've had aging for around 9 months, however, are smoking fine.

Funny thing...noticed the same thing with the La Aurora 100 Anos (also distributed by Miami Cigar Co.). The last couple that I have bought have had burn problems and have not had the same rich taste as earlier ones.

Hmmmmm, need to talk with them about this as the show, I guess.
 
These are extremely oily, much likt the 100 Anos and TKO's. Taste great when they are burining good though.
 
Well, to make a long story short, the cigar sucked. Pre-aroma and taste was great. Once lit, it just didn't do it for me and 1/4 of the way down the damn thing went out on me. I re-lit and it went out on me again. So, I tossed it and went for a Davidoff Millenium Robusto.
 
My local guy had these, buy 2 get one free. I bought them and they were all good. Then the following week I went back and picked up 3 more and they sucked. I stopped buying them. Burn issues and it didn't taste the same to me. Not a consistant cigar, even within the same box.
 
Shibumi said:
My local guy had these, buy 2 get one free.  I bought them and they were all good.  Then the following week I went back and picked up 3 more and they sucked.  I stopped buying them.  Burn issues and it didn't taste the same to me.  Not a consistant cigar, even within the same box.
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Because these are so oily, they should probably be stored at a low RH for a good amount of time before smoking. So if the dealer gets a shipment of wet cigars in, then stores them at %73 for a couple of days, I am sure many will have burn issues. Now I am not saying these need to be abed before smoking, but they need to dry out first.

Emo
 
I had my 2nd Don Lino Africa - Kifaro (Torpedo) on this past Friday evening. The cigar was firm to the touch, nicely shaped and the tobacco leaf smell is wonderful. However, when I lighted the cigar up, I immediately encountered difficult draw. Try as I might to roll the cigar between the fingers attempting to loosen up the draw, it just did no do any good. It really took a tremendous amount of effort to get a decent smoke out of a draw. What I could get out of the draw, the smoke is wonderful, full of flavor, medium-high on the tobacco strengh, not bitter... Finally, I used a toothpick and inserted at the cut-off head of the cigar and worked it inside the body a few time, again trying to loosen up the bunched tobacco leaf in there. It did not help much. I tried to finish the cigar to the end but the overall experience is that it took too much effort and pain to try enjoying this cigar. Wonder what I will do now with the rest of the box ? Maybe aging them again for another 6 months will alleviated the draw problem. Such a waste for a beautifully constructed cigar with an excellent flavor... ???
 
Good complex taste. However, almost all the sizes (especially the Tempo) have bad draw and burn. IMO, when I am done with my box I will not buy them again.

Jim
 
I must be doing something wrong. I've smoked about two boxes of these since they came out and have not had one bit of trouble with them going out or any other burn problems. :whistling:

Had a chance this past friday at the Miami Cigar tasting at the shop to try a fresh rolled Africa and I want more. Slow burning, great draw and lots of flavor. :thumbs:
 
The first one I smoked was handed to me by Don Lino himself before they were sold anywhere else at a tasting event I attended. Absolutly fantastic. So I bought a bunch of them and all of them smoked perfectly with no burn issues and all the greatest flavor in the world. Since then they have gone downhill. Still have great taste and great appearance, but they burn like $&it. ??? The owner of my cigar store has his own cigar blended by La Aurora and he told me that they always ship wet. So you do need to store them and dry them out a bit. I just smoked one the other day that I have had for about 6 months...perfect!! :D Let 'em sit a few months and you will have a different smoke...patience Daniel San!! :laugh:

-Fetter
 
After reading this thread last Saturday morning, I had to spark one of these and see if I was just imagining that I like them. I sat back with a nice cup of Killer Beans and a book and smoked away.

This cigar was from a split that I did in February. First thing I noticed was that the dark-brown wrapper was still nice and oily. It almost had a sheen to it. There was one prominent vein that ran down one side, but the wrapper was well applied and there were no visible seams. The pre-light nose was earthy and leathery, with the promise of coffee. The pre-light draw was firm, but not to the point of plugged. Appearance-wise, a very nice cigar.

The cigar lit easily and the draw instantly opened up to allow an easy pull. Each puff rewarded me with mouthfuls of thick, rich smoke that just hung in the still morning air. The burn was even throughout the smoke, never requiring any touch-ups. The oily wrapper almost decided not to burn after the first ashing...reduced smoke production, a little tunneling, but it quickly self-corrected and I experienced no further problems. The ash was firm and light gray, staying on an inch at a time. The smoke stayed cool to the last inch or so. A finely constructed cigar. :thumbs:

I find the taste of the Africas to be rather unique. I find that I like the Cameroon tobacco in the filler much more than the wrapper. It adds a slight sweet spice to the taste. Upon lighting, there was a stand-out coffee and earthiness to the cigar. It quickly settled into a complex coffee/earth/wood blend with that bit of sweet spice that I spoke of poking its head through from time to time. At the half way mark, the wood became a bit charred and smokey and the earth reduced itself to just a bit-player in the overall profile. The cigar ended with a hint of cedar and the sweet-spice dancing across the taste buds. All in all, a very nice tasting cigar. :)

For the price that these can be found at these days, I think they are a great goto, everyday smoke. They are not super-premiums, but they remain in my smoking rotation. I give this cigar a steady B+ . :thumbs:
 
I like them but don't love them. Generally, if I open my humidor to get one and something else catches my eye, I wlll go for the something else. They are good, just not great IMO. I have some robustos from a split and once they are gone I probably won't buy anymore. No burn issues here - they just don't "do it" for me.
 
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