Black Plague
New Member
- Joined
- May 11, 2006
- Messages
- 539
Now that I've got your attention :laugh: , those on this board who know me know that I hardly touch NCs and have been on a huge kick for the last few years. Last month, I began looking back, after seeing how good Tatuaje cigars could be, and upon reflection thought maybe I'd been a bit unfair to the cigars of other lands. The newness and "forbidden fruit" appeal of Havanas had wore off (that doesn't mean I don't love them any less or doubt that they contain some of the world's finest tobacco), so I thought maybe it was time I revisited the cigars of such climes as Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic.
I think what had really driven me away from NCs was that I was sick to death of huge ring gauges. I remember shortly before I began my long streak of smoking nothing but Havanas, looking in my humidor at all these 52, 58, and 60 ring gauge mule dick toros I'd accrued through cigar auction sites, trades, and the like and thinking, "Damn...I honestly don't like smoking something as big around as a broomstick for six inches or more. I have to break my jaw just to fit it in my mouth and I'm sucking so much air through the thing I can't taste any of the smoke."
The world of Havanas was refreshing because of the wide range of cigars available in more reasonable 46, 42, 38, and smaller ring gauges, and I discovered that a smaller gauge can go a long way towards focusing and intensifying the natural flavor of well-aged tobacco. I still like a 50 or more ring gauge occassionally, though usually only in a robusto or so sized format. I still detest the "toros" everyone makes that are six or more inches long and above 50 rg.
But that's enough of my preaching about ring gauges... :laugh:
Anyway, in the last few weeks I've been gathering up smaller ring-gauged NC cigars to try out. I'd been pretty impressed with Tatuaje and numerous BOTL had recommended the Padilla Miami 8 & 11 Lancero as a great cigar in narrow format.
I am now convinced more than ever that Pepin Garcia is one of, if not THE, finest cigar blenders outside of Cuba. So without further ado...
Padilla Miami 8 & 11
Lancero
7 1/2 x 42
Prelight: A beautiful looking cigar. Named the Lancero, but with a ring gauge that makes it more like a longer lonsdale. A nice colorado wrapper, evenly colored and with a very glossy sheen to it, criss-crossed with pale veins. No raised or bump veins, evenly-shaped and round with a nice pigtail on the cap. The feel in the fingers was almost velvety, very soft. Felt firm in the hand. Cut a little sloppy, but held together fine. The pre-light tasting yielded a very strong, straight-up tobacco taste, peppery, with an obviously-potent nicotine content, as holding it in my lips made them tingle quite a bit.
Beverage: A piping hot mug of Sumatran coffee.
Flavor: The prelight proved incredibly prophetic of the smoke to come, as the initial flavor profile was near exactly what I'd tasted before lighting up. Very strong, full-bodied, and peppery tasting. The main palate impression was a unique taste of ripe tobacco (the way fresh-chopped tobacco smells in the drying barn after harvest) and a strong sensation of green bell peppers, beneath which danced nuances of strong-scented English leather.
A unique aspect was a balanced, bittersweet flavor. The bitterness came from some herbaceous nuances, whereas the sweetness was a mixture of fruity, ester-like flavors, evocative of bananas, pineapples, and other tropical fruits. These two flavors, the bitterness and the sweetness, blended in absolute perfect harmony with the strong tobacco and green pepper flavors. The overall impression was INCREDIBLY reminiscent of various Cuban Partagás blends, especially the Serie P No. 2 and the Club cigarillos. Amazingly so. In fact, I can't say that had I been given this cigar blind, that I would be able to tell if it wasn't a Partagás.
Halfway through, the tobacco flavor suddenly shifted to a pleasant, palate-drenching woodiness, nuances of pine and a light Spanish cedar on the finish. As it progressed, a very distinct caramel element became apparent, blending perfectly with the wood. All of a sudden, this cigar had turned from a Partagás to a Por Larrañaga! The finish smacked of black pepper and coffee. These flavors mixed together to give a strong impression of an oak-aged rum.
The green pepper was starting to return after a sizeable absence. The aroma and nose exhales yielded a bed of roasted nuts and fresh-roasted coffee. Hints of gingersnap cookies and the finish grew increasingly earthy. Very full-bodied and satisfying.
At this point, I was beginning to get a bit cold, smoking it a little too fast because I had to go pee, so the taste was starting to go a bit south and the green peppers were starting to get overwhelming and too vegetal. I let it go with an inch or so left.
Construction: Draw was just perfect. Ash was pale white and a little bit flaky, but held well. Burn very straight and never required any touch-ups.
Summary: For a non-Cuban cigar, absolutely amazing! The kind of earthy taste of the finish I was getting near the end was the only clue I had that this was Nicaraguan. Otherwise, I could've been completely fooled. Pepin Garcia has created an absolutely exceptional cigar! All the hype he gets in the cigar world, as far as I'm concerned at this point, is well-deserved. It was already a great cigar and I'd be willing to bet a few years age would make it even better. Highly, HIGHLY recommended! Though it is a little expensive for an NC, the price is about the same you'd expect to pay for a box of Havana cigars of a similar size and the taste ranks it up there with them, in my humble opinion. I hope you all enjoy your cigar of choice as well as I have mine this Super Bowl Sunday and a big thanks to the BOTL here who recommended this outstanding cigar to me!
I think what had really driven me away from NCs was that I was sick to death of huge ring gauges. I remember shortly before I began my long streak of smoking nothing but Havanas, looking in my humidor at all these 52, 58, and 60 ring gauge mule dick toros I'd accrued through cigar auction sites, trades, and the like and thinking, "Damn...I honestly don't like smoking something as big around as a broomstick for six inches or more. I have to break my jaw just to fit it in my mouth and I'm sucking so much air through the thing I can't taste any of the smoke."
The world of Havanas was refreshing because of the wide range of cigars available in more reasonable 46, 42, 38, and smaller ring gauges, and I discovered that a smaller gauge can go a long way towards focusing and intensifying the natural flavor of well-aged tobacco. I still like a 50 or more ring gauge occassionally, though usually only in a robusto or so sized format. I still detest the "toros" everyone makes that are six or more inches long and above 50 rg.
But that's enough of my preaching about ring gauges... :laugh:
Anyway, in the last few weeks I've been gathering up smaller ring-gauged NC cigars to try out. I'd been pretty impressed with Tatuaje and numerous BOTL had recommended the Padilla Miami 8 & 11 Lancero as a great cigar in narrow format.
I am now convinced more than ever that Pepin Garcia is one of, if not THE, finest cigar blenders outside of Cuba. So without further ado...
Padilla Miami 8 & 11
Lancero
7 1/2 x 42
Prelight: A beautiful looking cigar. Named the Lancero, but with a ring gauge that makes it more like a longer lonsdale. A nice colorado wrapper, evenly colored and with a very glossy sheen to it, criss-crossed with pale veins. No raised or bump veins, evenly-shaped and round with a nice pigtail on the cap. The feel in the fingers was almost velvety, very soft. Felt firm in the hand. Cut a little sloppy, but held together fine. The pre-light tasting yielded a very strong, straight-up tobacco taste, peppery, with an obviously-potent nicotine content, as holding it in my lips made them tingle quite a bit.
Beverage: A piping hot mug of Sumatran coffee.
Flavor: The prelight proved incredibly prophetic of the smoke to come, as the initial flavor profile was near exactly what I'd tasted before lighting up. Very strong, full-bodied, and peppery tasting. The main palate impression was a unique taste of ripe tobacco (the way fresh-chopped tobacco smells in the drying barn after harvest) and a strong sensation of green bell peppers, beneath which danced nuances of strong-scented English leather.
A unique aspect was a balanced, bittersweet flavor. The bitterness came from some herbaceous nuances, whereas the sweetness was a mixture of fruity, ester-like flavors, evocative of bananas, pineapples, and other tropical fruits. These two flavors, the bitterness and the sweetness, blended in absolute perfect harmony with the strong tobacco and green pepper flavors. The overall impression was INCREDIBLY reminiscent of various Cuban Partagás blends, especially the Serie P No. 2 and the Club cigarillos. Amazingly so. In fact, I can't say that had I been given this cigar blind, that I would be able to tell if it wasn't a Partagás.
Halfway through, the tobacco flavor suddenly shifted to a pleasant, palate-drenching woodiness, nuances of pine and a light Spanish cedar on the finish. As it progressed, a very distinct caramel element became apparent, blending perfectly with the wood. All of a sudden, this cigar had turned from a Partagás to a Por Larrañaga! The finish smacked of black pepper and coffee. These flavors mixed together to give a strong impression of an oak-aged rum.
The green pepper was starting to return after a sizeable absence. The aroma and nose exhales yielded a bed of roasted nuts and fresh-roasted coffee. Hints of gingersnap cookies and the finish grew increasingly earthy. Very full-bodied and satisfying.
At this point, I was beginning to get a bit cold, smoking it a little too fast because I had to go pee, so the taste was starting to go a bit south and the green peppers were starting to get overwhelming and too vegetal. I let it go with an inch or so left.
Construction: Draw was just perfect. Ash was pale white and a little bit flaky, but held well. Burn very straight and never required any touch-ups.
Summary: For a non-Cuban cigar, absolutely amazing! The kind of earthy taste of the finish I was getting near the end was the only clue I had that this was Nicaraguan. Otherwise, I could've been completely fooled. Pepin Garcia has created an absolutely exceptional cigar! All the hype he gets in the cigar world, as far as I'm concerned at this point, is well-deserved. It was already a great cigar and I'd be willing to bet a few years age would make it even better. Highly, HIGHLY recommended! Though it is a little expensive for an NC, the price is about the same you'd expect to pay for a box of Havana cigars of a similar size and the taste ranks it up there with them, in my humble opinion. I hope you all enjoy your cigar of choice as well as I have mine this Super Bowl Sunday and a big thanks to the BOTL here who recommended this outstanding cigar to me!
