Vitola: Lancero- 7.5” x 38 ring gauge
- MSRP $10
- Gifted by a friend
Background
It occurs to me that when I typed “Gifted by a friend” as opposed to “I bought these,” it’s necessary to think about the term “gifted.” Technically speaking if someone gives you something out of the kindness of their heart, for an occasion or just because, it can be termed “gifted”…but what if you received it with a smile while thinking “I’m not going to enjoy this, but I have to be grateful anyway.” Do you still consider it a gift if you’re planning on regifting it?
My friend who gave me these Miró Lanceros didn’t even have to wait for me to react…he said, “If you don’t want them find someone who does!” Totally let me off the hook because this is one of the cigars in the pile he loaded me up with that I just wasn’t excited about. I reviewed a different size of Miró by Kuuts Cigars about 6 years ago and found it to be “adequate”…not terrible, but not great.
They used Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers, a Nicaraguan binder, and a Sumatran wrapper. They were originally made for the European marketplace, but were brought to America in 2013. The “Special Edition Lancero” came soon thereafter. Since this was a “special edition” I would presume it was made in low quantities and not part of regular production. I couldn’t find any recent news about the Kuuts cigar company or subsequent releases of the Miró Lancero, so these may well be nearly 8 years old.
Notes
The construction on the cigar was solid. I’ve smoked a couple of these already and had no issues with draw or wonky burn. The wrapper must be pretty thin because looking at it before firing up, it shows plenty of bumpiness from the binder and filler underneath. It was a medium, peanut-butter brown color with just a little oiliness and a smell of hay, cedar, and natural tobacco. The foot had a little earth in that same mix.
I clipped the head and got a good draw, which is never automatic when you’re dealing with true Lancero 38-ring gauge. When I fired it up I got lots of smoking that carried flavors of natural tobacco and cedar, with a little sweet hay and a gentle pepper spice. It really was surprising just how well balanced and pleasing this cigar was from first puff. I’ve said before that time is not good to every blend…but for this blend in this vitola, it has been excellent.
I paired the cigar this day with some Elijah Craig bourbon, a go-to whiskey for sweet smoothness. Before even taking a sip, I could predict that it would add sweet vanilla and honey flavors to the mix, maybe mixing some oak in with the cedar in the process.
This is one instance I’m happy to be right about the whiskey and wrong about the cigar. My buddy gave me 2 full boxes of Miró Lanceros and I expected to give them away…but I’m keeping these sticks! OK…I may hand out a few to friends of mine who have discriminating taste…but mostly I’m going to enjoy them myself.
