Originally published at Tiki Bar Online
Lancero, 7” x 40 ring gauge / ~$16.50, Burns Tobacconist
I heard about the L40 around a year ago, but never saw them come into my local shop (Burns Tobacconist in Chattanooga…where I also work part time these days). As a certifiable Lancero freak, it was quite disconcerting that I didn’t get to try one until much later…May of this year actually, when I went to Drew Estate’s Cigar Safari Blogger Trip to Nicaragua. Worth the wait? Oh, yeah…and, yes, worth the nearly $17 a stick I had to pay (the boss won’t even give employees a discount on the hard-to-find-ultra-limited-edition Liga Privada stuff!). Yea, these are limited edition…basically “we’ll make as many as we feel like and release them when we’re good and ready” is the order of the day with the Unico Series releases. I can’t say how many times I’ve gotten calls for Dirty Rats, Flying Pigs and the like. Funny, though, L40s don’t sell quite as fast at my shop. So I had a chance to get some. Unicos have different blends for every size and shape of cigar…whatever tastes best for that shape…and this apparently has 3 different Nicaraguan fillers and then either a Connecticut Stalk-Cut Habano binder and Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper or vice versa (depending on which retailer website you want to believe…I couldn’t find any “official” word).
Looking at the wrapper, I have to say, I really don’t care what varietal it is…it is simply beautiful. Chocolate brown, smooth and a bit oily, as always adorned with the Liga Privada band that looks high-class and hand-scrawled at the same time. Giving it a sniff, I got notes of leather and cocoa powder on the wrapper, while the foot had more coffee aromas. I was so excited about this smoke, that when I took a pre-light draw, I just checked to make sure it wasn’t tight, then fired it up. Right away the L40 gave up notes of cocoa powder, espresso, and earth. The retrohale had a nice peppery hit, although not too spicy.
The goodness (greatness? maybe!) continued as I smoked through the rest of the cigar. I got some pepper spice on the tongue and nose, but mostly it was sweet and chocolatey, with a great black coffee flavor and a smoothness I’m just not used to in a Liga Privada. And that last wasn’t meant as a hit on LPs…they normally are full-force cigars with a lot going on, but are anything but “smooth.” This still had a lot to offer flavor-wise, but had a buttery smoothness to it at the same time. Very nice. I need more.
I snagged a few of these up at my shop last month. Good stuff. Got tons of leather out of the one I had.
As another Lancero freak I love these.. just wish they were feasible as a everyday smoke.. both availability and price.. nice review!
Love Lanceros…sounds like an awesome stick which it would need to be to justify that price point.
Ive had one and it was Awesome!! Havent seen any around latley to buy another one but i did grab a box of the UF-13″s when they came in
These look amazing while I’m not a big Liga Whore (due to price) I enjoy most of the ones I have had T52 still the better IMHO Great write up
Something else I need to try
These look great. I consider Liga Line to be my “special occasion” cigar and have stoked a few of them, mostly the UF-13 and the T-52. These look phenomenal, as with other Liga the wrapper is absolutely gorgeous. Love that chocolate brown color and the flavor you know it holds. Glad you enjoyed, cant wait to try this one when day.
Without a doubt my favorite Liga (likely because it is a Lancero) and probably my favorite Lancero. An absolutely phenomenal cigar and the one I go out of my way to track down regularly.