Vitola: Melange Special No. 2 (Corona Gorda)- 5.625” x 46 ring gauge
- $9.45
- Purchased at Belle Meade Premium Cigars
Background
At the 2016 IPCPR show, L’atelier Imports debuted a new blend meant to say loudly to everyone, “This is who we are!” The called it Identité (French for “identity”). The idea behind it comes from the fact that since the beginning of this brand owned by Pete and K.C. Johnson, all L’atelier blends have included a leaf called Sancti Spiritus. This is a hybrid of Criollo and Pelo de Oro that was meant to be a replacement for Pelo de Oro, a varietal that is typically hard to grown and prone to disease. They have used Ecuadorian Sancti Spiritus for wrapper leaves and Nicaraguan Sancti Spiritus for binder and filler.
Identité takes the concept of a “signature leaf” and pushes it to the limit. There is Sancti Spiritus used in filler, binder and wrapper of this blend. Beyond that, there is no detail given as to any other leaf contained in the blend or where the specific components are grown. As with everything in the L’atelier catalog, these are made in Nicaragua at the My Father cigar factory.
I picked up 4 samples of Identité at Belle Meade Premium Cigars in Nashville several weeks ago…2 sticks each of 2 different sizes. This review sample is the last one I have left.
Prelight
The general appearance keeps with the L’atelier flagship line design with gold foil leaf above “L’ATELIER” also in gold foil. Silver leaves flank the main gold leaf and “Melange Special” is written underneath them…”special mix” in French. The box is also very much kept in style with the L’atelier and L’atelier Maduro releases.
The wrapper leaf is by far the darkest Sancti Spiritus leaf I’ve ever seen, and also far more rugged and rustic-looking. If we weren’t told is was that varietal, it would be very easy to guess it was Connecticut Broadleaf by appearance. It was oily, toothy and somewhat veiny, with a rich, sweet earthy aroma. The foot was a more traditional “Nicaraguan earthiness” with a little coffee and cedar in the mix, as well.
After snipping off the end, I got a very good prelight draw that tasted of coffee bean, earth, and a bit of honey sweetness.
Flavor
It was a bit of a challenge to get the cigar lit…it was a very late autumn day with the temperature hovering around 48 and a gusty, chilly wind. Not ideal outdoor smoking conditions, but that’s what I had to work with…so no use complaining. Identité started off with a good amount of cedar, an interesting and difficult to describe sweetness, and a sharp pepper spice. The body was medium-to-full at the outset and the retrohale was almost painfully spicy, but it was a short-lived pepper.
As I got into the second third, I picked up on some zingy citrus notes coming into play, while there was still a very interesting interplay of pepper, sweetness, and cedar. The complexity that came through using (I’m presuming) different primings and origins of Sancti Spiritus was really amazing.
The last third had the honey sweetness come more to the forefront while the citrus fell back to mix with the spice and cedar. Earthy flavors were more of a finishing note at this point.
Construction
I had excellent construction with every one of these I smoked…great draw, very even burn and solid ash.
Value
Starting at just under $10 apiece, I find the price/experience ratio on these to be excellent.
Conclusions
The L’atelier brand has established a unique identity for itself by use of the Sancti Spiritus leaf throughout their blends. This Identité blend takes that to a whole new level, though, with a very complex and pleasing blend that drives home what the brand is all about. Great cigar. If you are a fan of other L’atelier blends (or of Pete Johnson’s other brand, Tatuaje) you really should get your hands on these and try them.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
