Cigar Review: Leccia Tobacco Black

Originally published at Tiki Bar Online

Petite Corona, 4” x 46 ring gauge / $7.99, Maxamar’s

Today I will be taking a look at one of the latest cigars to hit the market. The name behind it isn’t new though. Sam Leccia is back in the tobacco business with two new releases being distributed by the Toraño Family. Jon posted a review of the other release, the White, that you can check out here. The Black is made in the Dominican Republic out of Dominican and Nicaraugan ligeros, Brazilian viso and a fire cured tobacco called “dark fire” with a Nicaraugan rosado binder and a habano wrapper that I would guess to be from Ecuador. They come in four sizes from 4×46 to 6×60 with a price range of $7-$9. This was the second one of these I smoked.

The wrapper on this sample was a nice milk chocolate brown with a good amount of oils to it. The wrapper only had a couple fine veins and it was very smooth looking and feeling. Even before putting my nose to the wrapper or foot I was definitely able to smell the aroma of a good BBQ restaurant that only was intensified as I got closer to the cigar. Giving it a squeeze I couldn’t detect any soft spots and it was fairly firm. After clipping it and taking a cold draw on it I got notes of BBQ and wood with a good draw.

As soon as I lit it up I got a very strong red pepper spice on the tongue and retrohale. After taking a few more puffs on it I got notes of earth, wood, leather and coffee with a slightly sweet and creamy finish. At the end of this third the intensity of the spice had gone down. The draw and burn were pretty much spot on. I would classify this cigar in the medium-full range to start.

Once I moved into the second third I started to get some BBQ meat notes added to the flavors of the previous third. Someone on Twitter asked if this was a wet or dry rub taste, and I would have to say it reminded me more of a dry rub. The spice started to come back and the strength built slightly. The draw and burn continued to be great.

The final third saw the spice start to come back with a slight nicotine hit coming on as well. I noted flavors of leather, wood, BBQ meat and cinnamon from this third. The construction continued to be great.

Overall I was really impressed by this cigar. This cigar is definitely different than any other cigar I’ve had. I have gotten grilled meat and BBQ from a cigar before, but it wasn’t more than a puff or two. This one had it for at least two thirds of it. I don’t know if this cigar would be for everyone but I know I’m looking forward to giving the other sizes a try to see how they compare.

Body: 7/10
Strength: 8/10
Complexity: 8/10

AFP Scale

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10