Cigar Review: Lost & Found Panda Welfare

Vitola: Short Robusto
Size: 4″ x 50 ring gauge
Price ~$7.25
Obtained From SmallBatchCigar.com as a review sample

Background

Today I’ll be taking a look at one of the recent “finds” from Lost & Found cigars, the Panda Welfare.  I didn’t hear about the latest releases until I walked into the cigar shop over the weekend.  The packaging is well, unique.  If you’ve seen other releases from them then this shouldn’t come as a surprise.  The cigars are packaged in what looks like a Chinese takeout box complete with wrapping to look like Chinese food.  There are 12 cigars packed into that box.  About the only thing I can find out about the makeup of the cigar is that the wrapper is Sumatra.  The other parts of the blend are either an intentional mystery or lost to time.  This was my first experience with the cigar.

Prelight

This sample had a nice medium brown wrapper that had some darker mottling to it.  It also showed a good amount of oils and tooth to it.  The cigar was slightly lumpy and veiny, but it wasn’t off-putting.  When I gave it a squeeze there was a slight amount of give to it without any soft spots.  From the wrapper I got a light aroma of wood, with some pretty intense raisin from the foot.  After clipping it and taking a cold draw on it I got an ok draw with some hints of cedar.

Flavor

The cigar starts off with a good amount of sweetness and spice on the tongue.  After a few puffs the spice starts to build and I got a nice red pepper burn on the retrohale.  Towards the end of the first third I started to taste some cinnamon and saltiness.  The cigar starts off at medium-full strength.  As I moved into the second third the spice was still very much present.  I noted flavors of cedar, leather, cinnamon, sugary sweetness, and saltiness.  It moved up to the bottom end of full strength by the end of the second third.  Once I got to the final third the spice did die down a bit.  The strength didn’t, it built to full strength with me getting a bit of a nicotine hit from it.  The sweetness died down and the saltiness ramped up.  I also noted the flavors of green herbs, leather and wood during the final third.

Construction

The draw was pretty much perfect throughout.  The burn line needed a slight correction at the beginning but never needed anything else.

Value

I like the price of this cigar.  Some of the limited releases coming from them haven’t been this reasonable.

Conclusions

I definitely enjoyed this cigar, so much so I wished it was longer.  It wasn’t the most complex cigar I’ve smoked but it wasn’t boring.  Maybe in a longer size I might feel differently.  I wouldn’t recommend it for those sensitive to nicotine as while no where near the strongest cigar I’ve had, it definitely let you know it was there.  If you’re interested in trying this our site sponsor SmallBatchCigar.com has some in stock.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10