Vitola: Toro- 6” x 54 ring gauge
- $12 (in a $60 5-pack)
- Purchased from Ezra Zion Cigars
Background
“This is Lucille, and she is awesome.” That was how we got introduced to the barb-wire-wrapped baseball bat that is named the same thing as B.B. King’s guitar. In the final episode of season 6 of The Walking Dead we finally get to meet Negan, after months of teasing…then we had to wait more months to see who he closely acquainted Lucille with. “Look at that. Taking it like a champ!”
I found season 7 of TWD to be lacking in some ways, but whenever Jeffrey Dean Morgan was onscreen you could be assured of some funny one-liners at the good-guys’ expense. When I heard Ezra Zion was coming out with a “Lucille” cigar, I jumped at the chance to buy a pack.
Ezra Zion’s new distribution model is that they are selling all their cigars direct through their website, though stores can get set up as a wholesale account through the site, as well. While there are “core lines” still, the majority of what you see online is small batch and very short runs. The page for Lucille states that one 625 sticks would be made. They sold out extraordinarily fast and the cigar is showing as “backordered” at the moment, so they may be making more. “Lucille is thirsty! She’s a vampire bat!”
Lucille is made in one size—a Toro—with thin wire (not barbed, not God) wrapped around it in lieu of a regular band. The 5-pack packaging was plain brown paper printed with barbed wire and the Ezra Zion logo. The only thing stated about the blend is that the wrapper is “dark Corojo” and it is wrapped around a blend from three undisclosed countries.
This review sample is the second Lucille I’ve smoked…I bought a 5-pack, gave one away, and sold another, leaving me with just two left. “Pissing our pants yet? Boy, do I have a feeling we’re getting close. It’s gonna be pee-pee pants city here real soon.”
Prelight
The “band” and packaging definitely meet the objective of letting people know what the cigar is, and making them take a second look. Honestly, this cigar is not going to appeal to pretty much anyone outside TWD fans, but that’s okay because it’s a very limited production and there are quite a few TWD fans in the cigar community. Yes, it should be “barbed” wire instead of smooth, but the smooth does make it easier to holding without cutting your fingers up, so there is that.
The wrapper had a dark caramel color to it with just a touch of darker mottling in the mix. It was slightly oily and slightly velvety to the touch and had an aroma that mixed cedar and sweet natural tobacco. The foot was slightly earthy, with wood, hay and bread notes all playing a part.
Once cut, the cold draw was very good and gave up flavors of wood and natural tobacco, along with something semi-sweet, but not well defined.
Flavor
Initial puffs on Lucille gave up heavily woody flavors, not just of cedar, either. I guess that’s appropriate for a cigar that is named after a baseball bat. I got a little pepper spice and some cinnamon in the mix, along with a faint sweetness that carried over from the cold draw. There was some earth near the finish and a spicy nuttiness on the retrohale. As I went along in the first third, I picked up on some of that bready note…specifically an almost gingerbread flavor.
In the second third, the gingerbread continued with some additional cedar near the front of the profile, while earthy notes were underneath that. The pepper spice diminished a good deal.
The last third took on a rather dry aspect with the bread and earthy notes. The pepper was all but gone by this point. There was a hint of sweet natural tobacco in the mix, too.
Construction
I had a great draw and solid ash. The burn line meandered so much that I had to do a couple major touch ups and that was not unique to this cigar.
Value
$12 a stick would be too much for this cigar if it were a wide release. Because it’s a very limited release, though, I judge the price to be fair, if not great.
Conclusions
I was afraid this cigar might be “as gross as shit”…as Negan might have said. But it wasn’t. It also wasn’t a masterpiece of blending. It was a very good cigar with enough complexity to keep my interest most of the way through, with woody notes really holding sway for most of the first half…as it should be, I guess. So, a very good stick that will definitely appeal to fans of The Walking Dead, but not something that’s going to set the world on fire as far as mass appeal.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8/10
