Cigar Review: PCS Butter by Lost & Found

• Vitola: Corona Gorda
• 5.75” x 46 ring gauge
• $38.99 for 4-pack or $78.99 for 8-pack
• Purchased at Burns Tobacconist

Background

It was in February of this year that we heard the news that the organization once known as Impromptu, or Bellatto/Caldwell/Sears, or B/C/S (and possibly some other names…we just don’t know!), was going to be called Lost & Found. The brainchildren behind the project are Tony Bellatto, of La Barba Cigars, Robert Caldwell and Jaclyn Sears (of Caldwell Cigars). Their mission is to find cool blends, unreleased by major companies, but hiding in aging rooms, sometimes for years. They buy up the sticks, package them in simple, fun, and imaginative ways and release small batches of cigars to cigar geeks everywhere.

I’ve had one or two before, but the store I work at (Burns), just became part of the Lost & Found retail network; last week we got a big shipment of Butter. According to our friends over at Cigar-Coop, Butter is simply a 3rd vitola in the Pepper Cream Soda blend. It features all Dominican fillers (Piloto, Cuban Seed HVA, and Habano), a Dominican Piloto binder, and an Ecuadorian Brazilian-Seed Arapiraca wrapper. According to the packaging, this is a 2006 Vintage and 6,500 total cigars were released.

My boss at the shop broke open a 4 pack of Butter and gave me one. I liked it enough to buy my own 4-pack the next day. This review is based on my 3rd smoking of the blend.

Prelight

The packaging of this cigar almost deserves its own section. I’ve never seen such fun packaging on a cigar (though the Room101 Uncle Lee would have possibly beat it if it had shipped in the “cereal box” as originally intended). Butter is available in 4 packs and 8 packs. The 4 pack looks very literally like a stick of butter, with a light yellow background and dark blue print on it. The cigars are arranged 2×2 and the size is almost the exact same as a stick of butter. The “brand name” is “Sofa King Cream Butter”…say it out loud and it makes sense. Instead of cup measurements, the side with the hashmarks shows the size, makeup and some vital stats for the blend.

The 8 pack is even better, branded as “Land of Snakes,” and featuring an almost-familiar Indian maiden holding a box of cigars instead of a pack of butter. Snakes are slithering out from behind her and other animals are doing the wild thing in the foreground. It’s rude, it’s juvenile…it’s hilarious. It might just get them sued…but even so the cigars will probably be long gone and in the hands of collectors.

Once freed from its buttery packaging, the cigar itself is attractive, yet very plain. That’s part of the L&F way, though…no bands, no identifying marks. The wrapper was basically the color of peanut butter with a bit of darker mottling in places. It was fairly oily to the touch and had an aroma of touches of earth and cedar, but very mildly so. The foot had more of a bread and Dominican earth note to it. The prelight draw was very good and had faint cedar and earth notes.

Rumor Only!!! In the time since we got these cigars in stock, I heard a couple different people report a couple different rumors to me on their origins. It was either XXXXXXXXX or XXXXXXXXXX who said they believe them to be XXXXXXXXX over-runs. I wondered about the fact that that manufacturer uses mostly Nicaraguan leaf, although they operate in the DR. Then a rep told me that these were, in fact, XXXXXXXXX Limited Editions of some sort from 2006, and that he had been told that by XXXXXXXXX himself. And that’s all I’m going to say, because I don’t actually like to spread rumors through this blog…but if you drop by the shop and talk to me, I’ll give you the unredacted scoop.

Flavor

The startup of the Butter is where things get a little surprising. From what I’ve been told this cigar’s origins might be, and looking at the leaf makeup, I really expected a fairly mild cigar with distinctive Dominican flavors. Instead, the beginning features a blast of red pepper heat, especially on the nose, but also on the palate. Once you get past the spicy initial puffs, there is a good amount of cedar as well as a light mixture of earth and roasted nuts. The pepper died down a bit after 10 minutes or so, allowing more of the nuttiness to come through.

The PCS Butter was medium-plus in body and by the start of the second third, I was convinced the “Pepper Cream Soda” name fit much better than “Butter.” I continued to get a good amount of pepper heat, along with nuts and cedar up front, while the earth was more of a supporting note. As the second third got close to the last third, though, the flavor did start to take on a bit of a creamier note.

The last third had competing notes of pepper and cream in a thick smoke that was now medium-to-full in body. Toward the end, it did become…dare I say it?…buttery. The earthy notes receded into the background and the cedar flavors diminished greatly as well.

Construction

The build on Butter was near perfect on all 3 sticks I smoked: great draw, solid ash, very even burn line.

Value

This is a limited release…almost a collectible, if you’re into collecting cigars…personally, I don’t collect them, I smoke them…and it’s a very good smoking experience. At a shade under $10 a stick, I’d call that a good value.

Conclusions

The Lost and Found project has released some very imaginatively named cigars and some very good blends. I’m happy to report that Butter continues that trend. Regardless of where it came from originally, it is currently a solidly good smoking experience that I liked well enough to buy into…for that matter, if our supply at the shop holds out long enough, I plan to buy an 8 pack as well. Butter gives a very different experience with a Dominican-heavy blend…some creaminess, but a very decent amount of pepper and cedar, as well. If it sounds like this is in your wheelhouse, grab them up soon. Most places that got these are sold out and the rest of them will surely be gone soon.

If you want to get your hands on Butter before they are gone, visit the online store for Burns Tobacconist, a sponsor of this site. Use the discount/coupon code BUTTERMEUP and get 10% off either 4 or 8 packs of Butter.

By-The-Numbers

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