Vitola: Robusto- 5” x 50 ring gauge
- $10
- Purchased in a sampler from Small Batch Cigar
Background
Previous to purchasing this “Good Then Gone” Sampler from Small Batch Cigar, I was unfamiliar with the Lampert Cigar brand. Apparently they have been around a few years, but just entered the US marketplace in 2021. The sampler had a Lampert 1675 Edición Azul Robusto in it; when I received the sampler, I stashed this cigar away and didn’t think much about it again until it was time to give it “one shot” to impress me.
Edición Azul was blended by Indiana Ortez, a rising star in the cigar business, and taught of a very familiar name in cigar circles, Omar Ortez. It is made at Fabrica Agrotabacos in Nicaragua, the factory started in 1995 by the elder Ortez. The blend is made up of high-priming Peruvian ligero, along with Nicaraguan Jalapa and Condega fillers; a Nicaraguan binder; and an Ecuadorian wrapper. Their marketing claims it “strikes the perfect balance between smooth, sweet and sour flavors that continuously evolve during the smoking experience.”
This is my first experience with this blend. You can get them at Small Batch Cigar, which is a sponsor of Leaf Enthusiast.
Prelight
Lampert Cigars went for the “standard” or “classic” or “plain” wooden box (which word you use to describe it will depend on your enthusiasm about cigar marketing, I supposed). It’s serviceable, but definitely does not draw attention with it’s very ordinary naked wood with dark cliche burned into it. The band is a coat of arms of some sort…I’m sure related to Dr. Stefan Lampert, the namesake for the brand. It’s attractive-enough, although a little difficult to see exactly what’s going on in the art. It’s not the first time I’ve seen interesting art be too complex to render as small as a cigar band. It’s nice enough overall, but I have to be honest and say that if I saw this in a cigar shop, between the box and band—it wouldn’t scream at me that I have to buy it.
The wrapper leaf was a medium-dark brown the color of milk chocolate. It had a smooth coloration and a decent amount of oiliness to it. The aroma from it was slightly sweet with notes of mocha over earthier notes. The foot was more earth and cedar and a little bit of bell pepper.
Once clipped, I got light earthiness and cedar from the prelight draw, along with a slight citrus grass note. The cold draw was very good.
Flavor
I fired up the Lampert 1675 Edición Azul and got early flavors of wood and citrus tartness. Secondary floral and earthy notes moved in and there was a little pepper spice, as well. While it was very much in the medium-bodied range at the outset, the flavors were sharp and vivid, cutting through much more effectively than I thought they would. I got the impression that this is a cigar you could smoke as the third or fourth cigar of the days and still get about as much out of it as you would if it was your first. The retrohale had more notes of citrus and some red pepper spice. The first third continued with citrus notes increasing and providing more sweetness to go along with the earth and cedar.
As I got into the second third, the woody notes came to the forefront, challenging the citrus for dominance. There was a slight peppery note, too, with earth and coffee notes playing around underneath.
In the last third, there was more wood and some leather coming through up front, while the citrus took on a more sour “zing” and took a secondary role. There was an underlying sweetness that played very well with the balance and earthiness at the bottom of it all.
Construction
I got a very good draw, even burn line, and solid ash.
Value
Good cigar at a fair price, so good value.
Conclusions
After not knowing what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised by the Lampert 1675 Edición Azul. It’s been a while since I’ve had a cigar with heavy Peruvian influence and this did not disappoint with the level of citrus and overall complexity that it brought to the proceedings. I believe this is the first cigar I’ve had that was blended by Indiana Ortez and I will be watching out for others by her. She may be a star-in-the-making in the cigar industry.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
