Boutique Cigars

90 Miles Limited Edition RA Lancero

FDG RA LanceroBeing a little late to the game when it came to trying the FDG line I missed some opportunities to write about their products closer to the time they were released. After meeting Yadi at an event and trying a few of her cigars I decided to write about a few of them anyway just incase anyone else was behind like I was. I decided to start with the RA Lancero, even though this cigar has been out for nearly 3 years and was a limited production of 1,500 boxes of 20 you can still find some with relative ease if you know where to look.

The over all look of the wrapper is dark espresso in color with a slightly lighter color near the veins and has a slight oily sheen to it. Veins are clearly visible but are light, there is a small amount of toothiness but still mostly smooth to the touch. The roll looks solid and the seams are tight, the cigar feels nice and spongy through the entire stick with no apparent empty spots.

The smell from the body is sweet like smoky chocolate. The foot is covered but I remove the covering to get a better smell. From the foot the odor is very sweet and candy like with rich cedar notes, similar to a sweet unflavored pipe tobacco.

The cap has a small pigtail to it, which cuts easily and cleanly with no issues. The cigar lights with no trouble and immediately produces a good amount of smoke. The draw offers a fair amount of resistance but it isn’t a struggle.

Through the first third the flavors have a bit of spice with charred oak and fruit and a touch of pepper. These flavors slowly change to a bitter dark chocolate, leather and spice when approaching the halfway point and up to the final third.

In the final third those chocolate, leather and spice notes move to the back and all but disappear leaving a rich sweet tobacco flavor. It shoves its way to the front pulling a slight taste of graham cracker with it. Throughout the smoke the ash stays a medium to dark grey color falling off about every ¼ inch or so.

I’ve really been enjoying the catalog from FDG cigars and the lancero has been a lot of fun to smoke. It has great complex flavors that pair well with most drinks however I would recommend a nice bourbon, (I preferred mine when I had it with a Bookers over when I had Elmer T Lee) and the price point won’t break the bank. I recommend tracking these down and stocking up since once they are gone they are gone.

 

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano

Binder: Nicaraguan Habano

Filler: Nicaragua

Vitola: 7” x 38 Lancero

Price: Around $7.50

Website: Fdgcigars.com

Southern Draw’s The Rose of Sharon

Rose of SharonSouthern Draw’s The Rose of Sharon is named after the owner Robert’s wife, Sharon Holt. They say is the mildest cigar the company’s offers to date. It is covered with an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper that houses a blend of a Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos that include Dominican piloto cubano and Nicaraguan seco and visas

The smell from the body is of light cedar and nutmeg. I removed the covering from the foot to get a better smell, the aroma is essentially the same but stronger and has the addition of damp hay. The wrapper is golden brown with a nice sheen to it, very smooth and with very light veining. The construction feels solid all the way through but gives when pressed.

Pre-light draw is light and sweet and reminds me of biting into a fresh plum.

The flavor is very mellow and bready with a hint of earthiness to it. There’s also a touch of sweet and spice to it on the finish. The draw offers good resistance but not to the point that you feel like you’re fighting with it and plenty of lightweight smoke is created with each draw. The first half keeps all of these flavors with the spice starting to out weight the sweet on the finish.

With the second half, flavors intensify a bit with the pepper, roasted nuts and hay flavors becoming more prominent than the bread taste. Still mild but a fuller flavor than when it started. The burn remains pretty sharp and the ash hangs on for as long as I like until knocking it free.

Entering the last third the flavor really picks up and the pepper and spice reaches a level of a solid medium flavored cigar. The burn, smoke and ash all do exactly what they should to show off a well-crafted cigar.

In all this was a great stick and could easily be recommended for beginning as well as seasoned smokers. It’s not overpowering but gives a great example of what you should expect from a cigar when it comes to construction and flavor dynamics. So far I continue to be impressed with what’s coming from Southern Draw (like their heavier bodied Jacobs Ladder) and look forward to smoking many more.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut

Filler: Nicaraguan and Dominican

Sizes: Robusto 5 1/2 x 54, Toro 6 x 52, Gordo 6 1/2 x 60

Price: $9.00-$10.50

Website: Southerndrawcigars.com

Suicide King From Traficante Cigar Company

Traficante Cigars Suicide KingBeing fairly involved in social media it was hard not to notice the serge in Traficante sticks being passed around and quite a lot of them through our club members. Finally curiosity got to me and I checked out their website. I liked their stance on how they operate and their idea of building camaraderie in the industry aligned with our philosophy so of course I placed an order. Some of the prices are slightly above average but from a vendor who produces less than 1,000 sticks a day the prices are justifiable.

For my first smoking experience with Traficante I chose their box pressed Suicide King. It comes in one size, a 6×50 Toro. The wrapper is a rich dark espresso color, is fairly smooth with some veining. The cigar feels spongy to the touch but the rolling is consistent all the way though with no dead spots. The pre-light draw is easy which goes with the soft feel of the roll. Even though it feels soft and the pre-light draw is easy the construction is solid and it is a well crafted cigar.

It lights easily with no issues and seems to burn well. The flavor is rich and earthy with a lasting finish. Smoke production is full but feels light. Even though it has an easy draw to it the cigar does not burn hot or fast. This held up until just past the first third of the cigar.

Just past the first third the burn line became A bit uneven and an inspection of the foot showed a bit of tunneling. This began to worry me but I hit the uneven burn with my torch to bring it up to speed and carried on. After about 1/4 – 1/2 an inch more the burning kept even and the tunneling disappeared. (Side note: This has not happened again with either the second one of these or others from their line that I have since smoked. We’ll chalk this up to a one time occurrence.)

The flavor profile stayed consistent throughout the cigar with a bit of nuttiness being more apparent towards the final third. The cigar burned with no issues for the remainder of the smoke and had a tight greyish ash that held on for a good inch or so before knocking it off.

For my first go around with a company I was pleased with the taste and overall construction of the cigar. While there was that moment of uncertainty I was glad to see that it was just a minor hiccup and I’m sure that the other cigars I purchased from them for reviewing will not have this issue. If your looking for a break from your everyday cigars I suggest giving Traficante a try you won’t be disappointed.

 

Wrapper: Maduro (Most likely Nicaraguan)

Filler: Nicaraguan and Dominican

Sizes: Toro (6 x 50)

Price: $13.44

Website: Traficantecigar.com

Rating: 4 out of 5 pints