This is only the second Lancero I have tried, but realizing that I like smaller ring gauges, I have started trying to throw some Lanceros into the mix. I smoked the Oliva V in the Torpedo size before and its nicotine power knocked me on my ass before I could finish it. I'm hoping the Lancero size will still provide a kick but not overpower me like the Torpedo did.
Flavor wise, I get a red pepper blast on each draw that dominates the flavor profile. I get some small amount of leather in the backgorund and a slightly sweet cedar and black pepper flavor on the retrohale. It's definitely leaving a tongue tingling finish right from the start due to the high nicotine content, so I know I'm in for a ride. Not much flavor on the finish aside from this nicotine tingle and the red pepper.
As I continue smoking through the halfway point and into the final third, the flavor remains consistent and dominated by the red pepper. This cigar to me is a simple 3-note profile: pepper, some minimal leather, and cedar. After about halfway through, I did start to notice an occasional little bit of bittersweet cocoa, which was a nice addition to the flavor profile but not very prominent. I can see these Lanceros tasting better with some age on them, if the aging helped the pepper to soften a bit so that the leather and cocoa could take on more dominant roles and give the flavor profile some needed balance. The pepper right now overwhelms almost everything else. It's still a nice cigar though.
Construction-wise, this Lancero was as good as they come. Great burn line and draw. My previous experience with a Lancero did not go well because I had trouble keeping the smoke from heating up on me. This was probably due to my relative noobiness at the time, but now I have learned to smoke smaller ring gauges properly, drawing less intensely but more frequently. This Lancero had nice cool smoke for such a thin RG. The lancero feels great in the hand and I love the size.
The cigar also looks beautiful. The wrapper is a milk chocolate brown with light tan highlights and small patches of dark chocolate brown mottled throughout.
Even the smaller Lancero size of the Oliva V had a kick-in-the-teeth nicotine power, though not quite as overpowering as the Torpedo size. I finished the whole Lancero (but can't usually finish the Torpedo). Definitely felt the nicotine lightheadedness and mild stomach ache though. Not so strong that I felt sick but right on the edge. And this was right after eating a sandwich for lunch. This was the perfect amount of nicotine power to take me to my limit but not push me over.
Overall, a very good cigar but the flavor profile just wasn't quite complex enough for me. I definitely prefer the Lancero to the Torpedo though. I’d like to hold the other Lancero I bought for at least a year before smoking it to see if the extra age will mellow it out and add some complexity. If you like full strength cigars with strong notes of red pepper, and like Lancero-sized cigars, you'll love the Oliva V Lancero.
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