Smoking another 300 Hands maduro lancero.

Similar experience as the first. Not a complex smoke, but a nice one. Standard maduro flavors and aromas. Smooth all the way through with no harshness.

I can honestly see these becoming a regular cigar for me. :-)
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Giving the 'Cuban Copy' Habano Sun Grown from Cuban Crafters another shot. The first one I smoked didn't impress me, so I pulled a couple out and left them in the low RH humi for a bit.

TL;DR version: leather, wood, spice. Fantastic $3 cigar.


First few draws...nice but typical Habano wrap/Nic filler flavors. A teeny bit harsh through the nose.

About 1" in...man...I have GOT to start resisting the temptation of trying a cigar ROTT. This is a very tasty smoke so far. Good burn with only 1 minor correction, nice white ash, slow burner. Now onto the flavor...it's really nice. I don't have one of those distinguished palates that can taste hints of 7 yr aged Madagascar vanilla, but this is one tasty cigar. Prominent leather flavor on the draw, woodsy on the finish. Leather is one of those flavors that I thought could only be tasted by cigar snobs, but apparently I was wrong. :-)

About 2" in...dominant flavors are still the same, but a very strong anise flavor has come in on the finish. As I sit typing with the cigar between my teeth, the aroma coming from the foot is very nice. It is a woodsy aroma that matches the flavor of the finish.

Around halfway...burn has been damn near straight as an arrow since the first correction. The leathery flavor is still there on the draw and the nose exhale, and the anise flavor on the finish has intensified. It's very present on the palate between draws.

A little past halfway...one more minor burn correction. This cigar has burned really well so far. The leather flavor is gone, having been replaced by the typical flavors for this type of blend. I call it 'Nicaraguan spice.' Y'all know what I'm talking about...that 'strong' Habano wrap, Nic filler flavor made famous by Don Pepin and AJ Fernandez.

Toward the end...Nicaraguan spice on the draw and through the nose, STRONG anise flavor on the finish. The anise flavor is *almost* too much, but never gets to the point of unpleasantness. Let 'er die at just over 1".

Final thoughts...this was, legit, one of the best $3 cigars I've ever smoked. I may just have to snag 10 more bundles and bury them in the cabinet. :-)
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I love Punch. I love lamp.
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Sounds like a great stick, Mark. If I had room in the cabinet, I'd be tempted.
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La Promesa by My Father at my local B&M.
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Tom, i've had my eye on those. how did it smoke for you? did you enjoy it? The reason I'm asking is I love the La Promesa cigars. I still have a few corona Gorda and they smoke great for me. God bless you brother!
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I did enjoy it Jason, and I think the guy at my B&M gave me a break on tax...so even better. I'd smoke another one for sure.

And today, with thanks to longknocker for putting this in the humi. Look at the cello.

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NICE! HELL YEAH! I didn't even know that this line had a lancero. How was it?
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Mild and earthy but very nice flavors, Mark.
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So I did a couple of reviews of the "Cuban Copy" sun grown lancero in this thread (stoopid name for a cigar line). The first bundle were so good that I ordered 2 more bundles after about the 3rd or 4th stick.

These 2 bundles are different. They are 7.5" instead of 7", in cello unlike the first bundle, and they have no pigtails. Hmmm...I'm already a little suspicious. I took a few out of the cellos and put them in my low humidity humidor for a few weeks.

My concerns and suspicions were unfounded. The blend is the same as far as I can tell. Good burn with only a few minor corrections. Good draw.

Great smoke, and a helluva deal at $3.50 a stick. Guess I should order a few more bundles. I have plenty of room in the cabinet. :-)
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Not my favorite of the Aladino lines, but pretty solid smoke.
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And another one! :-)

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Hey i've been there! :-)
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C'mon back, I've got another Aladino lancero for you! :-)
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Toasty Jones maduro lancero (7" x 40)

I hit Cigar Page for some PG juice for my electric humidifier, and checked out their current promotions. One of them was for Toasty Jones cigars, definitely a candidate for worst cigar name ever. But they had bundles of lanceros for $45, so I was like, "F**k it, I'll gamble $45."

This cigar has been out of the cello and in the humi for exactly 2 days, after spending 2 days in the freezer and 1 day in the fridge.

First things first. Appearance and construction. These are some nice looking cigars. The wrappers look evenly aged and aren't super blemished. You can tell that they didn't use sh*t wrapper tobacco. A nice weight in the hand for such a small ring gauge. Easy cut and perfect draw. This is important for smaller RG cigars. You can tell a lot about the talent of an individual torcedor by how well they construct smaller ring gauge cigars.

First few draws...straightforward CIGAR flavor. Tobacco and spice.

About 1" in...NICE! Good burn with zero corrections needed so far. Pretty typical maduro flavors. Tobacco, unsweetened cocoa. Fuller side of medium 'strength' through the nose.

About 2" in...very light gray ash still holding on. Dominant flavors are the same, but a coconut flavor has come in on the finish; again pretty typical for a maduro wrap cigar. Nice smoke so far. No burn corrections needed at this point. As I type with the cigar between my teeth, the aroma is VERY nice. So nice, in fact, that your wife might not even complain about it.

Around halfway...1 minor burn correction. Dominant flavors and aromas are still the same, just kicked up a notch. Typical maduro flavors of coffee, cocoa, coconut. The nicotine content in this cigar is pretty high. It's giving me a bit of a buzz, and that hasn't happened in YEARS. So be forewarned.

A little past halfway...this is a nice smoke, especially for the price. I would enter this cigar into a blind taste test, then laugh my ass off at everyone who guessed it was a Padron. No major flavor changes, but a sweetness has started showing up on the draw.

Toward the end...no more burn corrections required, which is awesome. Same dominant flavors, with the sweetness on the draw becoming a bit more pronounced. I let this one die at around 1.5."

Final thoughts...you muthaf**kas better not buy all these before I have a chance to buy 20 more bundles! :-)
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Smoking another Murcielago lancero.

Another fine smoke. These mofos have cracked the code for a tasty, well burning, maduro wrap cigar with a reasonable retail price.

One small burn correction at around the 1/3 point, one more around the halfway point.

Again, not a complex cigar. But great flavor and great construction. Standard Nicaraguan maduro wrap flavors. Cocoa, coffee, coconut. Nice aroma. Medium to full 'strength' through the nose. Slow, even burn.

I really hope they don't change these again. But they probably will.

So I guess I should order 20 boxes right now.
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Sounds like a nice cigar, Mark. :-)

Little Alex (well, not so little) custom lancero last night.

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You're a stick tease! :-)

Tell us more about this Little Alex custom roll!
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Nutty on the palate with a perfect draw. Fairly one dimensional but at least that dimension was very tasty!
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Enjoying another La Palina Illumination lancero. These mofos are STRONG. Very full flavored. Your wife won't wanna kiss you after you smoke one of these babies.

A nice cigar, though. Good draw, decent burn with only a couple of corrections.

I'm being serious when I say these cigars ain't no joke. I wouldn't smoke one on an empty stomach. But they are a great companion to an adult beverage.
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