Before I go to far, no, this isna't a stick from Shilala.
Litto Gomez Americano (5.75X46) 2009
I picked up this cigar as a single from an online retailer with my last order from them.
0.0 - 2.0 = poor/inferior quality
2.1 - 2.9 = fair
3.0 - 3.5 = good
3.5 - 4.5 = excellent
4.6 - 5.0 = superior
1) Aesthetics: A delectable Colorado wrapper, lightly glistening, tenderly embraces this stick. With the elegance of the embossed band, this is a cigar that definitely turns the head. Good looking!
Score for aesthetics: 4.6
2) Pre-light Construction: I like the feel of this in the hand, it is a rather heavy cigar. It has a sweet pre-light smell and taste with a snipped, dry pull. OK, I thought a beer and a cigar after archery league would be nice, as I’m looking at this stick, a buddy comes up from behind with a slap on the shoulder, “How’d you shoot tonight, padre?” And the cigar flies out of my hand, across the table and onto the floor. I cringe as I go to pick it up as I saw it land on the foot at an angle that allowed it to bounce twice. The foot has mushroomed a bit, as I think that this should be an interesting smoke.
Score for Pre-light construction: 4.5 (2.5 after the drop)
3) Post-light Construction/How it smoked: As expected, there is a bit of a problem at the beginning, the wrapper, being loose, needs to be touched up for the first inch, inch & a quarter, but that’s not a fault of construction. Throughout, this has an easy burn that holds an interesting grey-white ash that, despite the ugly nature (I think it had internal bruising from the fall), holds a good inch plus. The second half of this cigar has a firmer ash.
Score for post-light construction: I’m not going to judge it because of the abuse it took.
4) Flavor and strength: I know people talk of this as a full-bodied and strong cigar, OK, I guess everybody is entitled to their opinion, but I didn’t find it all that strong. As for full-bodied, hmmm, easy to snork, very smooth. There are sweet spiciness predominates, but the spice is not overpowering. Wonderfully complex, I get hints of walking in a maple woods as the sap is running. There are also other flavors that tantalizingly tempt me to savor the rich flavors, trying to put descriptions to them. It kept growing in richness and complexity, with the sweet and spice competing for dominance. It did keep me interested till I nubbed it, with a few strange looks and comments, “Hey, you want a roach clip?”
Score for flavor and strength: 4.9
5) Aftertaste/Finish: Pleasant. But to be honest, I didn’t pay much attention to it. So, I’m going to refrain from comment. I’d like to glowingly say some things, but that’d be a lie. While I got the flavors and aroma, I just don’t remember the finish. Sorry!
Score for aftertaste: N/A
6) Aroma: I loved the smell of this, even got a comment, “That doesn’t smell bad - for a cigar.” Here is where the “sweet” dominated with the spice playing sidekick. Very nice!
Score for aroma: 4.8
7) General Comments: You know, people say these are like Opus. If they are, they must be smoking different Opi than I am. If only the Opus line aspired to be all that this stick was. It went very well with the New Glarus Spotted Cow I was drinking. I wish they weren’t as expensive as they are so that I could afford these on a more regular basis. I have tried to enjoy the LFD Double Ligero line, and I was told the LG line was as strong or more - I didn’t see it. Every LFD DL I have smoked has left me less than enthusiastically impressed. Yeah, they are strong, but they lack complexity and much of anything in regard to interesting flavors. As this was my experience, I was hesitant to try the LG line. I was gifted a couple, a Small Batch 1 or 2 that was outstanding, one of the top 5 I smoked in ‘09, and then a Cubano which was also astounding.
Overall score for the cigar: 4.8
8) Recommendation: Highly Recommended
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