Por Larranaga Picadores ULE JUN 2015

[99call]

Por Larranaga Picadores 2015 

Aroma at cold:   light tannic sour tobacco,

Cold Draw, Absolute undefiled wind tunnel, light Virginia balmy tobacco, coca cola

1^st 3^rd slight body oder funk, right out the gate, gone in few seconds.  I feel these, (like all Picadores I’ve had, 2.5 boxes) have little to nothing to do with a standard PL blend………….hmmm actually second thoughts there is a bit of PL in here, stuff that I’ve not really got in any of the younger Picadores. That sort of darker coca cola sweetness, but not quite caramel.  It’s fleeting

Balmy high quality tobacco,  just not enough of it HSA!!. The draw thankfully has snugged up.  It has that sort of sour hay Cohiba tee up, but stops at the point you usually get the honey and lemongrass. As I had mentioned, it has a sweet garden pea puree.  This is what I imagine you’d get if you crossed Cohiba with Vegueros. The sour hay, and buttery class, mixed with a bit of green vegetal fresh cut grass.  

2^nd 3^rd  Very, nice but i find ‘Frankenstein cigars’ like this to be frustrating, not because they are in anyway bad, just that it’s reminiscent of a load of other cigars, CORO, Tapados, Epi 2, Connie 1, they all seem to flit in and out, and the Picadores doesn't ever seem to stamp its foot down, and show itself to be definitive in it’s own right….I think this is why people don’t rave about them. 

3^rd 3^rd   Whatever Picadores are not…..they most definitely are king of the breakfast smokes, well maybe behind aged Coloniales. Creamy tannic, oodles of smoke, sweet vegetal.   I tiny bit of Por Larranaga dances around, but it’s very background to me, if I wasn’t looking for it, I don’t think I’d be picking it up. 

Conclusion  Great to have this in the standard catalogue, they are cheap, they are a great cigar for newbies. They are also capable of putting out that thick viscous smoke, you see with lots of premium smokes.  I find the sweet vegetal nature to them really interesting and pleasing. My only criticism of this smoke is, i often forget what i’m smoking and have to lift my finger off the band and double check. 

Score   88……nothing special, but a good interesting pleasurable smoke

[Stump89]

Nice review, thanks! I've had similar experiences with these, though only a few and from more recent years.  Interesting smokes, but never knocked my socks off.

[nKostyan]

Great review. Regular Por Larranga is not enough full size “havana” with classic taste Panetelas/Montecarlos/PC. Unfortunately Picadores did not become such a cigar. We have to pray for the Regional

[99call]

1 minute ago, nKostyan said:

Great review. Regular Por Larranga is not enough full size “havana” with classic taste Panetelas/Montecarlos/PC. Unfortunately Picadores did not become such a cigar. We have to pray for the Regional

The grand robusto in Holland sounds like it has more of the PL pedigree.   I don't think it is a problem that the Picadores doesn't exemplify the core PL blend. I think many brands have their black sheep.  I just think it's sad if people have a negative reaction to these just because they don't turn out to be chubby PLPC's. 

[TheMonk]

Great review, great pics. Shame the cigar wasn't that exciting!

[Sudzdaddy]

Thanks for the review!  In spite of the raves this cigar has received, I remain hesitant.

[99call]

29 minutes ago, Sudzdaddy said:

Thanks for the review!  In spite of the raves this cigar has received, I remain hesitant.

if you like light wrappered Cohiba, Hoyo, Vegueros you should jump on in.  It's just my opinion but don't expect any PL hallmarks.  If you can mentally park that to one side, you should really enjoy them.   If like some you want them to be chubby PLPC's I think you might be let down. 

[earthson]

On 3/19/2019 at 12:41 PM, 99call said:

The grand robusto in Holland sounds like it has more of the PL pedigree.   I don't think it is a problem that the Picadores doesn't exemplify the core PL blend. I think many brands have their black sheep.  I just think it's sad if people have a negative reaction to these just because they don't turn out to be chubby PLPC's. 

I was hoping for a return of the Robustos de Larranaga AP regional.  Sadly, that was not the case.  Not a bad cigar at all, but not anywhere near remarkable when compared against the other Robustos/Hermosos no 4 available.

[poolmar]

i quite like them...they dont do a lot wrong, very safe smoke. and as you say a breakfast cigar.

[Derboesekoenig]

I like interesting...I will have to try these. Is this the first year these were re-released or was that 2014? Either way, thanks for the review. You don't see too many people smoking Picadores, or they just aren't talking about it.