Por Larranaga Picadores SUM AGO 16 (MC2020RW)

[thestogiewhisperer]

I've been loving the Por Larranaga Picadores recently, every cigar I've had out of this box has been consistently a 90-92 point cigar. I bought the box already aged as they weren't much more expensive than the more recent production and I've heard so much about aged PLPC so wanted to give these a shot. I did something slightly different with this cigar and put it in the fridge for an hour before smoking, prior to this they were stored in a humidor at 63%RH/65f. I tried this for the first time based on a thread I saw here with a RASS and was really impressed with the dark chocolate notes I got from it, something I've never experienced from a RASS before. I paired the Picadores with a glass of water and an espresso. 

Construction: Consistently great throughout the box, this one was no different. Easy draw with a slight resistance.

1st Third: Wood, baking spices (reminded me of hdm epi 2) and toasted tobacco, caramel starting to come through during the transition. Mild body, very smooth

2nd Third: Caramel really coming through now, light coffee, cinnamon, spice, mild/medium body

Last Third: Light caramel on the finish, coffee, spices, medium body

Burn time: 1hr 15m

The draw was excellent throughout, burn was a little uneven at times but I put that down to the windy conditions mainly as the rest of the box had zero burn issues. Storing the cigar in the fridge for an hour definitely enhanced the caramel flavors and brought out the spice which I hadn't experienced from these cigars before. Overall an excellent smoke and by far my most consistent box I have at the moment.

Rating: 92/100

 

 

[KavalanWhisky]

Love PL brand but this is one that I'm yet to smoke, it's weird but i just don't like the band design, makes me feel like its a NC version....

Interesting about the Fridge part, did you leave it out in the open or in a ziploc in the fridge? Does it have condensation as you smoke it?

I'm really tempted to try this and see if it improves the flavours.

I only remember Rob mentioning to put a tight drawing cigar in the fridge to fix it, amazing if you get more flavours as well.

[thestogiewhisperer]

18 hours ago, KavalanWhisky said:

Love PL brand but this is one that I'm yet to smoke, it's weird but i just don't like the band design, makes me feel like its a NC version....

Interesting about the Fridge part, did you leave it out in the open or in a ziploc in the fridge? Does it have condensation as you smoke it?

I'm really tempted to try this and see if it improves the flavours.

I only remember Rob mentioning to put a tight drawing cigar in the fridge to fix it, amazing if you get more flavours as well.

I couldn’t agree more when it comes to the band. I love the regular golden band on the Montecarlo and PLPC, wish it was on these also. I may be wrong but I believe the reason for the different band is the Picadores has been recently revived from when it was discontinued in the 70’s so I believe they went with an old style band based on that. 
 

I left the cigar wrapped in a paper towel in the fridge, no ziploc as I saw el pres saying to only do that if you’re leaving the cigar in the fridge for longer than 1-2 hours. I’d imagine the effects are similar to dry boxing in terms of flavour although I get much better results with the fridge and don’t have to plan my smokes days in advance. Let us know how it goes with the fridge, would be curious to hear your thoughts.