POYSHICA

[tigger]

Put On Your Sweaters, Here It Comes Again

or

How A Couple of Cuba and the DR's Finest Went Head to Head

I looked off the corner of the porch a few days ago, and was startled to see this:

This can only mean one thing - I’m getting closer to that time of year when my smoking is done in a dark, chilly “room” off of the garage, surrounded by all the junk that we can’t fit into the house. A time of year when longer smokes don’t often cut it and when I search my humidors for heavier wrappers which are more forgiving in the artically desiccated, frigidly arid damned air I envision coming. *

“Self,” I said, “you should smoke something good. Something you won’t be able to enjoy once the icy dungheap of winter falls upon your poor head. Maybe you should even smoke two.”

And so the plan was hatched. Or justified. Or something.

I seldom smoke Dominicans anymore. The one I’d enjoyed the most when I did smoke more of them was somewhat of a rarity – the Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Lancero. They’re occasionally made available in exchange for donations to the Fuente Family’s Charitable Foundation (to help folks in the DR), or in samplers of the Don Carlos line. I think Casa Fuente in Las Vegas may sell them from time to time as well. And they’re quite good.

I’d been keeping one from a couple of years ago in reserve, and was recently gifted another. And so the light bulb flashed (well, flickered, really) to life above my head: My bestest Dominican versus one of my bestest Havanas, the Cohiba Lancero - and I just I happen to own a few that were rolled around the same time as my older Don Carlos.

Don Carlos Lancero

Made up of Dominican filler and binder, with a Cameroon wrapper.

Prelight:

Very well constructed, there’s a slightly musty sour note to the foot (not uncommon in my experience with Dominicans).The wrapper is finely veined, with a noticeable cedar smell (from the packaging) with a little Cameroon sweetness.

Clipped it to find a flawless draw, with sweet and peppery Cameroon notes and some sourness.

After lighting:

The first draws are flavored much like the cold one – sweet and peppery Cameroon wrapper, with a strong, peppery finish.

First Inch:

The draw opens up a bit more than I’d like, warning me to smoke this one slowly. Flavors remain similar – peppery spice with a sweet Cameroon finish. Light/medium bodied smoke.

Second Inch:

Pepper is the dominant theme here, with some interesting notes that I can only describe as cinnamon and celery appearing. Toward the end of the second inch it goes flat, and doesn’t taste like much at all.

Cameroon wrapper is the toothiest I now of, and it really shows in the light gray ash.

Third Inch:

There are some woody hints, but the sweet spice of the wrapper is still dominant. It’s getting boring and lacking in change. Considering letting it die out, but these have been good to me before, so I press on.

Final 2 ½ Inches or So:

I’m glad I didn’t let this go cold, as it’s getting interesting – much heavier in body. Light sour cherry flavors mix with cedar and other wood. It’s becoming really, really good. The complexity has grown rapidly, and I’m tasting ripe chile flavors as well, which reminds me, I need to go check on my pepper plants. I think I saw some red peeking out last time I walked past…score!

It was a long time coming, but this proved to be an excellent cigar. Would that it had been interesting throughout, but it redeemed itself admirably.

Cohiba Lancero

Prelight:

Great looking construction. The foot smells youngish (it is), and the wrapper (lightly) of tea and caramel.

Clipped it to find the draw a hair tight, with light honey and a strong woody presence.

After lighting:

The initial draw is a mouthful! Full-bodied, with hard to define flavors: honey/caramel/mushroom/tea? Vegetal Finish.

First Inch:

Building on the initial draws – sweet earth and tea, with a slightly bitter finish. Dark, flaky ash.

Second Inch:

Cocoa, Vanilla and Sweetness abound. I’m thinking about Ice Cream Sandwiches drawn through honey. Yum!!!

Third Inch:

I’m intentionally smoking slowly, and need to relight because I’ve let it go a little too long. Were this cigar a couple of years older, I don’t think this would be an issue. There are charred wood hints that surface and recede. Finish has an interesting tang/bite to it.

The rest:

At around 3” remaining, it gets quite bitter, so I purge it. Some stronger woody flavors appear mixed with a muted sweetness. The youthful bitterness begins to overwhelm, and I let it go out.

So:

If I could only have one of these, I would choose the Cohiba. It was more interesting than the Don Carlos for most of the time it burned. But I certainly will try to keep a few of the Dominicans around for those days when I have some time on my hands and am looking for a grand finale.

I wonder what else I can persuade myself to do before winter sets in…

* Note: There’s at least six weeks of good outdoor smoking weather left around here, and I live in a fairly temperate clime – we ski and skate, but no one around here will be spending the winter on the icepack because his ship is surrounded by relentless and inescapable monoliths of frozen water. The turning leaves, however, caught me off guard.

[zuma]

Thanx for such a bloody awesome review!

[BigSlick]

Nice lineup! Great reviews!

[shrink]

What a delightful review. Back to back lanceros? I've never done that!

The Cohiba is the classic lancero, isn't it? When they're one, it's a honey and cream cinnamon stick. Bravo!

[Moglman]

Great review! I see so many Lancero references these days, I'm thinking it's a sign to pull one out.

[El Presidente]

Great reviews Tigger!

I have a Don Carlos Lancero downstairs in my personal stash which I will give a go next week. I am now looking forward to it!

The Cohiba Lancero by 2010 should really come into its own. I hope with a little time they retain their strength, intensify the honey cream and purge the minor bitterness that currently exists.

[Ginseng]

Great stuff, Tim. Really an entertaining read!

Wilkey