Purchased: 5-Pack Landero (6.3 X 43)
Store: Cigar Page
Price: $15.08
Buy again? Absolutely
All I can say about this cigar is that upon the first draw, it blew me away. Nuts, nutmeg, a bit of spice, on a subtle foundation of moist forest floor, then a long, creamy, smooth finish, all in a mild smoke. After the first inch, a hint of vanilla is introduced along with the forest floor becoming more prominent. By the second half, fresh, wet sweet grass comes into play, along with some subtle but distinct floral notes. Damn! This is an awesome cigar.
Getting into the final third, the smoke coming off the cherry takes on this exotic and intoxicating, teak-like aroma. It’s not on the palate, but another dimension of espresso and dark chocolate come into play. And this is your 70% cacao dark chocolate. I didn’t expect that in a mild smoke. Again, amazing!
The draw is very easy, maybe a little too easy, even though the stick is fairly solid. It kind of reminds me of the draw on a Roly. But that immediately makes me think that it’s a good idea to really take my time with it because I can see how easy it would be to literally burn through this stick in 20 minutes. And the burn will support taking some time. It’s slow and it stays lit! Admittedly, it kind of burns a little uneven and I’ve had to make a couple of corrections. But there’s no tunneling or significant running.
Lots of people I know prefer more medium- to full-body cigars. I like those too. But if you know me well, you also know I love subtlety and nuance. The mild smoke, at least to me, is the Pinot Noir of cigars. Tasting the mild smoke requires thought and patience to discover the nuance in the stick.
Granted, some mild smokes are just not that complex. They’re just straight-forward smokes. Those are great kick-around smokes or perfect for the first stick of the day.
As for the Candela wrapper, ever since I saw a Candela, I wanted to try one. But at least on CI, they only had cheap ones or super-expensive ones. But I got these for $3 apiece so if I didn’t like them, I wouldn’t feel bad about the purchase. But I love these! Though I’ll probably keep on buying 5-packs as I will be buying Martinez NYC Blend Queens regularly.
Update 10/17/2023: Having smoked four of the five I purchased, while the basic flavor profile has been consistent from stick to stick, the construction hasn’t. In fact, the first three had some real uneven burns. But the fourth that I’m smoking while I write this has had a nice, even burn line throughout the smoke. Plus, the flavor seems just a tad bit richer than the other three sticks. I have a feeling that the extra month of rest in my humidor did this stick some good. I will let the last stick rest a lot longer before I smoke it.
And though I said I’d probably keep a few of these on-hand, it won’t be immediate. There are just so many others I’d smoke over this.
Unco B's Stogie Diary 