Wrapper: Habano Estelí / Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: Toro (6 x 52)
Strength: Medium → Medium-Plus (last couple inches) → Full (nub)
Body: Medium-Plus → Full (last inch)
Price: $13.50–$15.00 USD singles / $67.50 USD 5-pack where listed; varies by retailer
Factory: Tabacalera Lanuza, Nicaragua
Blender: Raul Lanuza
Release: LCA / Privada limited-style release
Smoking Time: 1:30
Experience Rating: 95
I’ve smoked this cigar a few times before finally sitting down to review it. Each time before, I was in a lounge, and I didn’t really focus on the cigar. In fact, the very first time I had one, I truly thought it had a Connecticut Shade wrapper because it was so light in color.
I lit it up and was surprised that it was smoking like a Habano. I immediately thought of the Domain Attenuation and wondered if Raul had somehow masked the Connie character with this cigar.
Then I looked it up.
It was a Habano smoking like a Habano. That was a real roll-of-the-eyes moment. I chuckled it off to enjoy the cigar.
I’ve enjoyed it four times now, leading up to this review. And I look forward to more times in the future because this is a cigar that illustrates Raul Lanuza’s range.
Synopsis
Strength opens at medium, holds there through settling, rises to medium-plus through progression, halfway, and the home stretch, then pushes higher in the last couple of inches before reaching full at the nub. Body starts at medium-plus, climbs steadily through settling, progression, halfway, and the home stretch, then reaches full by the last inch and remains there through the nub. Activity begins just under medium-full, rises to medium-full through settling and progression, eases slightly at halfway, returns at the home stretch, then declines through the last couple of inches, last inch, and nub as the profile compresses.
The cigar looks a little rustic, with a rough surface and small nodules of tooth. There are no soft spots, but the light tone of the leaf makes the cigar look almost like a Connecticut Shade.
The wrapper keeps its aromas tight to its chest. It doesn’t reveal much beyond dry grass, mineral, and a faint tobacco sweetness. The foot gives up a little more, with dried fruit, rich tobacco, and a fermented sourness. The cold draw is loose, carrying dry grass, dried fruit, and sweetness.
Ignition brings an immediate hit of fresh cedar and darker baking spices: nutmeg, clove, and cardamom. Strength is already sitting at a solid medium as a rich cedar aroma comes off the foot, followed by earth, coffee, mild black pepper, and citrus peel. Then the roasted nuts arrive, with hazelnut, chestnut, cashew, and peanut moving into the profile, giving the smoke medium-plus body without making the start feel heavy.
There’s a lot happening early, but it doesn’t come across as chaotic or all at once. The flavors move in a smooth progression, which keeps the start from feeling frenetic or busy, while the activity sits just under medium-plus as the cigar begins to show its shape.
Cream arrives and signals the profile into settling. Strength remains at medium as the core begins to form, with cream wrapping itself around coffee, roasted hazelnut, and citrus peel. That citrus peel is amazing.
A floral sweetness hangs in the air above the profile, like a gentle hand pulling everything upward. A gentle spice arrives and begins to slowly pulse at the top of my mouth, providing extra lift. The cream gives the profile a medium-plus body and acts like an exclamation point, while the sweetness persists through the finish. The sweetness has been thematic in past experiences.
With the core defined, the lift from the spice and sweetness creates tension against it, and that energy pushes activity to medium-plus. There may not be a ton of flavors, but the energy is amazing.
As the cigar moves forward, vanilla crème, caramel, and nougat process into the profile, and help push the body past medium-plus. The spice is still slowly pulsing, but the peaks are a little more intense now, as I start feeling it on my lips. It creates a kind of forward pull, and strength slightly climbs past medium with it.
The citrus peel in the core resolves to orange zest. Wow. Herbal notes arrive with bay leaf, sage, and thyme, along with a vegetal note like steamed artichoke. That’s a new one. The spice begins to spread, still gentle, but it starts coating my mouth. It’s a nice sensation, like chewing on a piece of fresh jalapeño.
Orange zest really asserts on the finish and retrohale. The background sweetness continues to be like a subtle grace note in the profile, and the body thickens a little more. Roasted nuts come back, led by peanut, then cashew and chestnut, while the activity reaches medium-plus. Nicotine arrives too, gentle, but enough to let me know it’s there.
At the halfway point, flavors are randomly returning, but they don’t pop. They just flow. Floral notes, nuts, vanilla crème, sage, caramel, and artichoke move in and out of the profile as strength stays steady just past medium.
The spice reduces and allows the profile to breathe. Nicotine asserts a tiny bit, but it doesn’t affect the strength. The profile feels expansive, like there’s plenty of room for more things to arrive, and the body continues building into the upper side of medium-plus.
The slower flow of the flavors makes activity ebb a little, but it’s still medium-plus. There’s still motion, just with more space around it.
As I hit the home stretch, coffee steps forward without darkening. It occurs to me that the four I’ve smoked so far have been fairly consistent in behavior.
This cigar is all about control and composure.
As a Nicaraguan puro, one would expect the profile to be deliberate and declarative, but this is smoking like a well-structured Dominican. There are no sharp edges, and strength is still being held at medium-plus even as the body continues to thicken.
Suddenly, I get a hit of chocolate mint.
I hope it persists. It does, and I’m amazed. It attaches to the core as the other flavors continue their random cycling, with the background sweetness distant in the expanse, but still present.
The core is absolutely delicious. There’s an interplay between the orange zest and chocolate mint, and they’re not at odds with each other. They’re dancing a slow dance. The profile begins to contract, with a little less space around it, and the body thickens in response.
As I watch the dance, I’m transported to a smoky jazz club with Coltrane playing a sexy solo in the background. A couple, the zest and chocolate mint, are the only ones dancing. Slow steps, just holding each other, swaying to the gentle pulse of the music. Very romantic. The spice is like a lone light shining onto the dance floor, and the activity returns to medium-plus inside that controlled movement.
In the last couple of inches, the body continues its steady rise and is now pushing close to full. I’m amazed that even with the richer texture, it still has no real effect on strength, which is just cruising a little above medium-plus.
The profile feels complete. There are no missing pieces. Nothing has fallen away. I think to myself that even if no new flavors arrive, it’s okay. I’d welcome new flavors, but I’m sated.
That slow, sexy jazz still plays in the background. It’s the smooth flow of the flavors. The spice, which had moved into the background, finally returns to where it originally was, while coffee steps forward again. Like before, it doesn’t darken or intensify. It’s just more visible.
Orange zest and chocolate mint aren’t dancing anymore, but they’re arm-in-arm. The profile compresses a little more, and that compression gives strength a small push while activity stays at medium-plus. That background sweetness on the finish still provides the emotional lift.
In the last inch, the core becomes gravitational and starts compressing the profile, but it remains articulate. Spice asserts now, and the profile seems driven by it as the Nicaraguan tobacco begins to show its muscle. This is yet another case of a cigar presenting one face, then revealing its true nature near the end, kind of like the Curivari Selección Privada.
The flow of flavors is gone, and many have left. What remains is roasted cashew, peanut, nutmeg, and caramel that has gone dark, almost burnt. Activity drops sharply with the compression, but the cigar stays articulate.
The background sweetness fades as nicotine becomes much more present. The core takes a darker turn, and with it, strength pushes into full. Coffee becomes espresso, hazelnut is very toasted, and the cream is super thick. Body is full now, and the orange zest has the quality of a flame being thrown at it. It’s pungent, but not overpowering. Any more and it would get too bitter.
The nub brings no significant change in the profile. Everything has become as dark as it’s going to get. The remaining flavors from the last inch are gone, and it’s all core now, with espresso taking the lead. Strength is full, body stays full, and activity continues to fall.
Composed and controlled to the end.
Retailer notes talked about black pepper, and I got a hint of it, but not enough to count it as a major component. It was more in passing.
The orange zest really made the smoke for me. That was the note that kept lifting the experience and giving the profile its spark. But what separates the Mechudo from the other Lanuza cigars I’ve smoked is composure and containment. Super Sea Monkeys was chaotic. Lanuza Maduro was a Bian Lian performance. Dunamis Dominion was about Nicaraguan power.
The Mechudo was about mitigating power.
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