Wrapper: Cameroon-seed / Ecuador
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: Toro (6 x 50)
Strength: Medium → between Medium and Medium-Plus (second half)
Body: Full (from the second third)
Price: $13.50–$17.00 per single; $200.99–$217.75 per box of 15 (USD; varies by retailer)
Factory: La Aurora S.A., Dominican Republic
Blender: Omar de Frias
Release: June 2023 (Regular Production)
Smoking Time: 1 hour, 55 minutes
Experience Rating: 99
The Lunar was created with Intuitive Machines to commemorate its IM-1 lunar mission. Omar de Frias knew the company’s co-founder, Steve Altemus, from his years at NASA, and Altemus approached him about making a cigar for the occasion. Fratello’s logo traveled aboard the Odysseus lander, which reached the Moon on February 22, 2024. And that LUNR lettering on the band matches Intuitive Machines’ Nasdaq ticker.
In my review of the Fratello Arlequín, I wrote that I’d been a little slow on the uptake with Fratello cigars. After smoking the Lunar Cameroon Toro, I’m kicking myself for not getting acquainted with them sooner.
It’s frustrating to discover a cigar I enjoy this much and realize how long I took to get around to it. I’m certainly paying attention now, and I have some catching up to do. Without giving away the entire experience, the Lunar has practically everything I love in a great cigar. And the journey it takes me on resonates with me on so many levels.
It’s a gorgeously rolled stick, with a few raised veins and a solidity that makes its weight a little surprising. This thing feels like a baton. It has considerably more heft than I’d expect from a 50 ring gauge cigar. And that band! The holographic surface looks like it belongs in a NASA kit. I can easily imagine opening a spacecraft compartment and finding a few of these tucked inside.
The wrapper aromas are just dreamy. Wildflowers, fresh-baked bread, and hay practically jump off the leaf, with just a touch of barnyard underneath. At the foot, dried fruit and flowers mingle with sourdough and a distinctly Sweet Tart aroma. I know I recently said I probably wouldn’t spend much time on pre-light evaluation, but the Lunar is making that difficult.
The triple cap is so well-executed that I have to work my PerfecPunch well into the head to get through it. Almost a quarter inch of wrapper comes away. The resulting draw is snug but workable, carrying an unusually complex combination of soy sauce, sage, sweet bread, and honey. And I haven’t even lit the damn thing.
Once I do, floral nectar pours into the profile, reminding me of the sweetness from a Bird of Paradise flower. Toffee, cedar, light coffee, and white pepper follow, then, within a few puffs, cardamom, star anise, and allspice. It’s an absolutely gorgeous start. If the cigar stays right here for the rest of the smoke, I’ll be completely content.
I can sense La Aurora’s signature immediately. That factory has an uncanny ability to hide a cigar’s inherent power behind a veil of deliciousness. The Family Creed sticks are recent examples, but I’ve experienced it throughout the Preferidos line. The Lunar carries that same quality.
Moving into the first inch, I can barely keep up.
Toasted cashew and almond, honeycomb, leather, exotic hardwood, sourdough, and a touch of black pepper arrive in a rush. Then something resembling Cherry Coke appears out of nowhere, accompanied by sweet coconut milk. What the hell? Every time I think I have a handle on the profile, something else turns up.
I hate to reach for the obvious comparison, but this feels like a rocket launch. The engines ignite, all hell breaks loose, and I’m along for the ride. I have no idea whether Omar intended anything like this, but the opening’s sheer energy fits the imagery on that band almost too well.
Past the first inch, I can finally catch my breath. I feel like I’ve just gone through the launch scene in Apollo 13 and made it into orbit. The flavors that came roaring out of the cigar begin to find their balance, and cream enters beneath them, giving me somewhere to settle while I take stock of what just happened. I’m sitting in all that complexity, looking forward to wherever we’re going next.
A light spice floats above the profile, wandering across the roof of my mouth. Underneath it, I can now distinguish a core of cedar, baking spices, light coffee, toffee, and leather. That’s a fairly elaborate core. I usually find three or four flavors doing that work, but this more complex core fits the cigar overall.
The construction is holding up its end of the trip, too. Okay, I’ve already mentioned Apollo 13, so perhaps that isn’t the spacecraft to invoke when discussing reliability. But the Lunar has burned straight from ignition without a single correction. I’m outside in a light breeze, which occasionally puts a little wave in the char line, and the cigar promptly sorts it out. Meanwhile, the ash is building into a beautiful stack of dimes.
In the second third, the cream thickens considerably, bringing the body to full while the strength stays a thoroughly enjoyable medium. I could smoke this any time. That doesn’t mean I’d relegate it to utility duty. It means I could reach for one knowing I’m about to have a great smoke, whatever time of day it happens to be.
Of course, now I’m distracted by the ash. I know it’s stupid, but I want to see how far I can take it. I’m handling the cigar gingerly and trying not to jinx myself. And for the record, I’m resting it horizontally on my PerfecPunch while I type. No holding it upright and puffing toward the sky to keep the stack attached. The structure is doing this on its own.
The ash finally lets go just before halfway. I’m pretty sure I could have taken it farther with my face pointed at the heavens, but I’ll happily accept what the cigar managed under normal smoking conditions. Besides, something much more interesting is happening in the profile.
Remember the soy sauce from the cold draw? It’s back, and the Lunar takes a gorgeous savory turn. I’m suddenly thinking of a ribeye seared in a cast-iron skillet with butter, garlic, and herbs. Rosemary is particularly clear, while soy sauce, cardamom, and allspice give the combination a slightly Asian-tropical character. I love this. In my head, the command module is maneuvering to join the lander and pull it free of its housing.
As I move into the second half, the spice spreads beyond the roof of my mouth and starts bouncing around everywhere. It feels like the battery powering the profile. Strength remains medium, but the flavors grow more intense, with a definite sense of forward movement. I wouldn’t call it compression at this point. Everything is becoming more concentrated as we get underway on our lunar trajectory.
Coffee steps forward in the core, like the Mission Commander taking the conn. Around it, the other flavors seem to organize themselves. They’re still moving, but I can sense a deliberateness in how they occupy the profile. Everything seems to be finding its proper place. Then a slight hit of nicotine pushes strength just above medium, a small jolt like the thrusters firing for a course correction.
After that, the burn slows way down. We’ve made the adjustment; everything seems to be in place, and now I have to wait. I settle into the experience without losing the feeling that something else is coming. The cigar doesn’t feel nearly finished with me.
Sure enough, in the final third, the savory elements recede, and the fruit comes forward. Fresh nectarine and apricot appear, along with a gorgeous black cherry soda finish. There’s even an effervescent quality as that soda sweetness interacts with the spice. The fruit remains present behind the core as combinations of secondary flavors begin taking turns stepping forward.
Soy sauce joins grilled meat. Flowers meet baking spices. Roasted nuts pair with stone fruit. Those combinations take turns stepping forward, increasing the energy in the profile. What strikes me is how well matched the flavors are.
And then I’m riding along again, watching those combinations circulate and waiting for whatever comes next. The Lunar keeps giving me that feeling. It’s already delivered more than enough to hold my attention, but I can’t shake the sense that another event is ahead. As I work toward the last inch, the flavors grow bolder again. Strength barely changes. I can’t even call it darkening yet. The profile is simply becoming more pronounced.
As I pass the final inch, the spice abruptly changes its behavior. It stops dancing around my mouth, intensifies, and moves forward over the tip of my tongue and the inside of my lips. Retro rockets firing. The secondary flavors stop circulating as well and seem to take their places, strapped in for the descent.
Now the profile begins to compress. Strength ticks up a little, though what I feel is increasing pressure within the profile rather than another hit of nicotine. It’s still sitting somewhere between medium and medium-plus, which I find remarkable considering how much is happening. Coffee finally turns toward espresso, the cedar chars, and the rest of the core intensifies around them.
The spice settles fully on my lips, acting like stabilizers as the profile’s gravity increases. Amazingly, I can still distinguish the secondary layers inside all that density. They’re intact and strapped in, right where they need to be.
At the nub, the floral notes push out, softening both the profile’s intensity and the spice. One final blast from the retro rockets, and I’m down gently. In my head, I hear Neil Armstrong.
Tranquility Base. The Eagle has landed.
I have no idea what Omar de Frias intended when he put this cigar together. Maybe I was influenced by the rocket imagery and his NASA background. But this cigar took me on a moonshot!
This is a Dominican stick, at least stylistically. While its filler is Nicaraguan, there’s a softness to it that leans heavily towards the DR. It carries the structure of Nicaraguan tobacco, but not its overt power and boldness. Don’t get me wrong. It has that Nicaraguan muscle underneath, but it’s expertly concealed by deliciousness. That’s the La Aurora signature in play.
When I smoked my first one, I deliberately left the analysis alone. It was late in the evening; I had a glass of El Pasador del Oro Reserva, and I just wanted to enjoy my cigar. Even then, I knew I was smoking something special.
I’m definitely getting a lot more of these.
The lowest price I’ve found for singles is $13.50 at Smoking Pipes. A 5-pack is $60.75, which brings the price down to $12.15/stick. I just checked the site, and they have special pricing on singles for $12.15/stick. I’m not sure how long it’ll last, but if you just want a couple, you can get them at 5-pack pricing.
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