Smoked: Don Pepin Garcia Original Lancero

Smoked at: West Chester, Ohio

Don Pepin Garcia Original Lancero features a Nicaraguan binder and filler draped in an oily, slightly toothy corojo oscuro wrapper with a few thin veins. It’s nicknamed the Blue due its blue band and blue-ribbon footer.

Cedar, earth, leather, pepper, spice, and assorted mixed nuts. There’s also a hint of caramel-chocolate, light roast coffee, oak, raisins, herbal and floral notes. I’m not sure if the fruit notes are raisins or citrus or both, but there is a dried fruit note that intersperses with the other flavors. One of the spices could be oregano. It reminds me of something Italian for what it’s worth. By the second third, pepper and cedar are the dominant flavors. You get a slight taste of bread or salty crackers too. The retrohale is spicy although not overwhelmingly so. There’s wood and earth in the retrohale aromas as well.

The draw is a bit tight, but, hey, it’s a lancero. It happens. A toothpick poke opened it up for a while. It keeps a mighty even burn line for a lancero. The ash was a bit flaky but held to a half inch. Again, not bad for a lancero.

Don Pepin Garcia Original Lancero is a rich, bold medium-full to full bodied cigar. The strength is medium start to finish. The spice/pepper/cedar combination has a kick to it. Let’s call it tangy. I like this cigar.