Lirio Rojo translates to "red lilly" from Spanish. The 2019 limited release of the Lirio Rojo is a new size, a 6 3/8 x 42 lonsdale vitola rolled with a 109 cap, which is basically a combination of a belicoso cap and a normal cap. In previous years, this cigar was only produced in a corona vitola. However, while the vitola size and the cap used on the cigars were changed for 2019's release, other details remained the same (i.e. the blend remained a Nicaraguan puro that was sold in cabinets of 50 without bands.)
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This cigar was enjoyed with Sweet tea
Pre-Light: 10 Points of 10 Possible
The cigar was nice and dry, not oily at all. It had a really nice aroma of subtly sweet but strong tobacco. the cap was different than one I had had before, a 109 cap. It was easy to clip, and held strong without unraveling. It was not really hard, but had no soft spots in the cigar either, just medium hardness.
Lighting and Burn: 10 Points of 15 Possible
During the first third, the cigar got really soft in the foot half of the cigar, and took 4 touch-ups to keep it burning evenly along the way. It had a really light grey ash, and didn't hang on long, only about 1/2" before it would fall off during the whole smoke. When it was burning good, there was a nice amount of smoke produced.
Construction: 20 Points of 30 Possible
The construction was nice pre-light, and after the cut, but with the onset of the smoking, it kind of went downhill on the first 1/2. The second half stayed true to the original construction, and smoked better, only needing minor touch ups, as the cigar would burn on one side, but not both.
Flavor and Aroma: 35 Points of 45 Possible
First 1/3: The initial light was a strong hit of white pepper that overtook any taste. It was a spice bomb at the beginning, but that only lasted about the first 1/2 of the first 1/3. After that, the cigar mellowed out on the spice, and you got strong tobacco flavors, mixed with hints of coffee, cocoa and leather.
Second 1/3: The coffee flavor was now mixing with a toasted caramel, leather, and oak. During the middle of this 1/3, there was a short stint of just floral notes, which were uncharacteristic of the rest of the smoke. This faded after about 4 good puffs, and it went back to the toasted caramel and leather flavors.
Last 1/3: The last third was the same as most of the rest of the cigar, with a mixture of leathery tobacco as the main undertone of the whole cigar, with oak and caramel flavors.
Most of the cigar after the first 1/2 of the first 1/3 was the same flavors except for the floral notes in the middle which was a little weird. There was a burning on the tongue a little, as well as in the throat.
Summary
Overall, this was a pretty one dimensional smoke. If you like a strong hit of spice up front, with the rest of the cigar being mostly a leathery/toasted caramel tobacco with hints of oak in the mix, then this one is for you. The floral in the middle of the cigar seemed odd for the flavor profile, and I wonder if other cigars will have this. It was a little too one dimensional for my liking, leaving me hoping it would have been more.
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