Cigar Geeks - Blanco (Formerly Los Blancos) Nine Lancero

Cigar Geeks Geek Critique

Blanco (Formerly Los Blancos) Nine Lancero
Written by Cigar Geeks Member: Wes Leach (87North)

85
Cigar Geeks Rating

Welcome to another Cigar Geeks Critique of a vitola provided to us by our friends at C.I.G.A.R. of San Antonio and the Los Blancos Cigar Company. Up for review this time is the Los Blancos Nine Lancero. Thanks to Corey (cmmayo) for setting this up and special thanks goes out to C.I.G.A.R. of San Antonio and the Los Blancos Cigar Company.

Blanco (Formerly Los Blancos) Nine Lancero

Brand:: Blanco (Formerly Los Blancos)
Name:: Nine Lancero
Length:: 7
Ring Gauge:: 38
Country of Origin:: Nicaragua
Filler:: Nicaragua
Binder:: Nicaragua
Wrapper:: Corojo
Nicaragua
Color:: Oscuro
Strength:: Full
Shape:: Long Panatela
Average Member Purchase Price:: $7.40
Average Member Rating:: (7 Review(s))
Notes:: http://www.losblancos.com/store.php?crn=223

This cigar was enjoyed with Eight O'Clock Columbian Black Coffee

Pre-Light: 18 Points of 10 Possible

This was generally a nice looking cigar with a slightly rustic appearance. The foot band and double band looked nice and added a touch of class. This was the first I've ever seen of a one-piece double band. The wrapper was a slightly shiny dark brown which displayed very few veins but was slightly lumpy from the binder beneath, which isn't uncommon for small ring cigars. Overall a nice looking selection, with no discernible pre-light smell for me, but had a distinctive flavor in the cold draw that reminded me of sorghum.

Lighting and Burn: 10 Points of 15 Possible

This lit pretty easily and burned relatively well. The burn line was somewhat scalloped but self-corrected itself throughout. I did experience one trouble spot at the end of the first third/ beginning of the final third when the cigar tunneled back about 1/4 inch and went out when I tipped the ash. Other than that one problem it performed admirably.

Construction: 27 Points of 30 Possible

The overall construction of this stick was quite nice. The cap was applied well and cut cleanly without any trouble. The draw was perfect and provided a nice volume of smoke. It held together well, with no problems and was generally trouble free.

Flavor and Aroma: 30 Points of 45 Possible

This was a nicely flavored smoke that I found to be quite enjoyable and relatively complex. The flavors layered together well, and changed somewhat throughout the stick. Ignition provided a burst of pepper and wood to begin with before settling into a combination of predominantly wood, with attending notes of wood, leather, earth, pepper through the nose and a sweet finish through the first third. The second third saw the predominance of the leather notes come to the fore with the wood sliding back into a secondary position along with the earthiness and the sweet finish continued. The final third was my favorite as I saw the addition of caramelized sugar as the new predominant flavor. The wood notes remained as well as a slight resurgence of pepper on the palate and the finish moved away from sweet to slightly bitter which complimented my coffee nicely.

Summary

On the whole I found this to be a pleasant hour's worth of smoking on the front porch. The flavors were complex and enjoyable and I didn't find myself bored or disappointed. As I've not had a lot of experience with lanceros, this was a nice change of pace for me and except for the one tunneling/burn issue, a great experience.