Video review HERE.
This is the first cigar from Abel Lara, the son of Avelino Lara, who was the blender of the legendary Cuban Cohiba. Avelino was Fidel Castro's right hand man in regards to cigars. Avelino is legendary in the world of cigars.
In 1969 he retired and moved to Nassau, Bahamas where he was hired to produce cigars for Graycliff Hotel and Restaurant putting Graycliff cigars on the map. His son, Abel, worked in the factory with him. Avelino later retired from Graycliff and died in 2009.
Today Abel steps out to produce his first creation.
Blend info:
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Ecuadorian
Filler: Costa Rican/Honduran/Nicaraguan
The cigar is an absolute beauty. The 1 inch unfinished foot is pure filler. It is rough and makes a striking comparison to the smooth adjacent wrapper.
The cigar has a very nice feel in the hand.
The test draw was a bit firm since I tend to take a small portion of the torpedo cap. So, I used the PerfecDraw to open the draw. The initial flavors at light up were a sharp orange citrus, citrus peel, a little brown sugar, a lot of nutmeg, and light leather. This is what the filler tastes like. There was black pepper rated at 7 1/2. When the burn reaches the binder and filler I expect the flavors to change.
At the binder/wrapper (11 minutes) the leather breaks out. I still had the citrus/citrus peel/brown sugar combination but it's not quite as intense due to the elevated leather. There was still some nutmeg and now there is a black coffee base. The black pepper is still between 7 1/2 and 8.
At the first third (39 minutes) the cigar is not bad; a lot of leather, some citrus, more citrus peel, some brown sugar, nutmeg, and black coffee. The leather is the primary flavor followed by the citrus/citrus peel, brown sugar. Then the light nutmeg and black coffee base. The finish is leather with pretty good lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium bodied. I rated the first third 91.
Moving through the second third (1 hour 15 minutes) the cigar is not a lot different but the leather is creeping up and there is not quite as much sweetness. You get more citrus peel than straight citrus or brown sugar. You still have the nutmeg and black coffee. The cigar is medium to full bodied. The finish is unchanged but has more lingering black pepper. The cigar lost just a bit with me. I rated the second third 90.
The cigar lasted 1 hour 37 minutes. The leather continues to blossom. There is some brown sugar to go along with it but the citrus and citrus peel are afterthoughts. The nutmeg and black coffee are still there. The cigar is medium to full bodied. The finish is unchanged; leather, with very nice lingering black pepper. The cigar turned darker with more leather. I rated the final third 87. These are currently only available at Smallbatchcigar.com (as far as I know) but I expect them to pop up at other shops. For his first cigar, Abel did a pretty good job. I hope he comes out with others.
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