2017 Cohiba Lancero - Cigar & Drink Pairing

[rguinn]

Hello All! My first review on FOH and a bit of a celebratory time in my life so I thought I'd review something special, to me at least. My one and only Lancero from last year's FOH Christmas sampler from our hosts paired with a 2017 bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 12 Year Lot B bourbon whisky. I didn't record the box code of this stick, so if someone wants to jump in who purchased the sampler last year feel free.

As mentioned, I'm celebrating two milestones in my life - 1) I received a new job offer and will be starting with a new company this coming Monday and 2) this review marks my 100th post on FOH. I'm not sure which I'm more happy and proud of ? but let's get started...

I started off dry boxing the Lancero for ~8 hours or so. Wrapper is golden brown in color and has an outside smell of cedar. Pre-light draw = more cedar, light leather and VERY tightly packed. I initially chose to punch cut but changed to a straight cut as the Perfect Draw was needed on this one. Still tight, but manageable! Outside smoking temp = 55 degrees F

1st third - Light/medium body with Creamy leather and grass, light smoke (probably due to the tight construction). Ash is dark gray and firm. Drops at 1” in. Burn line isn’t razor sharp but close. The tightness, which is mainly in the 2nd third of this long panetela is starting to get to me. Rolling/massaging out the tight areas does seem to be helping.

Pappy Van Winkle 12 Year Lot B - Nose: caramel, cherries, cinnamon. Taste: strong caramel, vanilla and oak. Nice bourbon bite on the front end while the back end is extremely smooth as expected from a Van Winkle and notes of dark fruit/cherries and citrus coming off the nose. This is my second favorite Pappy behind the 15 Year.

2nd third - The draw is starting to open a bit. While the cream starts to fade, it makes way to more wood and/or hay notes off the retrohale. Still holding out hope for the honey and citrus notes of a classic Cohiba, which I thought would pair nicely with the VW12. The increase in smoke brings the grassy notes front and center toward the end of the 2nd third. My two fingers worth of bourbon is gone and with no sign of any sweet citrus to the Lancero I move to ice water to clean the palate.

Final third - Holy cow! There are the citrus notes I was looking for! Lemon zest and orange peel come screaming at me. The grass remains through the nose but citrus fruit is prominent on the tongue and lips, almost over powering. I‘m quick to ditch my water and return to a splash of bourbon to finish this thing off right! The bourbons sweetness with the tart finish of the final third of the Lancero make a perfect match.

Conclusion: The Lancero finished medium to full body, while starting out light to medium, probably due to the tight construction. If I had it all over to do again I'd probably have left it in the dry box for another 24-48 hrs but with some luck on Tuesday's 24:24 I have another box coming which will receive a minimum 3-5 year nap. All in all I have no regrets breaking this fine cigar out. For it's relative youth, it was a complex and very pleasant smoke. Thank you to our hosts for giving us a great place to discuss and review such fine cigars that we're so passionate about and I hope you enjoyed my review. 
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Smoke time: 2 hrs 15 mins

[Cmelle]

Nice review mate ?

[Scotch&Stogie]

Damn! Nice combination. I must say I’m quite envious.


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[Chucko8]

Great review! Thanks

[HabanosNJGuy]

Great review.  The Lancero from last year's Christmas sampler was AMO JUN 16.  By far the class of that sampler.  I got a ton of lemon zest from mine.  I remember thinking it was like smoking a key lime pie!

[unclepauly25]

Nice review sir, you have excellent taste! I had my first pour of pappy 15 over the summer, was looking for it for over 10 years! Good luck with your new job ?

[MountainMilG]

Great review, and great peek at a hulk too

 

[rguinn]

Thanks all, I really enjoyed this review. 

@Scotch&Stogie I’m willing to bet you have some scotches that would put the VW12 to shame ?

@HabanosNJGuy awesome, thank you and I agree. It was all class. I think the lemon zest was held back by the construction early on. That ended up being ok with with me though as it brought some other notes to the forefront I otherwise might have missed. 

@unclepauly25 thank you, uncle. I’m really looking forward to starting with this new company. 

@MountainMilG thanks and yes sir! By far my favorite in the collection!