A.C.E. Prime Cigar Company officially launched at this year’s IPCPR trade show. They made a big splash sponsoring the trade show, getting a beautiful booth, and launching two lines with former NBA players. The M.X.S. line has cigars from both Dominique Wilkins and M.X.S. by Tiago Splitter. M.X.S. stands for Maximum Excellence and Success. The company was started by Luciano Meirelles.
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.
In addition to The M.X.S by Dominique Wilkins and The M.X.S by Tiago Splitter, A.C.E Prime is launched three other lines at the show, one if those is Luciano. Luciano The Traveler is a limited edition blended by Luciano Meirelles and contains some pelo de oro. It uses a Sumatra Ecuador wrapper, with Peru and Ecuador fillers. It comes in one vitola, a 7 x 46 Churchill and comes in boxes of 12.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Churchill Length: 7″ Ring Gauge: 46 Country of Origin: Nicaragua Wrapper: Ecuador Sumatra Binder: Ecuador Pelo De Oro Filler: Ecuador Pelo De Oro, Peru Pelo De oro Factory: Tabacalera Pichardo Blender: Luciano Meirelles Number of reviewers: 5 – John A.(Bostoneo) Mickey T.(irratebass) Alan(Eulogy) Ryan H.(Ryan H.) Isaac M.(The Nothing) Price: $17.00 Age: 2 Months Release Date: July 2019 Contributed by: A.C.E. Prime
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 90
“Interesting color wrapper on this cigar. It looks green, but not a candela green, it could be a brownish green colored it’s kind of hard to tell so I am gonna go with green. The wrapper is very smooth to the touch, and has some leafy veins in it. Really nice presentation. ” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
Aroma: 89
“The foot and pre-draw is baking spice, light pepper, and raisins in a light body. ” –Alan (Eulogy)
First Third
Blind Cigar Review: Luciano | The Traveler
Flavor: 86 Strength: Medium Body/Complexity: Medium
“Draw has some resistance, but not troubling. On the cold draw I get hay and some salt not really much else, and away we go. Right away I’m greeted with a nice walnut flavor that washes over my palate. The finish leave my palate clean with an almost wintergreen essence. I’m also getting hay and grass with a touch of honey. Really nice out the gate. Strength is mild/medium.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“This cigar stared with a dry, baseball glove-like leather note. It was accompanied by a floral note that slowly grew. Slowly the leather faded away and was left with a citrus note. Kumquat would be much more precise. ” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Second Third
Blind Cigar Review: Luciano | The Traveler
Flavor: 88 Strength: Medium Body/Complexity: Medium
“Cigar levels out to a spicy sweet cream. Profile makes some changes, to honey earth and white pepper. Cigar is medium in strength. ” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
“Floral and citrus flavors persist into the second third, growing in intensity. Unfortunately the wrapper starts showing off more damages from poor handling. ” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Final Third
Blind Cigar Review: Luciano | The Traveler
Flavor: 91 Strength: Medium Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“First puff into the second and I’m now getting a caramel flavor…this cigar is just oozing with flavors! As i’m getting close to finishing this cigar there are a lot of earthy/woodsy/dirt flavors now coming out.It’s not ramping up the strength, but there is some spice lurking back there as well. As soon as I typed that and took another puff the sweetness returned! ” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“Impressive that, despite the damaged wrapper, this cigar keeps going strong. Citrus and florals continued to be the main flavors, and my palate could not get enough of them. ” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 94
“The one bright spot of the experience. Almost the Goldilocks of draw, not too tight and not too lose. ” –Alan (Eulogy)
Burn: 93
“The burn was actually impressive. With the damages this cigar was showing, I was expecting problems. I had none, though, and remain impressed.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Construction: 92
“This cigar performed very well for me. Gave me about 1/4 of an inch of ash with each third. Never got mushy, the wrapper did crack, but that was my fault for trying to get as much out it as I could. ” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
Overall Strength: Medium Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full Experience Overall: 90
“Overall, this was not a cigar with an flavor profile I typically enjoy myself. The peppery woodsy flavors that dominated most of the cigar were a bit much for me and sometimes off balance and even sour, which reminded me of some of the bundled Connecticuts. You may enjoy this profile, I on the other hand will have to pass. ” –John A. (Bostoneo)
“This was a dynamite cigar! I couldn’t have asked for a better smoking experience. The cigar had a lot going on in the flavor dept. First I was greeted with walnuts/pistachio which then moved to caramel, wood, earth/dirt and ended up with a sweetness that coated my lips. I will be seeking these out once I find out what it was. YOU SHOULD TOO.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“I wouldn’t have finished this if it wasn’t for the review. Cardboard, green juice, and a weak tobacco finish are the core flavors in this very long cigar. Maybe, I’ve just had a bad example, but I would be apprehensive to purchase one to find out. ” –Alan (Eulogy)
“There are some negative things about this cigar but, it was still an enjoyable experience. Buy a single and give it a try.” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
“The thin wrapper on this cigar is quite delicate. I saw a little bit of handling damage before I fired up the cigar, and every other bruise that I hadn’t seen before made for a very messy cigar. That said, wow, it had great flavor. While lacking in transitions, it grew in body and strength. The citrus and floral qualities I found nothing short of mouth-watering. This is the type of the cigar that can keep an experienced cigar enthusiast captivated, while not being overwhelming as an introductory stick. ” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.
Blind Cigar Review: Luciano | The Traveler
Overall Score – 90 – Very Good
Blind Cigar Review: A.C.E. Prime | Luciano The Traveler
Summary
"This was a dynamite cigar! I couldn't have asked for a better smoking experience. The cigar had a lot going on in the flavor dept. First I was greeted with walnuts/pistachio which then moved to caramel, wood, earth/dirt and ended up with a sweetness that coated my lips. I will be seeking these out once I find out what it was. YOU SHOULD TOO." -Mickey T. (irratebass)
