Last year, Robert Holt introduced both the Rose of Sharon and Jacobs Ladder, each taking a spot on our Top 25 Cigars list 2017. Earlier this year, he announced a line extension to the Rose of Sharon, the lancero. Initially this was an exclusive to Famous Smoke, but now you can find it many places.
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.
The cigar measure 6½-inchs by 40-ring and is soft box-pressed. It comes in boxes of 20 cigars. The blend uses a Nicaraguan-Dominican filler blend and an Ecuadorian Sun Grown Connecticut wrapper from a rare harvest that saw over 300 days of heavy cloud cover.
“Together with our partners at AJ Fernandez Cigar Co., we are dedicated to changing the perception of historical draw and burn issues experienced with many thin cigars,” said Robert Holt. “We’ve also addressed value perception. Despite the fact that lanceros are among the hardest and most expensive cigars to roll, we are offering our lanceros at the same price as our robusto-size cigars.” And considering the caliber of the tobaccos and handcraftsmanship, at under $10 per cigar, the new Lancero has been positioned at a very reasonable price. “I believe that when they’re consistent and priced favorably, Lanceros are destined to become the new classic size,” added Robert.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Lancero
Length: 6 1/2″
Ring Gauge: 40
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown Connecticut
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Viso: Nicaraguan Seco: Nicaraguan Ligero: Piloto Cubano, Dominican
Factory: Tabacalera AJ Fernandez
Blender: Robert Holt
Number of reviewers: 5 – Jeff (ExpendableYouth) John A. (Bostoneo) Mickey T. (irratebass) Derek (StogieNinja) Steve (ThaGreatWazoo)
Price: $9.35
Age: 5 Months
Release Date: January 2018
Contributed by: Southern Draw Cigars
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 94
“This is a really beautiful cigar! It has a creamy brown wrapper with only a couple of small veins running through it. The cigar is sporting a a pig tail at the top and a wrapped foot. It is firmly packed with no soft spots and a perfectly uniform appearance. It’s all wrapped up in an attractive box-pressed petite lancero. Overall I am very impressed with the cigar. ” –Jeff (ExpendableYouth)
Aroma: 88
“On the nose are light notes of tobacco with a very faint mint note. A generous cold draw provides flavors of tobacco and a sweet fruity faintness to the tongue.” –John A. (Bostoneo)
First Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Light-Medium
“Right off the bat there the cigar is just packed with flavor. There is a light creaminess, a light white pepper that sits on the tip of my tongue, roasted nuts, and bread. This is a fantastic early morning smoke and I think it could only be better if I was sipping a latte in a comfy chair outside. The draw has the perfect amount of resistance and copious smoke output. ” –Jeff (ExpendableYouth)
“From the beginning, this is excellent. Warm spices, cream, leather. There’s a hint of harshness somewhere in the background, but the flavors are so nice, I don’t really mind. Some honeyed sweetness shows up after the first half inch.” –Derek (StogieNinja)
Second Third
Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Butter, hay, and spicy tobacco start out this third. Then growing flavor ive noticed becoming more and more dominate is a floral nuttiness, which is quite delcious for a mild stick. Not much changes here, except that the ash wont hold very long and falls in my lap twice!” –John A. (Bostoneo)
“Halfway through, it’s still pretty phenomenal. Still a touch of harshness, but otherwise brilliant. Milk chocolate, honeyed cream, leather. Very good. I’m wishing I had some coffee to go with this one, as it’s on the sweet side.” –Derek (StogieNinja)
Final Third
Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The final-third has picked up a bit in the strength department and has a noticeable increase in pepper. The white pepper now permeates the flavor profile but has not edged out the cream, bread, or nuttiness from the previous thirds. It continues to smoke well and has great output and construction. This has been a really pleasant experience from start to finish, and the only thing that would make it better for me is a latte and a comfy chair to sit outside. This would be a perfect early morning cigar while kicking back and reading a good book. ” –Jeff (ExpendableYouth)
“Honeyed cream, milk chocolate, leather, earth, baking spices, and caramel. A fantastic dessert cigar.” –Derek (StogieNinja)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 94
“Very nice draw that was open which gave me plenty of smoke” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
Burn: 93
“Started off a little off but was clear sailing from there.” –John A. (Bostoneo)
Construction: 93
“Draw and burn were both great, and it appeared well constructed” –Derek (StogieNinja)
Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Experience Overall: 91
“This was a great first cigar of the morning. The only thing I would change is I wish I had a latte to sip on while I was enjoying it since I only drink water during reviews. You couldn’t go wrong with this cigar at anytime of day but due to it being a medium profile cigar I would probably enjoy this one first if your planning on having more than one in a day. Seriously, give this cigar a try and thank me later!” –Jeff (ExpendableYouth)
“Overall, this was a good mild smoke. I would have liked to see a little more complexity than the typical Connecticut wrapper blend profiles to help it make itself unique to others. Complexity wasn’t very noticeable but there were one or two transitions which made the stick sort of interesting, but overall fairly linear in regards to the base flavors. This stick was also an ash monster, so make sure you ash it frequently or end up with a lapful of ash like myself! If you dig mild smokes, this is definitely one of the better ones… check it out.” –John A. (Bostoneo)
“This cigar was too one dimensional for me. Only getting honey and wheat with a bit of wood and peanuts. Nothing really wowed me sadly. This might be a good first smoke of the day for some. ” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“Overall, this was an excellent cigar. It’s not in my wheelhouse, I rarely want something sweet like this, but with a cup of coffee, this would be an excellent early morning or dessert cigar. There was a touch of harshness through the first two thirds, which may be due to youth, or possibly to my smoking too quickly, though I don’t usually rush my cigars. I would be very interested in getting a fiver to lay down. Certainly not a cigar I would reach for often, but would definitely be a nice one to have on hand for when I do want that dessert cigar!” –Derek (StogieNinja)
“The look of this cigar had me very excited to review. Once I drew in the cold draw, I was initially hooked. The overall profile was nice and balanced with some great creamy finish. However, the complexity was very straightforward with not much exotic notes to it. This was a very clean lancero that a lot of people can enjoy. ” –Steve (ThaGreatWazoo)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 74
Reviewer
Apr
Aro
1/3
2/3
3/3
Draw
Burn
Const
Ovr
All
Jeff
95
95
95
95
95
95
95
95
95
John A.
95
90
90
88
88
100
93
85
88
Mickey T.
93
83
88
88
88
93
93
93
88
Derek
88
88
92
95
95
95
93
95
95
Steve
93
88
90
90
90
88
88
90
90
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.
Blind Cigar Review: Southern Draw | Rose of Sharon Lancero
Overall Score – 92 – Great
Blind Cigar Review: Southern Draw | Rose of Sharon Lancero
Summary
"The look of this cigar had me very excited to review. Once I drew in the cold draw, I was initially hooked. The overall profile was nice and balanced with some great creamy finish. However, the complexity was very straightforward with not much exotic notes to it. This was a very clean lancero that a lot of people can enjoy. " -Steve (ThaGreatWazoo)
