Cigar Info
Back in May of this year, Miami Cigar & Company announced it’s Don Lino Africa line would make a comeback at IPCPR 2019. The re-release of this cigar is part of the companies 30th anniversary celebration. It started shipping on November 18th, 2019. Don Lino Africa is blended by AJ Fernandez and rolled in Estelí, Nicaragua at Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua.
Don Lino Africa uses an Ecuadorian Habano 2000 wrapper, African Cameroon binder, and Piloto Dominicano, Ometepe, Jalapa, and Esteli fillers. It comes five box-pressed sizes, Robusto “Duma” 5×50 ($9.00 MSRP), Belicoso “Kifaru” 6.25×52 ($10.50 MSRP), Toro “Punda Milia” 5.5×54 ($10.00 MSRP), Gran Toro “Tembo” 6×60 ($11.00 MSRP), and Petite Corona “Kudu” 4×44 ($5.98 MSRP).
Pre-light
The first thing I notice when I pick up this cigar is the sharp box press. The cigar has a sand paper textured light brown wrapper with small veins and almost invisible seams. Cigar feels great in the hand as it does have a bit of heft to it. The Don Lino Africa band is very interesting as from what I can tell it doesn’t actually have the entire name listed. It has a very large A and Africa written on the sides.
First Third
As I cut the cigar with a nice straight cut the cold draw is pure chocolate milk. The first puff I start to get some bitter notes on the tongue. Not off putting by any means but more like bitterness you would get from dark chocolate. On top of the bitterness I do get some cocoa that I was tasting on the cold draw. As the cigar progresses I get some vegetal notes through the retro and continuation of the dark chocolate notes.
Second Third
Getting into the second third the first thing I notice is the strength. The cigar is a solid medium plus and it completely snuck up on me. The dark chocolate from the first third turns into a mixture of espresso notes with a touch of spice. Still getting the vegetal notes on the retro with white pepper. The burn on this is a bit wavy but is not requiring any touch ups.
Final Third
The final third doesn’t depart too much from the previous third but I do get a bit of creaminess with the espresso. I guess that makes it more of a latte! The strength hangs in at a medium plus and I did have to do a touch up once or twice in the final third but had no issues with draw/construction.
Overall Impressions
While I have never smoked the original Don Lino I have seen them in catalogs etc. but I can’t make any comparisons. I did enjoy this cigar but it’s not in my top 5 cigars that come from Miami Cigar and Company. The creaminess at the end really brought this cigar home and I do recommend picking up a fiver at the very least.
-Zane(ZaneG)
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