El Triunfador

One of these days I am going to find one of these at a local shop to try! I keep hearing and reading how good they are, so they are at the top of my “to try” list :)

Thanx for the review and for getting my taste buds in an uproar ;)

Mike

I’ve got some search results at Famous. Check them out.

I saw a box online a few weeks ago, but don’t remember where. These are limited releases. My understanding is that Pete releases once a year to reserve rights to the name and that he hasn’t decided what to do yet with regard to the brand. I hope he releases this vitola forever.

The name of the reviewer can be found right under the title :) I think I should make it more prominent somehow..

7.5 inches??? How long did the thing last?

You guys have too much free time!

Just today, I found a near full box of these (the ORIGINAL Blend – aka the “Ghost Cigar” – 20 left in the box of 24) at my local B&M. Two years ago, the longtime cigar impressario guy at this place tried to turn me on to these since I am a fan of Lanceros and he knows what I like in a flavor profile. I brushed him off several times and said I was not interested. If I think back, it was the rustic look of the cigar. Whatever; in any case, I kept passing on these.

And then I somehow earlier this week came upon your review; read it with great interest; Googled the stick; basically read a consistent theme/story about these and on a whim, called my guy to ask him if he still had that box laying around.

OMG – he did. I quickly asked him if he could call his boss and ask if he would cut deal on these given that they had been laying around since October of 2008. OMG # 2 – he said yes! $9.00 a stick regular price became $7.25 a stick.

Do I have to tell ya how “bee-u-tee-ful these babies look. Oily, fresh, a little (yay!) natural plume on them. YUM-MEE! Smoked one tonight – CI Classic 95+ review anyone? The other 19 are now nicely tucked away in my humi – sleeping beauty style to say oh, around 2 -3 years from now if I can resist. I can’t believe my luck and I have you to thank for it. THANK YOU!

So excuse me while I check a sneak peek at my babies!!!!

My Review

Digging into physical interrogation, I found a flawlessly constructed cigar. The wrapper, a rough textured veiny Connecticut Broadleaf, was perfect around the cigar. To my fingers, it felt exactly how a cigar should be rolled: a balance of firm and even amounts of tobacco throughout the length of the cigar. The band was very unassuming to the cigar; it was not flashy or outspoken. It simply displayed the name of the cigar and the initials of its maker (PHJ). One set of initials (ANO) eluded me as to who it was. It would be appreciated if someone were to answer the riddle.

Lighting the cigar with a wooden match, I was greeted with a slightly tighter draw than what I was used to. The draw did open up over the duration of the smoke, which was about an hour and a half. An immediate hint of a dull pepper greeted me right away. Nothing extravagant or overbearing. I also felt an ever so slight hint of coffee with the taste. And because of that, I think this would make a great cigar to match with a nice cup of coffee, no matter how strong you take it. It’s interesting too because most coffee paired cigars in my mind venture towards the milder side of the spectrum; this cigar reaches more to the medium body, especially once you get past the halfway mark. The strength almost immediately turns up a few notches, while not taking away from the enjoyment of the cigar. Finally, I felt the overall finish to the cigar was on the shorter side. Even being a medium bodied cigar, I did not wake up the next morning to cigar mouth.

I did find that the ash, while having a nice whitish color, was easily flaked off the end. Keep that in mind if you are prone to joining in long ash contests. The smoke was plentiful with this cigar and seemed to hang in the room well after I had exhausted it.