Leccia Tobacco currently has two cigars under its belt, the Black and the White. Well, that makes it easy to remember. The Black is produced in the Dominican Republic at an undisclosed factory and distributed by Torano Family Cigar Co.. According to Halfwheel.com, the Black began shipping at the end of May. Black and White are available in four sizes including: 4 by 46, 5 by 52, 6 by 50, and 6 by 60. Today, I will be reviewing the 6 by 50.

The Facts

Price Paid: $7.99
Size: 6 by 50
Wrapper: Unknown Country – Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan Rosado
Filler: Nicaraguan Ligero, Dominican Ligero, Brazilian Viso, Dark Fire*
Pairing: Water
Smoke Time: Just Over 2 Hours

* Dark Fire is a wood fire cured tobacco. The process of fire curing is more commonly used with pipe tobaccos. Most cigar tobaccos are air cured.

Pre-light

Since you can see the design of the band in the pictures, I will not waste too much of your time describing it. However, I do want to mention that I absolutely love the simple band design. The back side of the band makes it clear which cigar you are smoking with the word “black” easily readable on this one.

The Black wears a medium brown wrapper that has a greenish hue. The wrapper is smooth to the touch, has a decent amount of oils, and veins are crisscrossing down the entire stick. I encounter no soft spots as I examine the construction. The aroma off the wrapper is of sweet hickory that is very appealing. The fully packed foot gives off an aroma identical to pipe tobaccos I have come across, but don’t ask me which ones because my knowledge is very limited. The closest thing other than pipe tobacco that I can associate it with is a peaty scotch whisky.

The double cap, from what I can tell, has been applied sloppily and a small crack is right in the center of it. Since I will be clipping that part of the cap, it shouldn’t be of any issue. With a quick clip, a firmly packed head is revealed. I really hope this doesn’t have a snug draw. There is some resistance but not uncomfortable. The flavors on the cold draw are unbelievable. The pipe tobacco-like flavors are right at the forefront, a spice warms my mouth, and rich tobacco notes linger on the palate.

First Third

After spending a good amount of time lighting up the Leccia Black, I am off to the races. Not knowing what to expect after the cold draw, I am pleasantly surprised with the balance and meshing of flavors. A rich mixture of woodsy notes, pepper, and spice awaken my palate. The retrohale on this stick is fantastic, packing a peppery punch. The peaty, pipe tobacco flavors linger on the finish of the smoke like crazy. The ash is holding strong past an inch, but to avoid any accidents, I knocked it off into the ashtray. The burn line is thick with a minor wave leaving behind a light grey ash. Flavors are full and strength is a solid medium.

Middle Third

After about forty minutes of smoking I am entering the second third. This may be a two hour stick. The peaty flavor hits my palate as soon as the smoke enters my mouth but quickly blends with the flavors picked up on in the first third. Additional, the richness of the flavors has moved up a notch. The pepper has leveled off on the retrohale allowing cedar notes to peek through. The draw still has more resistance than I prefer but a decent amount of white smoke fills my mouth with each puff.  Since I am having to pull harder than normal, I am being careful not to overheat this Leccia Black. The burn line has thinned out but remains a little edgy. However, no touch-ups have been required to this point.

Final Third

The band was not going to come unglued without destroying it, so with some effort I was able to slide the band off. The flavors remain rather consistent with the first and second third. The only noticeable change is a toastyness that has joined into the profile. The peaty flavor that comes from the “Dark Fire” tobacco is intriguing in the way it presents itself when the smoke first arrives in my mouth and then again on the finish of the smoke, but balances and blends with the other flavors as the smoke moves across my palate.  The Leccia Black is delivering a relaxing amount of nicotine that is in the full range, but not overwhelming. The last two inches of burn have been just about perfect.

Wrap-up

I was overly excited to smoke Sam Leccia’s new cigar. Not because I was a huge fan of the sticks he was behind when he was with Oliva Cigar Co., but because I love trying new cigars. I can hostely say that I was not disappointed in the least. I really enjoyed the Black due to the uniqueness and balance in the flavors and the excellent performance with the burn and ash. While the draw could have been less snug, it was manageable. I think Sam has a winner on his hands with the Black and I am now eager to smoke the White. I would not recommend this to a novice, but someone with a little experience will enjoy this stick or at least appreciate the uniqueness of the cigar. At a price around $8 for the 6 by 50, this cigars falls in the sweet spot and deserves at least a five pack pick-up. Five packs of the Black are available at our site sponsor, Smokeinn.com, for $43.25.

The post Leccia Tobacco – Black appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The name of this cigar also held sort of a special meaning at this time. The name “The Mogul” seemed to fit perfectly with a recent promotion I was lucky enough to receive at work. So what better cigar to celebrate that accomplishment then with this one. Along with the interesting name, the cigar also has a very intriguing and creative slogan:

“The World’s in Your Hand”

Not only does the cigar have in interesting slogan, the Maldonado Dynasty also portrays it’s own slogan of:

“Always Demand the Finest”

The press release of “The Mogul” sums up this cigar wonderfully so give it a read here:

From the very start, Arapiraca was the choice of Wrapper we had in mind. Never wanting to settle, we stayed true to the rich, strong, slightly sweet leaf. The perfect blend of aged, sun-grown Maduro sweetness, with the boldness of Dominican Binder and leaf, all blended to perfection with Peruvian leaf. The Mogul is the perfect medium-full body premium cigar that will become parallel with the best of the best. Strong and luxurious. After all, we here at The Maldonado Dynasty have a saying: “Always demand the finest.”

We invite you to pick a box up and experience this handcrafted premium cigar for yourself. Also wanting you to to be comfortable in reaching out to us and sharing your comments and questions. After all, we work diligently to make our premium cigars for you, to bring you only the finest. We like to think we create extraordinary moments in time, moments you share with the special people in your life, worthy of The Maldonado Dynasty.
“The Mogul,” is slated for release in late 2010.

Paul Maldonado
President/C.E.O.
www.MaldonadoDynasty.com

Paul and his team have also been busy launching various “Black and White Jazz Affair” events across the country and they plan to continue that in the new year. Double check their website for dates near you! If the pictures and stories I’ve heard are any indication it has been a great success and lots of fun for everyone. As the press release states, the cigars should be hitting stores near you very soon so keep your eyes peeled. Now I have to admit that I had high expectations for this cigar, please take a read through the review and let’s see if it lives up to name, slogan and expectations!

Cigar: Maldonado Dynasty “The Mogul”
Drink: Islay Mist 8yr Blended Scotch
Vitola: Toro (6 x 50)
Wrapper: Arapiraca Maduro
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Price:
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• A beautiful dark shiny wrapper surrounds this very evenly constructed cigar
• The oily wrapper also has a fair bit of toothiness to it, very appealing to the eye
• There are a few minor veins but none that pose a threat to the burn of this cigar
• The top of the cigar is cleanly finished with a triple cap that seamlessly blends into the cigar
• The foot appears well packed
• There is a slight soft spring throughout the cigar that is even and consistent throughout
• The band has an interesting coat of arms style and a great attention to detail
• The cut was very clean and easy

Burn:
• Toasting was amazingly even, leaving a nice orange glow on the whole foot
• Considering all the smoke this is producing it seems to be burning surprisingly slow
• The first couple inches so far are razor sharp, no wavering at all
• A few minor burn imperfections happened here and there but they were always quickly corrected without my help
• Considering the freshness of this cigar and the cold temperatures here the burn was absolutely perfect!

Smoke & Ash:
• Lots of smoke right from the first draw
• Tons of resting smoke as well making for some interesting designs in the air
• The smoke off this cigar is just incredible, an absolute smoke machine!
• The ash here is a work of ark, almost a solid white with some minor darker accents and so tightly wound, not even moving
• Ash held on for about 1.5 inches before gently dropping off into the ashtray in one clean and neat piece
• The next couple of ashes weren’t as long but still nice and clean and they always fell off in the ashtray
• The amazing amount of smoke on this cigar actually made taking pictures difficult, but the designs it made were interesting enough just to watch

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper has a nice cedar aroma with hints of sweet tobacco
• The foot has more cedar aroma complimented by a sweet cocoa and a touch of spice
• Pre-light was mostly cedar and spice, the spice left my lips and tongue tingling just a bit
• Initial draws are packed with a tasty cedar flavor and subtle hints of spice
• Retro-hale here is mostly cedar with no bite and a smooth finish, overall body is fairly mild so far
• As the cedar slowly started to back off a nice balance came into play with some nutmeg spice and a slight dried fruit flavor

• The dried fruit flavors, sorta like a sweet raisin, are developing very nicely with the nutmeg spice
• The cedar tapered off in the first third but as I approach the halfway mark it is making a comeback with a bit more spice as well
• The flavors here continue to develop with some nice coffee notes as the cedar and dried fruit go back and forth as the prominent notes
• Retrohale has also been passing between cedar and dried fruit, still smooth and no bite.
• Body is making a slow and steady progression approaching a smooth medium at the halfway mark
• The coffee has developed nicely into a sweet espresso flavor and is taking charge of the flavors, really enjoying all these subtle changes
• The cigar finished in the full range with a nice balance of espresso and cedar with no harshness at all

Final Thoughts:
There’s nothing negative that I can say about this cigar, this is what every experience should be like when you sit down with a cigar. It had lots of flavors and dimensions keeping it interesting the whole way through. The burn line was razor sharp right off the bat and never needed a correction or re-light even on this very cold day. Paul had warned me that there might have been burn issues since they were so fresh from the factory but I didn’t experience any at all. The smoke was astonishing and the ash was just perfect. A great experience all around and a definite must-try cigar with unique flavors and superb construction. The slogan for this brand is to “Always Demand the Finest” and rest assured, they live up to that!

Pairings:
At the recommendation of Paul Maldonado I paired this cigar with a Cognac. My choice of cognac today was the Remy Martin XO Special. I’m not a big cognac drinker but I do enjoy a glass occasionally and often with a cigar. Just as Paul had suggested, this made for an excellent pairing. The cognac itself was smooth and balanced and offered delicate floral notes and some raw cinnamon sweetness with a delicious finish. The floral notes seemed to go perfectly with the dried fruit flavors of the cigar. The subtle cinnamon sweetness was a perfect compliment to the cocoa and coffee notes. With both the cigar and pairing offering a fantastic finish this was an excellent match.
I believe this cigar would also pair excellently with a finely aged scotch or some aged Port, both of which are favorites of mine. As for non-alcoholic choices, I’d stick with a smooth and bold coffee. Water could even be a good choice to allow you to fully enjoy the flavors of the cigar.

The post The Maldonado Dynasty – The Mogul (Pre-Release) appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.