The Good Stuff: As most of you know, Sam Leccia has been rolling since his re-introduction into the cigar business last year. Both of his debut launches, the Leccia Black, and the Leccia White made appearances in both mine, and Jeremy’s top 10 list last year. This year, Same is at it again releasing the “Luchador”. A Luchador is a Mexican wrestler. We see a lot of them in my parts. There are actually weekend events that happen here in El Paso with Luchador wrestling and the sport has always been a big part of Mexican culture. Here is what the Leccia Tobacco’s website says about the new blend:

The Luchador is an exotic 5 country cigar blend handcrafted in Nicaragua consisting of very unique tobaccos. A San Andres Wrapper leaf surrounds the Habano binder leaf grown in Ecuador. The filler uses Viso from Esteli, Nicaragua with ligero From Pennsylvania-USA and Jamastran, Honduras. Centering the blend is a distinctive tobacco from Ometepe, Nicaragua.

Ometepe is an island formed by two volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua in the Republic of Nicaragua. Its name derives from the Nahuatl words ome (two) and tepetl (mountain), meaning two mountains. It is the largest volcanic island inside a fresh water lake in the world.

The Luchador blend uses 3 tobaccos grown in Volcanic soil: the Ometepe, Habano and San Andres. The soil in these regions is so rich that little to no fertilization is necessary.

The blend is medium to full, providing a complex array of flavors from sweet to spicy with the strength building throughout the smoking experience.

The Luchador is offered in 4 sizes: El Hombre (5×54), El Castigo (6×60), El Guapo (6×50) and Loco Perfecto (6×58). They are packaged in boxes of 21 ranging from $8.10 to $8.60 a stick. I ordered these over at cigar.com and they have been available at retailers across the United States for a while now. For more information you can follow Sam Leccia on Twitter and Facebook.

Size: 5 x 54
Wrapper: Mexican San Andreas
Binder: Ecuadorian Habano
Filler: Honduran Ligero, Pennsylvania Ligero, Nicaraguan
Body: Full
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $8.10
Pairing: Dogfish Head’s 75 Minute IPA (American IPA w/ Maple Syrup 7.5% ABV)

Prelight: Leccia’s Luchador is a pretty little thing. It starts out with an absolutely beautiful dark brown wrapper. The wrapper color is very consistent with only a few darker areas around the foot and the cap of the cigar. The wrapper carries a very toothy texture with one or two larger veins running throughout the body. The wrapper leaf is very thick, and laid seamlessly as it leads up to a round, double cap. The construction on this bad boy is top notch. The Luchador is finished off with a very fitting Luchador style mask for a band sporting the Mexican flag colors Red, White, and Green with some black and gold detailing. Being so close to Mexico Luchador wrestling is something that we see on a weekly basis here. The Wrestlers are celebrated, and are just as big of celebrities as their American counter parts. This cigar fits right at home here in El Paso.

The wrapper of the Luchador gives off a very strong, pungent tart and cedar aroma while the foot of the cigar is a bit on the mild side only releasing some mild grassy, mossy aromas. The cap very clean, and very easily using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw started out with some strong spice backed by a really doughy profile with a bit of tobacco mixed in there.

First Smoke: Wow. The Leccia Luchador starts out with a huge black/cayenne pepper greeting. It was strong enough to bite the tip of my tongue and the back of my throat a bit. The pepper began to subdue a bit and some strong cedar, spice, syrup, tobacco, and tartness started to seep through. The draw on the Luchador is spot on. Each little puff kicks out a massive cloud of thick, white smoke. Surprisingly, there isn’t a lot of stationary smoke coming off this cigar as it sits in my ashtray. The burnline has a few waves which is normally expected when you have a cigar packed with crazy burning ligero leaves, but it’s nothing too crazy. The ash left behind is a light gray, and very tightly compacted. It held on for well over an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Halfway There: One characteristic that Ligero always leaves me with is a bit of a charred, smoked meat flavor and I am picking up a ton of it into the second third of the Leccia Luchador. Along with the charred/meat flavors I am picking up more of the tartness from the San Andreas while the pepper is finally started to fizzle out. There is still a lot of small spice notes, and a ton of cedar. The retrohale is way sharp and much too peppery for my liking. I’ll stick to the old fashioned way of smoking. The burnline is still a bit wavy and I had to correct a real large wave, but it wasn’t anything too crazy. Again, you gotta expect that when you are smoking a cigar packed with Ligero. The strength of this cigar is already showcasing just how strong this cigar is leaving me with a nice little nicotine kick as I close out the second third.

Finish: I had to really pace myself with the Luchador. Maybe it was me, my mood, my food consumption, or maybe the cigar itself, but the Luchador has delivered in the boldest way possible in terms of strength, and I have been loving every minute of it. The charred flavor began to repress as the ligero flavors became much more of strong tobacco. The backing flavors were syrup, tartness, and lots of spice with a bit of espresso mixed in into the final third. There is no doubt that this is a full-strength, full bodied experience but I never once felt that one was overpowering the other. Even into the final inch the Luchador was well balanced and just overall complex and bold. After that touchup in the second third the burnline finished clean with some slight waves, but didn’t require any further torch attention. It took me about an hour and a half to take the Luchador down while it left me with a pretty high nicotine kick.

Overview: It’s been some time since I’ve had a cigar that has both been incredibly strong, and incredibly balanced like the Luchador. Lots of flavor, lots of strength, and lots of love. The cigar leads off with strong pepper, spice, and tart while it finishes with some bits of espresso, syrup, and cedar. It’s not really a novices cigar as it may be a bit too strong, but I think this cigar is perfect for someone like me, a seasoned cigar smoker who loves stronger, complex experiences. The price point is right where it should be and I even got these on a crazy sale averaging a little of $4 a stick. Box worthy for sure, and a perfect after dinner/late evening cigar. I wouldn’t recommend smoking one on an empty stomach or first thing in the morning.

Pairing: Dogfish Head’s 75 minute IPA is an IPA brewed with maple syrup and continuously hopped for 75 minutes. Coming it at 7.5% ABV this beer resembles a perfect hybrid of a sweet IPA, and a sour. The balance is incredible as the beer leads off with some strong sweetness, syrup, and hoppy citrus finishing with a nice sour bite. The syrup is what sold me on this pairing and I had no idea the sourness would meld with the charred and tart flavors from the Luchador as well as it did.

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

Today I have a review from a brand we haven’t really seen too much of lately since they release the OSA SOL a while ago (which I reviewed here). The brand is CAO and if you remember they were also purchased by General Cigar. Today’s new addition to the lineup is known as the Concert.

The Concert is intended to be a throwback to the roots of the CAO brand in Nashville, Tennessee. The musical parts of this cigar are pretty darn easy to spot. Not only does the name give musical reference but the band actually looks like a guitar and pick. Also on the side of the guitar is written “Perfect Harmony” in some fancy script.

Rick Rodriguez of CAO is the mastermind behind this blend and the leaves used here seem pretty interesting. I’m a big fan of Rosado cigars when they are done right but to have a Broadleaf binder is very different, I guess we’ll have to see how that plays out in the flavors. The cigars in this line are also all 5.5 inches long and only vary in their ring gauge starting at 46 and going up to 60. In line with the rest of the cigar, all the vitolas have music related names such as Roadie, Amp and Stage. Today up for review is going to be the 50 ring gauge version called the Solo!

Cigar: CAO Concert
Drink: Crown Royal Maple Finish
Vitola: ”Solo” Robusto (5.5 x 50)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Rosado
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan
Price: About $6
Burn Time: 1.5 Hours

Construction:
• A nice looking cinnamon brown wrapper surrounds the cigar
• I found one crack in the wrapper just below the halfway mark of the cigar
• It has a pretty firm consistency from cap to foot
• The single cap is applied very cleanly and looks well done
• The foot is well packed for the most part with just a couple spots that had a bit of a gap

Burn:
• Toasting was even, quick and easy with no problem spots to worry about
• The crack in the wrapper is causing it to unroll a bit as I burn closer to it
• Other than that crack the cigar has been burning razor sharp and even through the first 3rd
• The cigar started to expand a bit causing the crack to get even worse and grow, starting to cause some burn problems now and I needed to give it a quick touchup
• The crack continued to cause problems until I finally passed it in the last third
• I still needed a couple touchups nears the end though

Smoke & Ash:
• Even with a slightly tight draw, I’m getting a ton of smoke each time
• There’s also a good amount of resting smoke coming off the cigar as well
• The ash is coming along really nicely in the early stages, looking strong, tight and clean
• The color on the ash is also quite nice with alternating light grey and white tones
• To prevent the ash from falling onto my laptop I tapped it off around 1 inch but I think it could have easily made it to at least 1.5 inches
• Even with the messy wrapper and re-lights the ash still continued to be strong holding on for 1 inch each time
• Smoke also continued to be full right through to the end

Tasting Notes:
• There wasn’t much aroma coming off the foot here, maybe just a bit of spice and woodsiness
• From the foot, I’m getting a fresh woodsy aroma with the same touch of spice
• Lots more of the fresh wood flavor and even some earth now on the pre-light draw
• The initial few draws had a defined burnt undertone to them but it seem went away
• After the burn notes went away I was left with a bit of a pepper spice flavor profile with some notes of wood mixed in there
• The flavors have stuck in the woodsy and slightly spicy range through the first half with just a bit of leather getting mixed in now and again
• On the retrohale, I’m picking up more of the spice in the bite and a dry spice on the finish as well
• Body has been mostly in the medium range up until now, we’ll see if it changes coming through to the end
• The last half has stuck with the wood and spice main notes, the leather is peeking in more often now and I’m getting a bit of coffee notes here and there
• More leather flavors as I burn down the the end here with just a touch of soft spices hanging around

Final Thoughts:
This turned out to be a pretty nice smoke overall and I enjoyed it for the most part. The cracked wrapper definitely caused some burn issues but they luckily didn’t affect the flavors much and it was probably just a one-time thing since no other Concert sticks I’ve smoked had the same problem. Now there wasn’t anything over the top here but it was a good solid medium smoke with some nice flavors. Not too much change in the profile though so I don’t think I would opt for anything bigger than a robusto. Definitely worth lighting one up though so give it a try, good to see CAO is still turning out some good sticks even after their recent ownership change.

Pairings:
Just in case you missed the name of my pairing before it is Crown Royal Maple Finished. Yes, that’s right, MAPLE! And damn does this bottle pack some serious mapley-goodness! My wife actually said it smelled like pancakes when I opened the bottle. IF you’ve had Crown Royal before you’ll know it’s got a pretty smooth texture to it but a lot of people tend to mix it with coke. The Maple flavor added here makes it perfectly enjoyable just on ice. And it made an excellent pairing for the cigar too, the sweetness can be a little overpowering at first but it settles down after a couple sips. Just don’t try pairing this with any soft or mild sticks cause they might get lost. +1 for Maple!

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Currently, Berger & Argenti offer 3 lines, the Entubar, Classico and Mooch. Today’s review will focus on the Classico line which is currently offered in 3 sizes, a Rothschild, Belicoso, and Churchill. Berger & Argenti hails from Miami, Florida and began business only in 2009. The Argenti brothers that started this company have quickly released some quality products and made a name for themselves in the cigar market. They are associated with Tabacalera Esteli in Nicaragua which is run by Enrique Berger. And that’s how the name was born!

A little warning here, it’s crazy cold outside here! Temp is dipping around -12 Celsius (10 Farenheit) and dropping. Although I have a propane heater here, the dry and cold air can suck the humidity out of some cigars. With that in mind, lets see how this cigar stacks up!

Cigar: Berger & Argenti Classico
Drink: Rickards Dark Ale
Vitola: Rothschild (5 x 50)
Wrapper: Equadorian Desflorado Connecticut
Binder: Nicaraguan Corojo
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $5.50
Burn Time: 1.5 Hours

Construction:
• A smooth and oily medium brown wrapper holds this cigar together
• There are some visible veins but they are all smooth to the touch, no large ones at all
• The triple cap is cleanly applied and secure
• There is a slight spring throughout the cigar, not too soft and not too firm
• The foot appears well packed except for one fair sized hole, hoping it doesn’t cause any issues
• A couple of the wrappers I’ve had have dark spots on them, possible just some water spots
• The cut left a nice clean edge but exploded into a million pieces in my ashtray

Burn:
• Toasting was fairly painless, evenly glowed with minimal effort
• The burn started off nice and even and has stayed razor sharp through the first few inches
• No issues in the burn department as I hit the last third, I love it when cigars burn like this
• Great burn the whole way through right up to the nub

Smoke & Ash:
• Initial draws offered a moderate mouthful of smoke
• Resting smoke is almost non-existent, but still gives off a pleasant cedar aroma
• The ash is coming out with a nice white finish and some small zebra striping
• It is staying clean and tightly bound so far, a very nice ash
• Ash fell off into the ashtray while it was resting there after about 1.5 inches
• Second ash still held strong past an inch, this time it fell in my lap but it still held together and I was able to pick it up and toss it back in the ashtray

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper has a soft woodsy aroma to it with a touch of nutmeg spice that tingles on the nose
• The foot has similar notes to the wrapper but a much more prominent spice is noticeable, maybe some pepper thrown in there now
• Pre-light draw was mostly cedar but I did get an odd bitter taste on my tongue, let’s hope it doesn’t stick around
• Initial draws are packed with more cedar and some subtle nutmeg notes
• I immediately noticed a fair amount of dryness on this cigar
• Body is in the mild-medium range and the retrohale has a touch of bite and a cedar finish, not too smooth at this point
• As the cigar progresses, I’m picking up a small licorice like flavor, i hope this develops more
• As I pass the first third, I’m picking up a hint of coffee now, all the flavors are starting to balance together nicely now
• I’m happy to find that the licorice flavors are sticking around and fighting back and forth with the coffee
• At the half-way point, some of the spice is starting to re-appear, more pepper then nutmeg now
• The spice and body definitely started to pick up after passing the half-way mark, thankfully the dryness has disappeared
• The licorice has mostly disappeared now and the spices are balancing well with the coffee and woodsy flavors that remain
• The woodsy and peppery notes have mostly taken control now, I’m getting the nutmeg poking in here once in awhile to change it up
• The cigar finished up in the lower end of the full range

Final Thoughts:
I was pleasantly surprised with this cigar. I’m always hesitant when trying new brands, especially from such a young company. But it seems that the backing of the experienced factory in Nicaragua has proven to be a wonderful partnership. The cigar had an interesting and enjoyable flavor profile with a fair bit of dimensionality. I think the factor here was the Connectcut wrapper bringing some sweet and smooth creaminess and the Corojo binder adding some spice and body. It made for a well balanced cigar. The construction was also spot-on with great burn and ash throughout. This cigar is definitely worth giving a try, and since it’s priced fairly, could easily make an entry into your regular rotation.

Pairings:
I’ve enjoyed this brew with a few cigars and so far it has not let me down. It is a very smooth drinking dark ale that is modelled after English porters. The Rickard’s brewery is based out of Canada, and in true Canadian form it is brewed with Maple Syrup. The syrup flavors are not overly intense but they are definitely there and taste great along with the coffee and malt flavors. It paired very well with the spicy, coffee and licorice notes of the cigar and helped bring them out. Other good pairings for this cigar would include port, other dark porters or stouts, or a nice strong coffee.

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