Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Size: 7 x 38

Body: Full

Price: $5.80

I opened the page to Atlantic Cigar’s web site and saw on the billboard a site to behold: The new Cain F Lancero Tubes Habano in a box of 10…looking all shiny in their red tubes hidden behind a box with a glass top. I clicked on it and when I saw the price of $58.00, I bought a box immediately.

A few days later the box was in my hands and I felt some guilt and remorse removing the sticks from the tubes. It is so gorgeous a presentation and something you don’t see that often. And $5.80 a stick. This is a ridiculously cheap price point.

OK. I got them yesterday, told myself I would let them rest…. and then proceeded to light one up. I got the shock of my old life. Flavor abounded. It was a tad bit green but after a couple inches, the cigar blossomed into a flavor factory. And by the end of it, the nicotine had me doing pirouettes with my boxer dog. The dog is female…. I’m straight.

The construction is excellent. Seams are tight. There are a few veins. It appears to be a single cap…but very well done. The Habano wrapper has the look of an oil spill. For such a small gauge cigar, it has some heft to it. There is the perfect amount of give and not a single soft spot. And there is just the faintest toothiness.

This is how Atlantic Cigar describes it:

“The Oliva Cain line is made by the blending of full bodied & flavored ligero tobaccos for top growing regions in Esteli, Condega, and the Jalapa Valley. The end result is a full-bodied cigar with lots of strength and flavor, but blended in a way that each ligero tobacco used should help balance the other and provide a sense of smoothness. The blend is comprised of 25% Esteli Ligero, 27% Condega Ligero, and 30% Jalapa Ligero.”

I like that. Straight to the point..Just the facts, Jack. And no flowery disposition on the wonder of it all.

I sniff it and detect pepper..lots of it, some earthiness, barnyard, and sweetness.

I carefully clip the cap and light it up. But before I do, I reluctantly remove the double bands at the foot. They are very attractive and it’s a shame to remove them. I remove them without a bit of resistance.

Lanceros typically have a problem with going out. We shall see what we shall see on this one. (It turns out that it only went out once.)

The first taste is red hot peppers and leather and a heavy dose of earthiness. Leather is very strong. There is a woody flavor I can’t identify. The draw is very good but it is the draw of a cigar packed with tobacco. The char line begins to get a little funky so I nip it in the bud.

Flavors begin to emerge now. Creaminess hits the target. A syrupy sweetness shows up. A nuttiness ramps up. And my cocoa comes to Daddy. DC.

The char line is perfect. After an inch in, the flavors just explode with intensity. And the cigar is at a steady medium body in strength. But I do remember last night. Woo Hoo.

The ash wants to stay on but with a Slim Jim, it’s hard to find a place to put it so that I don’t knock it off…. And of course, I do.

The well packed cigar is a slow burner, even for a lancero. The cocoa and the creaminess are kicking ass. And that syrupy sweetness makes for the perfect complement. I was knocked out last night but how intense the flavors were in such a green cigar. Air deprived in an aluminum tube in an air tight box. Just amazing.

Coffee enters and mixes with the cocoa and creaminess making it more of a mocha flavor. I can’t identify the nuttiness. The spiciness is at a medium level. Not so strong that it masks the other flavors and not so subdued that you have to search for it.

The tobacco loosens and the smoke now billows from the foot. I am writing this in the middle of a snow storm in Milwaukee. The light I depend on so heavily for my photos is non-existent.

I have to move my little Fulda, Germany ashtray to the window each time I take a photo to get the maximum amount of light and this time I futzed it up. I fumbled the ashtray as I put it down, crunching the end of the cigar into it and causing a crack in the wrapper…and losing what I thought was a good shot. I will just hide the crack from you.

Fulda is where my lovely wife, Charlotte is from. She lived there until she came to America at age 27. She was a stewardess for Lufthansa. She got a green card and stayed. I met her at age 33. I had moved to Lake Tahoe for work.  Our mutual friends thought it would be a hoot to put us together. Why? I’m a Jew and she is a German national and Catholic. And they all knew I was a Holocaust baby; meaning, I lost all my family to the war. Only a small handful escaped. And that’s why I’m here.

Well, we fooled them all. We have been together since 1984 and married 28 years. The only strange thing is that when our daughter was a little one, she would sleep walk, go into the kitchen, and put her head into the microwave. I know, I know, very bad taste. But I like it. We sent our daughter to private Jewish Day School. And when she turned 8, she had to convert to Judaism to continue to attend. (In most religions, Mom determines the religion) My pop was still alive and it was definitely one of the proudest moments of his life. And here is the funny part…at age 8, my daughter had 3 hours of homework each night. She had Hebrew class but I was working 12-14 hours a day and all I can remember about Hebrew was from when I was 13. So my German Catholic wife learned Hebrew and helped the kid with her Hebrew homework. And she still remembers it.

Back to the cigar. I’ve only managed to smoke 2” in 30 minutes. This is like a flavor sparkler. Just lying overnight in my humi, has helped remove some of the greenness from the stick. The hay flavor is gone completely.

The stick is very earthy and now very well balanced. Complexity has arrived and the flavors are still exciting but muted and intertwined. They don’t stand out as individuals as much now.

I need to buy another box. There. I scooted away from the review and bought another box. I joined Atlantic’s VIP Club and got a reduced price. Saved $6. This is something you should look into. The cost pays for itself. $5 per month or $60 per year.

I am closing in on the halfway point and the strength hasn’t made the big shove to full bodied yet. Again, I am doing this on an empty stomach so I put a dress on the dog in preparation for our dance of the idiots.

I’m sipping a Diet Coke due to the heavy dose of cocoa and coffee and creaminess in the stick’s flavor profile. I’ve become a junkie when it comes to cigars laden heavy with cocoa.

This is such an enjoyable cigar. I’m glad I bought another box because these 10 sticks, or should I say, 8? Will be gone very soon. I’m in love with this cigar.

The sweetness makes the nuttiness taste like hazelnut, a sweet nut on its own.

I move to the last third. No new flavors. But what is there, is very intense. The regular sized Cain F is a good cigar, but this is a great cigar.

The body ramps up now. I am seeing double. I slow down the puffing to hang on to my sanity. You know Jews don’t believe in Sanity Claus? Sorry.

The dog has become tired of wearing the dress so she comes over to me and stares. OK. I get it. I take her for a few swirls around the living room with Black Sabbath on the stereo. Pretty soon, we end up doing the Hokey Pokey. A very strange cigar.

At $5.80 a stick, there is no excuse for not trying this new creation. It is a damn fine cigar. And the price point is generous to the consumer. You should probably buy two boxes and save yourself the extra shipping costs.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS