Wrapper: Ecuadorian Corojo ‘98
Binder: Brazilian
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 6 x 52 Toro
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $12.45
My cigars have been lying naked in their humidor for almost 2-1/2 months.
If you’d like to read the low down on this cigar, give Halfwheel.com a peek.
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
First, it’s not Ace Prime any longer. The brand is now Luciano. Continue…
The gig for this blend is to be matched perfectly by a wine designed by Luciano owner, Luciano Meirelles. You can read all about this by clicking the link above to Halfwheel’s article.
Let’s hope that this cigar doesn’t end up being a perfect match for Boone’s Farm Strawberry Hill.
The cigar band is pretty. I notice how some reviewers go all art critic in their cigar review over a piece of paper around the cigar. I don’t care what it looks like…do you? The only thing that I care about is that the bloody thing is easy to take off while I am smoking the cigar. A piece of so-called artwork adorning the cigar has absolutely nothing to do with what you are about to smoke, or your reaction to the blend. This is just a grouchy old man speaking.
The cigar is light in the loafers. Weighs the same as a small handful of toothpicks. This never bodes well as it means what should be a 90-minute smoke is going to disappear in half the time.
I sniff the cigar and it smells good. You want notes? Fuhgeddaboudit. Smell your own cigar.
The draw is wide open. No resistance whatsoever. Therefore, I put my PerfecDraw draw adjustment tool back in its wind resistant cuckold house out back where I feed errant and besmirched wild birds.
Nice start. Not earth shattering. Smoke fills the room like my ass is on fire again.
A bit of complexity. But mostly notes of black pepper, some creaminess, raw mixed nuts, cinnamon, espresso, baking spices, and dirt.
I could not find if this is a limited edition or regular production. But no worries, this cigar is available everywhere.
I get a funky burn issue fairly soon after starting this Unabomber’s manifesto.
I’m looking for potential here. The cigar slips into a mundane yoga position. Instead of being blasted by some great tobacco choices, I get the feeling that this is just an ordinary and nameless cigar.
I smoked its 4 brothers over the last few months, and it tasted the same every time…blah.
Ace Prime, or Luciano, is the flavor of the month at this writing. I didn’t care all the much for the Fiat Lux. I did like the Dominique Wilkins and The Sergeant.
1-1/2” burned in 15 minutes. And then the cigar makes a big adjustment…it begins to taste like someone cared. That first bit tasted like a $5 Torano.
The adjustment allows some subtle notes to flow. I’m not sure if these nuances are a good sign or just a relief that the cigar is worth smoking…we shall see.
Meaty and malty elements appear from the ether. I’m so old that when I had my tonsils taken out at age 4, I still remember the nurse putting a screen over my mouth and nose and dripping a horrible smelling ether on me to knock me out. My first memory. And I didn’t like it. BTW-That would have been around 1924.
The cigar improves with every puff. Thank you, baby Moses.
The strength has been a lackluster medium. The blend is stretching its legs now and that strength is getting a backbone. It adds to the complexity in a much-needed way.
The burn self-corrected by me screaming at it. Works every time.
OK. It’s a nice cigar. But not the dense blend I like when I smoke a cigar. The meatiness has disappeared. You can’t have enough meatiness in your life. A homeless guy at an intersection had that on a sign.
I live in a nice apartment complex. No digging or shoveling snow for Philly any longer. New neighbors moved in. Pop is around 50 and so is Ma Kettle. They have two daughters in their late teens or older. And a son around 20. They are Palestinians. We talk and they knew immediately I was a Jew from my name on the mailbox. But we get along famously. Plus, they give me doses of Ma’s cooking regularly and it is just a knockout cuisine. Unbelievable food. Still, I worry a bit. They all drive $50K cars but they live here…5 people stuffed into a two-bedroom apartment. I just hope that I never have to be interviewed by the F.B.I. and the press. And then I will respond with, “They seemed like such nice people. Never thought it would happen here. And yes, I was halved in the explosion.”
The cigar. It is a tasty little thing. But it has nearly reached the halfway point in 30 minutes. Philly was right. This cigar is under filled and will barely be a 60-minute smoke.
The burn returns to wonkyville.
All of its positive attributes are merely a whisper instead of bellowing loudly from the Hollywood sign. The blend is so subtle that it could be in witness protection.
Maybe the cigar needs a lot of humidor time. Dunno. But my slim and perfect gut tells me that it doesn’t match up to the two Ace Prime blends I mentioned earlier.
That’s the problem when you P.R. the shit out of a cigar. Big expectations. So, the letdown is even deeper than if you kept your mouth shut.
I know right now I’m going to give this cigar a rating of 90. Why? Because it’s decent. And I know there ain’t going to be a sweet spot in the second half. It will continue on its present course of being a ‘nice’ cigar and that’s that.
Some meatiness returns in a mask and a cape…with a limp.
Strength is medium.
Construction is just so-so.
Just a few years ago, this would have been an $8 stick.
I’ve entered the red zone. The cigar is doing OK. Just not bowling me over. The blend is very mellow in its flavor profile. Not a lot going on. And individual notes scrum into a ball of confusion.
And now we have medium/full strength like a bat hit me in the face…and then flew away cursing, “Great. I touched a Jew. What else will go wrong?” And then drops dead a few minutes later from not being kosher.
The cigar really had a chance but blew it. An under filled cigar is always a bad thing. Flavors don’t stand a chance. Things move too fast. The cigar has no opportunity to develop. It is a foot race to the end.
I should have hit a sweet spot by now. Nada.
It just cruises on its merits without ambition.
Nicotine slams it home.
A touch of harshness finds its way into the burn. Beginning to be too hot to handle.
Being only a nice cigar is its death knell. Nothing impressive happened. If the cigar was much cheaper, I’d say it would be a good go-to stick for a quick smoke.
I don’t have a list of flavors. They have melded into a lump sum.
I don’t remember seeing any written reviews. I bet everyone is waiting for the cigar to become a better rep for its brethren. And it might certainly become a more interesting blend with more humidor time. But the under filled construction won’t change.
The last 1-1/2” is hot.
While Luciano might have a wine blended just for this cigar, I’d tell him that there is no need for that. Just pick up a bottle of Mad Dog 20/20 and you’re set.
I’m done.
RATING: 87
Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
Cigar Reviews by Phil 'Katman' Kohn 
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