Brendan Delumpa is 64 and a software engineer/architect that lives in Cupertino, California…the heart of Silicon Valley. He’s got 8 kids. A patient man.

Brendan describes his cigar journey: “I got into cigars in 1990 at a friend’s wedding. But it wasn’t until about ten years ago that I started smoking more regularly. Before that, I had maybe a dozen or so per year. And I only started writing my blog in 2023 as I had spent the previous year expanding my horizons (I smoked mostly Connies and Habanos prior to that) and I wanted to document what I was smoking to understand what motivated me.”

Here is Unco B:

Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés Maduro
Binder: Nicaragua Habano (Estelí)
Filler: Nicaragua (Estelí), Nicaragua (Condega/Jalapa), Mexico
Size: 6 x 54 Toro
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $12.95-$13.00 (online) I paid $15.95 in the shop.
Date Released: Late 2024/Early 2025 retail rollout
Quantity Released: Undetermined (Probably in the range of 1000-2000 boxes)
Factory: Tabacalera Annex (AJ Fernández), Estelí

I’d like to thank Phil for inviting me to write a guest review. I consider it an honor to be recognized by a stalwart of cigar reviewers. His unabashed, unapologetic style has provided us mere mortals so much insight and entertainment over the years, flying the bird at the pros, telling it how he sees it, and refusing to kiss the ring (or ass) of the industry.

Privada/LCA? Seriously? I used to have the same reaction. After all, how can you take a brand seriously that has Cookie Monster on a band? But after trying several of their blends and discovering the Purple People Eater and Blue Cheese (both of them AJ sticks, btw), and the Super Sea Monkeys in the process, I’ve learned to look past what could be interpreted as childishness and instead view them as irreverent and rebellious. I can live with that. So, now I’m looking at the new Purple People Eater made by AJ.

In 2022, LCA released the first version of the Purple People Eater. It seemed to be a hit because there was a lot of hype about it at the time. But I think part of its appeal was that it was originally manufactured by Purple Sky Cigars, which added its mystique. No one knew who Purple Sky Cigars was! Rumors and stories floated around about the owners’ dubious, or perhaps notorious, roots and the name of the brand (which was apparently a play on Walter White’s Blue Sky meth in Breaking Bad), which further added to its mystique. But no matter, for many cigar enthusiasts, it was their first taste of an “underground boutique” cigar: imperfect, rustic, but undeniably compelling, giving it an almost cult-like following.

I was able to get a hold of a few of the original sticks back in early 2023. I loved them. They weren’t at all consistent, and I remember thinking about Forrest Gump’s line, “Life is like a box of chocolates…” when I’d smoke one. I didn’t know what I was going to get. But it was fun to smoke, and each cigar had moments of absolute brilliance. I liken the experience to me playing golf now as a senior citizen. I can’t hit the ball as far or as accurately as when I was younger. So, all I’m looking for is one or two good shots in a round, and that’s enough to keep me coming back for more! Punishment? Frustration? Futility? Golfers are a masochistic lot.

If you look at LCA’s offerings over the past year or so, they’ve been going with major, established blenders like AJ Fernandez, Erik Espinosa, and Juan Ignacio Martinez (JdN), among others. Plus, they’ve changed the band artwork to be less childish and, at times, controversial. It seems like a deliberate shift away from underground boutique chaos and rebelliousness toward structured, scalable production, which brings us to the new version of the Purple People Eater.

To be clear, this new version isn’t just a switch to a new factory for scaling up production. It’s a completely new blend. And where the original version was unpredictable and chaotic (in a good way), this new blend by AJ has the consistency and structural backbone we’ve all come to expect from him. So, the move to AJ seemed more about stabilizing the line, rather than simply changing production facilities. Yeah. Also, it’s now unmistakably AJ.

And that’s the rub with this new edition. Having smoked both versions, it immediately became obvious that the only things they share are the wrapper and the name. Everything else is different. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. AJ has the magic touch in the industry, and there’s a reason so many cigar brands have at least one AJ cigar in their lineup. And while it could be argued that it diminishes the underground boutique nature of the original that made it so popular, the new PPE should be evaluated on its own merits. And that’s what I’m going to do now.

I’ve smoked five of these in the last couple of weeks at my local lounge. I’m usually a practitioner of laying down sticks for at least a few weeks before writing about them, but they’ve all been consistent and ready to smoke, so I don’t have a problem writing a review.

First off, this is a gorgeous cigar. The wrapper is toothy and mottled black and brown with an oily sheen that makes me anticipate the bounty of flavor that’s coming my way. A few veins run the length of the cigar, but seams are barely detectable. There’s heft and solidity, so I know this cigar is packed, maybe not as stuffed as a Tatuaje, but it’s nicely loaded with tobacco.

I smell the wrapper and foot, and I’m greeted by a floral sweetness with just a touch of barnyard and a slightly pleasing sour note. I punch the cap. The cold draw is just how I like it, with just enough resistance to make me work for it, but with enough airflow to produce tons of smoke per puff. And we’re off to the races!

The new PPE wastes no time establishing itself. It sets its core within the first few puffs: An assertive but not overwhelming black pepper, with dark, sweet San Andrés depth, anchored by a Nicaraguan backbone and a supporting cast of cocoa, roasted nuts, a snap of cedar, and espresso. Sound familiar? Of course it does because it’s an AJ signature move. I’ve always marveled at how AJ does this with so many cigars, and yet they all taste different. This cigar was no exception.

As the cigar warmed up, yeah, it was unmistakably AJ. Refined, with a structural core, and well-behaved without being boring. The finish took on a slight minerality, and the sweetness became fruitier rather than sugary, providing a nice foil to the richness and depth. If I could use a single word to describe it, it would be “mature.”

But there is also a playful nature to this stick, as subtle notes flicker in and out through the progression, such as cotton candy, anisette, graham cracker, malted milk balls, dried cherry, toasted almond, and an occasional touch of black licorice. They’re like fireflies winking on and off. It’s a very cool effect.

And underneath all that, the core profile chugs along and intensifies in power as the smoke progresses. It’s a linear build-up, but by no means static, as it too evolves. The cocoa and espresso become deeper and darker, and the sweetness takes on a deep, molasses-like quality that finishes into a creamy nougat. The texture of the smoke thickens and becomes luxurious and velvety. Again, mature.

The sweet spot is the halfway point. By then, everything has come together, and the cigar settles into what appears to be a nice cadence, gradually and almost methodically building strength and depth. But there’s a catch, and that’s the underlying beauty of this cigar.

The refined build-up of its core acts as a veil. But pull the veil aside, and you realize there’s a hell of a lot going on behind the veil. Those fireflies I mentioned never went away. It’s like when Toto tugged on the curtain in The Wizard of Oz, revealing the “wizard” frantically turning dials and pressing buttons. It’s a very cool effect!

And strength? Again, the cigar is well-behaved. Strength evolves and gradually concentrates, going from medium to medium+ through most of the smoke, and only in the last inch and a half does it flirt with going full. And for as strong as the cigar eventually becomes, nicotine doesn’t accompany it.

In a nutshell, the new Purple People Eater doesn’t unfold in dramatic chapters; instead, it moves with a steady, deliberate progression that’s balanced by flits of secondary flavors to keep things interesting. And the effect is that you only notice them when you stop to think: Did I really see that? Wow!

By the time I reach the final stretch, the cigar has concentrated rather than transformed. The dark chocolate becomes darker, the espresso becomes more roasted, and the pepper settles into a confident, steady pulse. The profile never gets bitter or full of tar, and importantly, never loses its composure. It’s a controlled intensification, a mature approach.

As I finished the last cigar, I asked myself which I liked better, the original or the new version. To be honest, I couldn’t answer the question at the time because they are entirely different cigars. The original had the charm of a small-batch, underground, boutique stick with its unpredictable nature. The new one is incredibly compelling because it’s controlled, refined, and mature.

The difference between them boils down to philosophy: Purple Sky made a boutique experiment with dubious (though charming) consistency. AJ made something more modern and repeatable. But though I tend to lean towards structure and a mature approach, if I really had to choose, I’d probably choose the original over the new one because it was a little more fun. Hopefully, with LCA’s move to using major outfits, they don’t lose that sense of fun and playfulness in their cigars. That has been a big component of their appeal.

Total smoke time was 90 minutes.

Rating: 92

Katman note: Brendan is a voice that should be heard by all cigar smokers. Please visit Unco B’s Stogie Diary. You’ll get hooked.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: brendan delumpa, cigar reviews, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, katman, phil kohn, Privada/LCA Purple People Eater (AJ Edition) ~ Guest Review by Unco B | Cigar Reviews by the Katman, stogiephile.com, unco b