Stolen Throne Preakness 150 L.E.:
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Claro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 6 x 46 Corona Gorda
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $14.00
Date Released: April 2025
Quantity Released: 3,000 Boxes of 10
Factory: Rojas Cigar Factory, Dominican Republic
My cigars received 6 months of naked humidor time.
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
The wrapper’s aromas are mild with only a touch of barnyard and earth with the remaining peccadilloes being light fruitiness and malted milk.
The cigar is firm in the hand, and I like that a lot. Using my PerfecPunch, I bore an 8mm hole in the cap. The cold draw is equal parts earthiness, fresh berries, cool mint, black pepper, and sourdough bread.
It starts with raisin oatmeal cookies. The smoke output fogs up both my eye patches. I’m so old that Disneyland didn’t open till I was 5 years old. In high school, everyone I knew got part time jobs there but at the start of our senior year in 1967, the school began allowing mustaches. And when I applied for a job, they said I could work cleaning up the park after it closed…but I’d still have to shave the lip bush. Knott’s Berry Farm welcomed me with open boysenberry arms.
The flavor points are a little flat in the opening salvo. There’s not a hint of sweetness that I believe would help. It’s mostly earthy and nutty. Half an inch burns quickly in less than 5 minutes.
Strength is medium.
In 1972, the Good Humor ice cream man was dealing weed from the truck to the parents of the kids fighting each other for Creamsicles. Turns out he was a drummer and my band was looking for a good one. We had a couple rehearsals and then he disappeared. The fuzz discovered what he was doing and that was the end of that. There’s some truth to the Spinal Tap mystery.
An inch down. Too quick. I had the same experience with my previous sticks. The flavor remains neutral. It’s missing all important depth of character. It needs some charm to get me on board.
The strength remains at barely medium. I find that milder cigars need lots of atmosphere for them to succeed. Medium/full or stronger cigars side eye you with handing you your balls while you’re still trying to discern the almighty attractiveness of the blend.
As inch number two finds its way into the books, some complexity is in play. As I’d love to give the cigar a good review because I spent $70 on a fiver, I often project good will where they may be little…I might be doing that now as the blend has little appeal for a cigar in this price range. It has a lot of competition, and you just can’t futz around hoping that the cigar finds your fancy in its early stages.
So far, the cigar tastes like an Oliva 2nds Habano. Normally, an Ecuadorian leaf will provide some sweetness and thus far, there is none. As there is no information on the Nic binder or Nic filler, it’s a guess as to their origin. This is why I don’t do blind reviews. In order for me to accurately analyze a cigar, the more information the better. If a cigar has a filler with exotic leaves, I make a mental note to look for the characteristics of those influences. Sure, a reviewer may know more than the population of smokers…but then do we…really? Most reviewers don’t have a clue on a blind test what the leaves are…they love to guess, but that’s it at best. And I’m guessing that you do the same which is why you turn to a review site for the best info possible.
The first half went up in smoke in 30 minutes. While the char line is excellent, the cigar is underfilled. So were my previous sticks. A good 6 x 46 cigar should get you close to 90 minutes. I just reviewed the El Titan de Bronze Black Swan in Corona Gorda and I got a good hour and a half of pleasurable smoke time.
This cigar has had plenty of time to relax, breathe, and savor its friends in my humidor.
A nice creaminess is displayed as the second half begins. The body is mostly earthy and direct. It really needs some creaminess. A light citrus goes well with creamy. Some of the obvious Nic features such as chocolate and espresso would be nice. It would be a nice bedrock for multiple layers of flavors and depth to develop upon. There are no transitions. Complexity is minimal. I keep referring my bare wallet back to the $70.
In 2023, I rated the Yorktown Fleet 86. In 2020, I rated the Call to Arms 91. In 2019, I rated Crook of the Crown 100.
This cigar is not even close to winning me over. It’s an average, decent cigar at best.
I have now entered the last third. I’m going to continue for a bit, but the question is will it self-flagellate and become a great cigar? No.
The cigar was released a year ago. I found a few reviews and clearly I feel the same way as their analyses. If you are going to charge your fan base $14, you gotta deliver. I hope their next outing is a better one.
RATING: 83
Lampert Baba Yaga:
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Undisclosed
Filler: Undisclosed
Size: 6 x 52 Toro
Strength: Full
Price: $17.00
Date Released: May 2026
Quantity Released: Limited
Factory: Tabacos de Costa Rica
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
This is the nicest looking cigar to come from the stables of Lampert. It is oily, smooth, big and small veins, and beautifully constructed as the circumference is nearly a perfect circle.
Deep floral notes from the wrapper. As well as honey, stone fruit, light barnyard, milk chocolate, espresso, and popcorn.
As I wave my PerfecPunch across the cap, it plunges like a baby seal to its death…removing the tiny manhole cover with as much ease as the taxman takes your hard-earned money.
The cold draw is absolutely delicious. Sweet and savory. All the notes found by my giant nose are transferred to the taste of this unlit cigar. This is going to be a good time had by the proletariat.
The cigar begins with a creamy sweetness and a baby beluga cinnamon roll. Or is it baba yaga? What is a baba yaga? Don’t go anywhere…I’m going to look it up. Jesus…it’s the Slavic Witch of the Forest. Okie doke then.
I expected more of a kick as the blend has been deemed full strength. The char line is razor sharp. Lampert is connected to Casdagli. I often start a Lampert blend wondering if it will be like what Jeremy blends. Often, it is similar. The ash is so delicate that it doesn’t last quarter of an inch.
Every time I join a cigar blabber site, it takes only a few posts on my part before someone figures out it’s me. I hate that. And then it begins. Some guys are happy to see me, and others throw up their hands and make comments that aren’t very nice. That cues my exit.
The balance of sweet and savory leans a little to the fruity side. As the strength is barely medium, I’ve been here before. So far, nothing to report that would qualify this cigar as a stunner.
I saw “Easy Rider” during its first week of release in 1969. I went to the movies with friends and a girl who I was pursuing vigorously. She was rich…or at least her parents were. There is an iconic pink house on the cliffs of Laguna Beach, California. This was her home. No one knew how Rider ended. So, when the murder of Peter Fonda happened, it was a shock. The entire theater gasped. And we walked out quietly. Not exactly a make out movie and the girl was on the conservative side. She was typical SoCal chick with long blonde hair, pretty face, and the bod of a surfer girl. She conceded a couple kisses now and then but, in the end, I just wasn’t good enough. It was my pre-afro period.
The first inch was not an excitable boy, but it had some nice sweetness. The flavor is now dominated by leather and earth. The sweetness begins to falter. The blend begins the morphing period.
I’m becoming disenchanted. There is a meatiness plus bitter coffee grounds. The blend is heading in the wrong direction.
The cigar is decent. It is mildly flavorful. But no surprises. A year of rest might age this cigar appropriately.
RATING: 87
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
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