Wrapper: Honduran Connecticut Seed Shade Grown- Talanga Valley
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 7 x 54 “Double Corona”
Body: Medium
Price: $8.00

This is definitely an old school blend. I’ve had to wait almost 4 months for them to be ready to smoke.

These cigars made their debut at the 2012 IPCPR trade show.

From the Blanco Cigar web site:
“The Blanco Cigar Company was founded in the USA in 1998; however the family’s history and roots in the tobacco industry can be traced back to Cuba’s western-most province of Pinar del Rio and their cousins of 80 years, the Plasencia family. The Plasencias, whose roots are also found in Pinar del Rio, are today one of the preeminent tobacco families in the industry. The Plasencias run all farming and manufacturing operations in both Danli, Honduras and Esteli, Nicaragua.”

Blanco Liga Exclusiva de Familia translates from Spanish: “Exclusive blend of the family.” The name is appropriate as this is the favorite cigar of both Cesar and David Blanco.

The cigar comes in two wrapper types: Cesar’s U S Connecticut Shade and David’s Pennsylvania Broadleaf Maduro.

Cigars come in six sizes: Robusto: 5 x 54, Toro: 6 x 54, Gran Toro: 6.25 x 60, Salomon: 6 x 54, Double Corona: 7 x 54, and Torpedo: 6.5 x 54.

While the cigars were meant to be sold in B & M’s only, they have found their way to the internet. While a box online goes for $155.00, I managed to score mine for half price on auction. Famous carries the whole line.

But BestCigarPrices carries their newest release: “American Legion.” Yes, a cigar that is being produced to help donate proceeds to the famed organization. I smoked one of these a week after I got it and one more week is all it needs before I review it.

This is a mammoth cigar. It is more like a Louisville Slugger. The stick is adorned with a massive cigar band that is foil style. Lots of artwork. Half the cigar is covered with a cedar wrap with a green ribbon at the foot. The cap appears to have a triple cap.

The sheer size of this stick means I’m in for a long session.

Construction is very nice. Seams are tight. Not as many veins as you’d think in a cigar this big. A beautiful butterscotch colored wrapper that is silky smooth. The cigar is firm but has a couple soft spots.

I clip the cap and find aromas of caramel sweetness, spice, cocoa, wood, coffee and some herbal spices.
Time to light up.

Sweetness and cocoa show up instantly and then some strong red pepper. This big stick is spewing smoke throughout the room. The caramel shows up right behind. The cedar wrap gives the stick a strong sweet cedar flavor.

A very nice toastiness begins the parade of flavors as its leader.

The char line is a bit off.

And then is becomes very, very nutty. It complements the toastiness and sweetness to a tee.

I chomp while I write but this is a hard stick to hold in your mouth and not make a huge indentation with your teeth.

The char line needs a minor correction.

I’m still an inch away from the end of the first third when the cigar rolls out its flavors. In order: Creaminess, nuttiness, sweetness, cocoa, sweet cedar, coffee, caramel, spiciness, and wood.

The strength is a light medium. But it is a real flavor bomb. It was an unnatural long wait for me but worth it. It is hard for guys on wife inflicted budgets to really have 18 month old humidor cigars. But my wife was kind to me when we got our tax refund early. And now I have a lot of cigars. Is there anything cooler than looking inside your huge humidors and seeing them filled to the brim? Puts a smile on my puss.

This is a lovely cigar. So balanced. Smooth. So full of nuance and character. You can tell the blending was a real labor of love.

The cigar is a big candy bar.

The second third begins and no significant changes other than it finds its complexity.

The char line is pretty good and does not require additional touch ups.

The stick is just swimming in flavor now. The red pepper returns and really ratchets the flavor profile up.

At the halfway point, the cigar reaches its total potential. It is barely medium bodied. But it is so flavorful, who cares that it isn’t an Illusione.

The flavors rearrange themselves: Creaminess, cocoa, spice, caramel, sweetness, sweet cedar, nuttiness, coffee, toasty, and wood.

Clearly, this cigar is not jam packed with tobacco so it burns a little quicker than I had expected. But since I am not a fan of big cigars like this, it works to my advantage. It has taken 45 minutes to get to the final third.

The burn line is crisp.

I’d love to try the Maduro but cigarauctioneer.com only auctions off the Connecticut. I did give the American Legion a spin and it was a much more potent stick than this one.

The cigar band comes off beautifully.

The stick is a strong medium body now. It is cool without a hint of harshness or nicotine.

Wally Guse, I may have found a stick for you. I paid less than $4 each on the auction site. The only caveat is it requires patience after you get them.

Fortunately, I didn’t go through half of them by testing them for readiness. So 3 months is the magic number.

The stick is smooth and very creamy. The last third has a bit more tobacco than the rest of the stick and the burn process slows down.

As I finish this cigar, I am totally sated. The luscious caramel moves to right behind the creaminess and it just beams with those flavors.

I highly recommend trying this cigar. I checked and cigarauctioneer has two sizes up for auction with starting prices at $70. That’s a good deal compared to the $155 Famous is asking. When I bid, I had zero competition. This cigar is flying under the radar.

And now for something completely different:
DRUG DEAL GONE BAD
1973. I was 23. And very, very, stupid. I was living in a rented house in Santa Ana with 2 buddies. I was collecting unemployment and going to school at the same time. And taking dough my dad offered.

It was the day to pick up my unemployment check. Back then, you had to go down to their office, stand in line, and go face to face with a government employee. Oh joy.

As I came out, a skinny black dude approached me and started to banter….”You look like a cool dude….are you a cool dude? You want a little dope? I can get you anything you want….”

I told him I’d like some hashish and he said no problem. He told me we would have to take a short drive to his friend’s house to get it. The cost: $50 for an ounce. Wow . That was cheap. (I know, I know.)

We took a drive deep into the dregs of Santa Ana…one of the worst gang and drug havens in Orange County, Ca…. He took my money and slipped into an apartment. A few minutes later he came out and said we’d have to hit another place for the pickup.

I wasn’t feeling very comfortable at this point but he had my money. And I was no ninja. I was 5’-11 and weighed 165lbs.
We drove to a couple more places with the same story. I told him this was bullshit and I wanted my money back. He told me to chill… just one more place.

He went into a seedy apartment building and I took off in my VW bus to the alley behind the apartment where I saw him get into a car with someone else and peeled rubber.

I gave chase.

We drove up to 100mph down residential streets and he never evaded me. This went on for about 10 minutes and then the car pulled over.

A badass Mexican guy got out of the driver’s side and at the same time I got out of my VW. I had a road flare in my hand. Yeah, that should scare him. Dumbass.

As I began to speak, he pulled a stiletto from his side and snapped it open and in one motion grabbed my collar and stuck the blade to my neck. I could feel a trickle of blood running down my neck. I raised my hand with the flare and snapped it. I thrust it into his face. He pushed me back and I tripped and fell backwards.

I got up and held him at bay while he swung and jabbed his knife at me. I was able to scrape the lit flare across his face which made him scream.

At that very moment, a cop car drove up…maybe 30 feet away and just parked while the two cops watched us. Neither made a move to get out of the squad car. Just another couple of junkies killing themselves and they had ring side seats.

The dude saw the cops and dashed for his beater and took off. I looked down and there was blood all over my shirt from my neck. I threw the flare down and got back into my VW, started the engine, and drove off towards home. I could hear the cops laugh.

I cleaned the superficial wound on my neck, took a shower, and got into clean clothes.

Then I sat on the couch and stared at the wall. My hands began to shake and I was engaged in a full on panic attack.
What the fuck did I do?

Moments later, a good friend, Tim, called and I told him what happened. He said he was on his way over. A few minutes later, he arrived and handed me a “lid” of grass.
“That will be $25.”
Swell. What a pal.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: blanco cigars, Blanco Liga Exclusiva de Familia Double Corona Connecticut Cigar Review, cigar review, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars