Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Lancero "Phantom" |

This is a guest review brought to you by Chris

2/19/2012

Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Lancero aka “Phantom” (First Impression)

Wrapper: Cameroon

Binder/Filler: Dominican

Size: 7.5 x 41

Vitola: lancero

MSRP: $18

Smoke Time: 1 hr 40 min

Drink: Coffee, black

Location: Front Yard

This cigar is not regular production, and from what I understand it is released randomly in small numbers to select retailers. A batch of these were sent out this past winter around Christmas time, showing up in various stores who also got the 100th anniversary Forbidden X cigars. I feel lucky that I came across some as I was searching for the Forbidden X releases.

DonCarlosLancero1c Don Carlos Lancero aka Phantom Review

Construction/Appearance:

The box is incredibly large for the number and size of cigars inside it which adds a bit of a “precious cargo” feeling to it. Inside is one row of 13 cigars, all wrapped in cedar sleeves with a black ribbon band at the foot. The head is finished with a very short pig tail and is very attractive. Once out of the cedar sleeve, the extreme toothiness of the wrapper becomes apparent, much more so in feel and appearance than other Don Carlos cigars I’ve seen. It’s a slightly mottled, rich brown Cameroon wrapper with some medium to medium+ veins running through it, though none that cause me any concern. The band has a bit of play and can move which is a good sign that it is not glued to the wrapper at all. The cigar is pretty firm throughout, with no soft spots and feels very well constructed.

Burn/Draw:

After clipping the cap, the cold draw was nice. Just below what I’d consider firm but not in the least bit loose. The draw was very nice and consistent throughout the whole cigar. It offered a little resistance but was never tight. The mostly white (with hints of gray) ash was fairly solid, flaking a little at times and held for easily over an inch. I imagine the ash would have held much longer had it not been windy at times., at it was mostly white ash with some light grey here and there. The Don Carlos Lancero “Phantom” went out after an inch or so and I had to relight it probably because of me taking too much time between puffs. This cigar did swell slightly behind the cherry at times but never caused any problems until I tried to slide the band off. Fortunately, even though the band damaged part of the wrapper, the burn was not affected.

Flavor/Aroma:

The cold draw had a sweet, slightly spicy flavor that was very specific but difficult to place. After many more cold draws than I normally take, I could place the flavor as frosted carrot cake. The initial draw presented spicy and some floral notes. Soon after, a caramel sweetness came into play with a touch of butter on the finish. It feels medium bodied but very full in flavor. Throughout the first third, these spicy floral and buttery sweet notes took turns being dominant. At the second third I tasted some buttercream frosting right before some flavors of wood & leather came into play. These flavors stayed prominent for a while as the sweetness receded into the background. After one hour I hit the final third of the cigar and the floral spice from the first third returns. I did notice some tar buildup but it was very slight and did not affect the flavor. For the last third floral flavors, spice, caramel & wood take turns, the flavor changing subtlety on almost every puff.

Final Thoughts:

Strength of this cigar was surprising as I could really feel the nicotine after smoking for an hour
The cigar was very complex with flavors alternating throughout the smoke.
This was quite different than any other Don Carlos vitola I’ve tried
The Don Carlos Lancero is a very interesting cigar and I’d recommend trying one if you come across them.