Cigar Review - L'Atelier LAT54
L'Atelier - LAT54
Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5.6″
Ring Gauge: 54
Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Pairing: Cuban cafe con leche
While out with my lovely wife the other evening, we stopped by Belicoso's after dinner for a nice relaxing cigar and a cup of Cuban coffee. They have a nice selection and after talking to the owner for a few minutes I decided on the L'Atelier because I've never had one and because he said it would fall nicely into the medium range I was looking for. Fully in the moment, I didn't think to take a photo, but here is a stock photo of one:
http://i1068.photobucket.com/albums/...psrzjgnrzx.jpg
Fit and Finish: A nice, thinly veined wrapper with no visible seams, good firm feel and just cedar and tobacco on the nose.
Draw: A v-cut opens things up nicely and produces a nice medium draw. Tobacco and mild cocoa on the cold draw. Very pleasant.
Toast/Light: Toasting is even and easy. Excellent smoke production and a quick pepper hit on the first draw.
First third: The pepper quickly fades and cedar and nuts dominate the first third. The smoke is very creamy and abundant. Very light notes of cocoa come and go. I notice this because I love cocoa in a cigar and I was expecting more based on the cold draw. The nuttiness and cedar are so pleasant, though, that the lack of significant cocoa doesn't bother me. It's also pairing extremely well with the cafe con leche, which is excellent at Belicoso's.
Second Third: The creaminess persists, the nuttiness remains, but the cedar begins to take a back seat as the cocoa comes forward a bit more. It is soon replaced by a new flavor for me, it takes me a bit before I realize it is similar to raisins. Faint, but there. It fades out before the end of the half and it is predominately nuts and cream that remain.
Final Third: As this third gets going the nuts and cream remain but are joined by notes of coffee and a bit of leather. The flavor is ramping up a bit, in a good way (not that it has been lacking at any point). It finishes pretty much the same and that is just fine because it's just so tasty.
Final Thoughts: It is incredible how much atmosphere can make or break any cigar. Sitting at a sidewalk cafe, sipping a coffee and smoking a cigar as you watch the nightlife stroll by can make even a mediocre cigar seem good. When the cigar is really good, it can make the whole experience outstanding, which this one did. I saw these on CBid one day and was wondering about them and so was delighted to find one at my local B&M. It was really tasty and solidly in the mild/medium category. The burn was perfect, though the ash tended to drop early (at a little over an inch). All in all I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another one.
Total smoking time: 90 minutes
