Room 101 Daruma Mutante (Lancero) Review
Cigar: Room 101 Daruma Mutante
Size: Lancero 7"x38
Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
Binder: Brazil
Filler: Honduras/Dominican Republic
Price: MSRP $8.25
Initial Impression/Prelight
The wrapper is a medium-dark brown, with one or two moderate veins. It has some toothiness and very little oiliness. I give the stick a good once-over, and find uniform firmness down the length of the cigar. There are no bumps or other visible imperfections, and the cigar appears well-rolled.
I like the band, with it's delicate cursive script embossed in shiny silver over a darker grey background. I used a punch to open it, and the draw was excellent with a very distinct aromatic cedar flavor prelight. This is my first Room 101 cigar, and I'm excited to get started! I couldn't pass up something named Mutante, that's for sure. This cigar was purchased from my B&M two weeks ago and has been in my humidor at 65% since then.
http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/...psvwwpa15i.jpg
1st Third
After lighting, I get a blast of pepper like a punch in the nose! It leaves my mouth tingling, from the tip of my tongue to the back of my throat. I immediately think I've bitten off more than I can chew for this morning smoke. There is also a remnant of that prelight cedar taste, but pepper dominates the first 7-8 puffs. After that, thankfully the pepper quiets down to a more reasonable level, and I'm getting a rich, black earth flavor. The best way I can describe is that it reminds me of a tilled Upper Midwest field in the spring, and it's good.
The ash is grey and very flaky, and the smoke output is well above average and quite thick. Despite the first few puffs, I'd call it medium in strength and flavor so far.
http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/...psw9boyl4t.jpg
2nd Third
The pepper has evened out nicely. Just a bit into the second section, the flavor shifts dramatically and I start getting another flavor that I'm having trouble pinning down - it's right there but I can't place it. My notes say "acidic like a coffee?", but then I scratched that out. Finally it hits me - it's been years since I had one, but the flavor reminds me of nothing more than persimmon. It's a very bright, tangy citrus, and unlike anything I recall in a cigar. Definitely has some acidity and a bit of bitterness, but not unpleasantly so like brussel sprouts or something.
http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/...psinppkfi2.jpg
Final Third
The tangy (not to be confused with twangy!) citrus notes remain, and I am getting some varied cooking spice flavors too. Think clove or something like it. The cigar smokes noticeably cool all the way to the nub, despite the fact that in my eagerness to determine the mystery flavors I am puffing a little faster than my normal pace. Rich smoke stays plentiful, and pours off the foot after each puff. The cigar remained medium strength and perhaps picked up to medium+ flavor at the end, but barely.
http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/...pspvv2prkf.jpg
Overall Impressions
What a cool introduction to the Room 101 marque! I had as much trouble describing the flavors as I've ever had with a cigar, and it was a lot of fun trying to dissect what I was experiencing.
• I've rarely noticed such a marked transition from section to section - from a pepper punch to dark earth to the citrusy tang - and each was pleasant and memorable.
• Another notable point was the smoke itself. Normally I don't associate 'tangy', 'acidic' or 'citrus' with the word 'rich'. However, the smoke from the Daruma was quite thick and had a good feel in the mouth, so 'rich' seems like the proper descriptor. Certainly there was a nice finish.
• One of the few negatives on this cigar was the flaky ash. I never really got those nice, tight 'piles' of ash. In fact, the ash kept splitting in half and I never felt safe letting it get much longer than 1/2" until the very end when it seemed to tighten up some.
• Ash aside, the burn was dead-on perfect from light to nub. The draw was almost uniformly good too, opening up a little too much near the end but only for a few puffs.
• I haven't smoked many lanceros, and found I enjoyed this vitola for look, feel, cool smoke, and smoking time at a little over an hour.
• Some of the Room 101 labels are a little flashy, but I think the slightly more subtle silver script on steel grey is attractive and different.
• Strength and flavor were both spot on my personal preferences as well, falling right around medium to maybe a touch above.
So, the last time I wrote a review and said 'this will be my next box purchase', I was talking about the Torano Exodus 50 Years. I bought a box shortly thereafter. I'm saying the same thing here, and in fact I ended up buying two boxes of these.
http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2tamdbnn.jpg
