Tatuaje Cabaiguan LE Lancero

Manufacturer: Tatuaje
Brand: Cabaiguan
Size: LE Lancero 7.5x38
Cost: $8.50
Rest Time: 3 Weeks
Burn Time: 1:55

Prelight: The Cabaiguan is part of the LE lancero box put out by Tatuaje earlier this year. For those interested, Cabaiguan is a town in the Provence of Sancti Spiritus in Cuba. The cigar is evenly packed with a light brown wrapper. Prelight aroma is hay and leather. I lop the head with my Xikar Xi and off we Do Not go. The draw is extremely tight requiring a deeper cut, still tight but doable. The prelight draw is predominantly grass & hay.

1st 3rd:

On first draw I get cream, hay and toast flavors. The draw is still fairly tight, which will require a good bit of self control to regulate the burn. Once it calms down the toast flavors are shining with some white pepper mid-palate. Even with the tight draw the burn is sharp.

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2nd 3rd:

The draw on the Cabaiguan has loosened up considerably as I enter the 2nd part of the stick. The ash holds on for about a half inch which is pretty standard for lances. There is not a lot of smoke output, but that is typical for this size. Having a random thought - I wonder if DE could produce a lance that would display their typical smoke stack off the foot? Back to the cigar in hand Toast and cream remain as does the white pepper with a light minerality and some woody notes on the finish. The smoke is medium bodied with no hint of strength.

Final 3rd:

The woody flavors are now dominating the flavor profile, there is a hint of creamy coffee, but it's a light coffee flavor akin to an above average convenience store brand. The white pepper has really amped up in the back of my throat requiring some water to cool it down. There is some strength coming in now causing a bit of light headedness, but not enough to dissuade me from finishing this up.

Summary:

I was worried about the performance of this lance based on the initial draw, but the burn was excellent. The stick required no touch-ups, but did need one relight at the half way point. The flavors of the Cabaiguan were to my liking and the medium body is always perfect for me, the strength at the end was a bit of a surprise as it came out of nowhere. Hopefully this will become a regular production lance as I could see this one in my regular rotation.

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