Cigar Review: Patina Cigars Oro De Nicaragua Lancero

Created in honor of the cigar that really got Patina Cigars owner, Mo Maali, into cigars, the Oro De Nicaragua is the latest core line release from Patina. This blend marks a couple firsts for the company - 1 being the use of multiple bands and the other being 20 count boxes. Both are minor, but substantial facts as they are part of what sets this blend apart. The Lancero is the only vitola I have yet to smoke of the blend, and if the other 3 sizes are any indication, I expect a lot of good stuff from this guy.

Country of Origin: Nicaragua

Factory: Nicaragua American Cigars S.A.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro

Binder: Ecuadorian Sumatra

Filler: Nicaragua & USA

Vitola: 7 x 40 Lancero

Price: $14.00 MSRP

Link to Purchase: The Cigar Farm (Use code “Review” to save 10%!)

This slender, dark brown cigar has a slight rosado hue and a lovely band design. The cigar has a fairly firm and dense pack. The unlit cigar smells of dark cocoa and spices. The cold draw is nutty and has a bit of cacao. First light brings big flavors of wood, earth, and spice. The retrohale has some sweet cocoa and pepper. Very quickly the draw is picking up a dry cocoa note. About an inch in the profile has shifted towards an earthy draw with some dry cocoa and spice. The finish is like herbal tea. The retrohale is showing pepper and dried berries now. Coming to the end of the first third the profile has again shifted. Now I am getting a lot of nuttiness and a touch of dark fruit. The performance has been flawless. Crossing halfway the profile has maintained the nuts and fruit and with some cocoa that makes its presence known, but subtly. The retrohale still has some pepper, but now has taken on the earlier herbal tea notes from the draw. Coming to an end at about an hour and 25 minutes the final third has maintained the earthiness, with a bit of an increase in intensity, and added more spicy pepper. The strength has crept up to about medium-full. The performance was flawless throughout the experience.

Overall Experience

Overall this Lancero Oro De Nicaragua was a pleasure to smoke. I am not a big Lancero fan, but this one was done right! It was a perfect performer, for starters, that didn’t require any attention to keep it going at a comfortable pace and the profile was dynamic and interesting for the full duration. It kicked off with wood, earth, and spices undergoing transitions throughout that introduced nuttiness, various chocolatey notes, herbal tea, dark fruit, and pepper. It was robust and flavorful, yet nuanced and complex. I think this smoke is geared more towards the stronger smoker - though it never surpassed medium-full in strength - that is looking for complex flavor first. I also would grab one of these if you are looking for a transitional smoking experience.

Have you smoked this one? Let me know your thoughts!