I had been thinking about this Lampert Cigars Family Reserve 2021 for most of the day and figured I ought to review it while I did some things around the house and garage. This cigar is a very limited release of only 600 boxes and is Lampert’s first release from the Kelner Boutique Factory. I was very intrigued by this release upon its debut as I love all things Lampert, and have been pleased by the cigars I have had that come out of KBF. Also worth noting for this cigar is that the boxes are crafted from sustainably sourced Okoume wood, and I can always get behind sustainability.
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Kelner Boutique Factory
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Vitola: 5 x 52 Robusto
Price: $16.00 MSRP
Release Date: July 2022
Link to Purchase: Guitars & Cigars Farm (Use code “Review” to save 10%)
Company Website: www.lampertcigars.com
This Lampert Family Reserve has a light tan, nearly yellow, seamless wrapper. It’s quite smooth and clean. I love the band design and color choice. It looks very elegant, yet simple. The cigar is pretty dense and firm. It smells of cane sugar and cedar. The cold draw has little to offer - maybe a little vanilla and oatmeal, which is interesting. First light brings a lot of grains, kind of like a multigrain cracker, along with some wood, hay, and a slightly sweet pepper and earth. It’s medium in body and medium-full in flavor. About an inch in the body is up to medium full and the flavor is a solid medium. The draw has some vanilla, cream, hay, a bit of leather, and some wood. The retrohale has a ton of flavor and brings out some fruit, cane sugar, and more cream. These flavors remain pretty consistent throughout the first third and into the second third. The performance has been flawless so far. Approaching halfway there’s a bit of dark roasted coffee coming in on the draw. As imagined, it goes nicely with the cream and vanilla that are still present. There is just enough of the hay and earth to add some balance and dimension to the profile. Passing halfway the coffee has taken on a more acidic quality. There’s more wood and a bit of pepper, as opposed to the cream and vanilla. The retrohale is savory with some earth and wood, followed by a touch of sweetness. The perfect performance continues as I enter the final third. Hitting the band point pepper is becoming more prominent. Into the band there is some cane sugar now, along with vanilla, earth, and hay. The pepper has backed off a bit, but is still present. Ending at an hour and 45 minutes the profile remained practically unchanged and the performance remained stellar.
Overall Experience
Overall I think this was a well done cigar. The flavor profile has the typical Connecitcut cigar backbone, but there is more oomph and plenty of interesting flavors. This cigar did have a few transitions, which were nice, but maintained some cream, vanilla, and hay throughout. There were more nuanced flavors of coffee, earth, pepper, and sugar that added depth. I definitely think this is worth picking up if you do like Connecticut cigars. If you do not typically like Connecticut Shade cigars I would proceed with some caution. However, I think there is plenty to offer here outside of the profile you would expect from a shade cigar.
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