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Por Larranaga Encantos 2010 RE Asia Pacific
Size: 170 x 43 ? Dalias
Smoke time: 1hour 25mins
Box date: 2010 Source: sengjc
I received this cigar as a gift all the way from Australia courtesy of my long lost ?nephew? Mr. Seng. Not released untill 2011 and limited to 4000 boxes only, boxes can still be found, but in common with other smaller guage Habanos REs, might I think become harder to acquire over the next year or two. Thanks Seng!
Appearance: Gnarled and functional. The wrapper shade was a very dark brown tinged with green, oily and carrying a fair number of raised veins. The bands were PL Standard ?B? with the Exclusivo Asia Pacifico band beneath. Perhaps it?s the colours or size, or perhaps it?s just me, but in this instance didn?t think the branding bands worked particularly well together.
Construction: A very nicely balanced stick, well packed and without any soft spots and just the right amount of give along the length and finished with a well applied and almost invisible triple cap. The cold draw was good. The smoking draw was a little tight initially but opened up about halfway in to the first third. The burn was slightly ragged, but not to the point of needing any attention and the dark ash was not as compact as I would have liked ? to which my Levi?s will testify. No relights required. The smoke time surprised me, the cigar was a quick burner, which wasn?t a problem and possibly due to the manner in which the Encantos are constructed.
Flavour: The pre-draw aroma was excellent, musky barnyard and light tobacco. The initial taste was brilliant, like lemon tea lightly sweetened with honey. As the third progressed the flavour was supplemented by the lightest hint of wood. The lemon/citrus taste had a very unusual quality it was neither sweet, nor sharp, nor sour but deliciously clean and very refreshing. Towards the end of the third I picked up a momentary hint of saltiness and something vaguely like apple cider. To describe the overall flavour at this stage as ?light? would be an overstatement, the word I?m choosing is ?delicate?, but in the best sense, the tastes were nicely balanced and the smoke was coating my mouth with a delightful lemon sweetness. The second began with an inrush of more wood and a slight souring of the sweeter tastes. The woodiness was sufficient to bring the flavours strength up to Light/Medium, and just occasionally I could detect something like soft toffee or vanilla fudge. Moving towards the half point and the flavours grouped into a prolonged lemon hinted wood mode which was mellow and nice but for me not very ?gripping?. In the initial stages of the final third the flavour became caramalised and for a while a little more interesting before finally taking on a dry toasted tobacco edge which was OK but a bit ?so what?. The cigar was I thought very easy to smoke with only a little nicotine coming into play in the final third.
Overall: A good cigar. Very mellow and pleasant, great on a Sunday afternoon before dinner, but no Partagas 898 or Bolivar Inmensas. To be honest, if the middle third was removed you might be forgiven for not noticeing a join in putting the other two thirds together. In it?s defence, this is a young cigar barely off the plant, and a few more years may see it evolve into something more flavoursome with a little more muscle. But not yet.
Marks. The RG Lonsdales was the review benchmark with a nominal 7. This cigar I thought got away to a great start but then faded. On today?s smoking I?m giving it a 6.8. The Partagas 898 is still the one to beat.
Next Lonsdales in the lists. Diplomaticos No 1.
Size: 170 x 43 ? Dalias
Smoke time: 1hour 25mins
Box date: 2010 Source: sengjc
I received this cigar as a gift all the way from Australia courtesy of my long lost ?nephew? Mr. Seng. Not released untill 2011 and limited to 4000 boxes only, boxes can still be found, but in common with other smaller guage Habanos REs, might I think become harder to acquire over the next year or two. Thanks Seng!
Appearance: Gnarled and functional. The wrapper shade was a very dark brown tinged with green, oily and carrying a fair number of raised veins. The bands were PL Standard ?B? with the Exclusivo Asia Pacifico band beneath. Perhaps it?s the colours or size, or perhaps it?s just me, but in this instance didn?t think the branding bands worked particularly well together.
Construction: A very nicely balanced stick, well packed and without any soft spots and just the right amount of give along the length and finished with a well applied and almost invisible triple cap. The cold draw was good. The smoking draw was a little tight initially but opened up about halfway in to the first third. The burn was slightly ragged, but not to the point of needing any attention and the dark ash was not as compact as I would have liked ? to which my Levi?s will testify. No relights required. The smoke time surprised me, the cigar was a quick burner, which wasn?t a problem and possibly due to the manner in which the Encantos are constructed.
Flavour: The pre-draw aroma was excellent, musky barnyard and light tobacco. The initial taste was brilliant, like lemon tea lightly sweetened with honey. As the third progressed the flavour was supplemented by the lightest hint of wood. The lemon/citrus taste had a very unusual quality it was neither sweet, nor sharp, nor sour but deliciously clean and very refreshing. Towards the end of the third I picked up a momentary hint of saltiness and something vaguely like apple cider. To describe the overall flavour at this stage as ?light? would be an overstatement, the word I?m choosing is ?delicate?, but in the best sense, the tastes were nicely balanced and the smoke was coating my mouth with a delightful lemon sweetness. The second began with an inrush of more wood and a slight souring of the sweeter tastes. The woodiness was sufficient to bring the flavours strength up to Light/Medium, and just occasionally I could detect something like soft toffee or vanilla fudge. Moving towards the half point and the flavours grouped into a prolonged lemon hinted wood mode which was mellow and nice but for me not very ?gripping?. In the initial stages of the final third the flavour became caramalised and for a while a little more interesting before finally taking on a dry toasted tobacco edge which was OK but a bit ?so what?. The cigar was I thought very easy to smoke with only a little nicotine coming into play in the final third.
Overall: A good cigar. Very mellow and pleasant, great on a Sunday afternoon before dinner, but no Partagas 898 or Bolivar Inmensas. To be honest, if the middle third was removed you might be forgiven for not noticeing a join in putting the other two thirds together. In it?s defence, this is a young cigar barely off the plant, and a few more years may see it evolve into something more flavoursome with a little more muscle. But not yet.
Marks. The RG Lonsdales was the review benchmark with a nominal 7. This cigar I thought got away to a great start but then faded. On today?s smoking I?m giving it a 6.8. The Partagas 898 is still the one to beat.
Next Lonsdales in the lists. Diplomaticos No 1.
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