Pre-light Experience

It’s hard to nail down a color on the wrapper as it goes from a lighter brown to medium brown throughout the wrapper. The veins and edges of the leaf carry a very dark brown note to them and the end result is very cool looking. Veins and seams are easily visible as I mentioned they carry a distinctive color to them. The triple cap is well applied. There are two bands, the primary is the standard Epic design in black and gold while the secondary band is black, gold and red and designates it as the Habano offering. The aroma from the wrapper is a sweet and pungent barnyard while the foot gives a nice stone fruit sweetness. The pre-light draw brings an interesting mix of graham cracker and cedar. There is also a medium level spicy tingle on my lips.

Pre-light Experience

The Epic Habano Lancero has a rustic look with patches of dark brown and several minor protruding veins. The bunch and roll feels spot on as I feel no soft spots and a uniformed give is present throughout. The cap is finished off with a thick double cap. Nosing the wrapper tells sharp cedar and barnyard. Nosing the foot tells white pepper and fresh sharp raw cedar. Cold draw reveals nuts, sharp cedar and hay.

First Third

Initial draws bring an aged and spicy cedar. A quarter inch in, the spiciness increases while some cream joins in. The smoke is very chewy. At a half inch in, the spice calms down a bit and creates a really nice mix with the creamy cedar. The retrohale also carries this same combination but with the spice taking more of a backseat. At an inch in, the spice decreases a bit more moving the creamy cedar to the forefront. At an inch and three quarters, the cedar transitions to oak while the cream and slight spice remain. The retrohale is now a smooth creamy oak. As the third comes to a close, the spice has moved to the finish only while a slight nuttiness has joined the creamy oak. The strength in this third was slightly above medium.

First Third

First third starts with a mixture of sharp fresh cut cedar, bread and cardboard. The bread note dissipates inch and a half in, namely being cedar and cardboard dominant. Through retrohaling, flavors of sharp cedar, mixed nuts and bread. The finish is on the shorter side with namely cardboard and subtle black pepper. Strength and body is at the medium levels within the entire first third.

Second Third

As the third begins, the creamy oak continues. The nuttiness has been replaced by a slightly toasty note. The retrohale carries a toasted oak. At an inch in, the profile is a nice toasty and creamy oak. At an inch and a half, a slight bitterness joins with the toasty and creamy oak. As the third comes to a close, the cream fades away and leaves the toasty oak with a slight bitterness in the background. The strength in this third was right at medium.

Second Third

The second third’s main note I focus on is the wood delivery. The cedar is distinctively sharp and fresh. In a way, its raw and pungent. Pairing the cedar is a spiciness in the form of course black pepper. The cardboard note is still prevalent, but a note that I can do without. The retrohale loses out on the bread note, and is now just sharp cedar and mixed nuts. The finish is now medium in length with sharp cedar and deeper black pepper. Strength and body is still medium.

Final Third

As the final third begins, the bitterness increases slightly around the core flavor of toasty oak. At a half inch in, the cigar heats up a bit which enhances the toasty note while the oak and slight bitterness remain. At an inch in, a slight coffee note joins the profile which really enhances the bitterness. At an inch and a half, the bitterness and toast notes have gone away and left a mix of oak and coffee. The retrohale also carries the oak and coffee notes. This is the profile the cigar finishes with. The strength in this third was right at medium.

Final Third

Not much if anything has evolved since the last third. The profile is still focused on sharp and pungent cedar, course black pepper and cardboard. The retrohale is still fairly spicy with sharp cedar and mixed nuts. The finish is still filled with sharp cedar and deeper black pepper. Strength moves to slightly above medium, while body stays at a consistent medium.

Burn

The burn is where the cigar fell down. From about the half inch mark to an inch and a half left, the cigar had a hard time staying lit. It went out twice and during that time felt like it constantly wanted to go out. The ash held on in about three quarter inch increments.

Burn

Fantastic burn performance of a long and cool burning 2 hours. Ashes held on tight averaging 1 inch increments of solid, self tapped ashes.

Draw

During the time that the cigar had trouble staying lit, the draw was a bit loose, but outside of that it was right where I wanted it.

Overall

The cigar offered some nice flavors and transitions, the real drawback was around the burn and draw which I feel did have some impact on flavor with a couple of re-lights. I’m hoping that other samples would avoid this which would provide a bump in score. The flavors that I did get would bring me back to this cigar to give it another try. The strength level hovered right around medium, so most smokers would be able to handle it. For those that like lanceros, I would say this is a must try to see if it fits in your flavor profile. Another good offering from Epic which helps build up their portfolio.

Draw

The draw was great. Cutting the cigar towards the end of the cap yielded a slight snug draw, but that never bothered me.

Overall

Not many cigars make me think about wood so much (ha!). The transition of the cedar becoming sharper and spicier as the cigar progressed was both unique and tasty. This, surrounded by a cast of nuttiness and black pepper made for an overall good tasting cigar. Not necessarily “epic,” but well worth checking out especially for the few and loud lancero fans out there.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.87

Cost/Point

$1.53

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

7.13

Cost/Point

$1.26

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Epic Habano Lancero