#12 San Lotano Maduro

The further down the countdown of “30 Cigars in 31 Days”, the better the sticks.  We are now approaching the elite 12 of the Top 30 Cigars of 2010.

Slotting in at #12 is the San Lotano Maduro by A.J. Fernandez.   Fernandez has been garnering a reputation over the past few years of being one of the best young blenders in the business.  This year, Fernandez decided to bring back an old line introduced by his grandfather in Cuba and put it under his own line.  The result is the San Lotano line.

The San Lotano Maduro is the only box-press stick that was launched under his brand.   While I’ve said many times this has been an ultra-competitive year for cigars, this has been a weaker year for the classic box-press cigar.  For the wrapper, Fernandez selected a beautiful Mexican Maduro wrapper.  For the remainder of the construction, Fernandez opts for a Honduran binder and the “trifecta blend” for the filler (Honduran, Dominican, and Nicaraguan).  

The complexity of the stick is what one would expect.   I got flavor notes of molasses, espresso, raisin, pepper, and chocolate.  There were times the pepper would overshadow the sweetness and vice-versa.   As I’ve seen with all the San Lotano sticks, the draw and burn were excellent with this stick and I was able to get a very small nub.  Finally the strength is medium and body is medium to full.

I will post a more detailed review in the near future.

Recommended Vitola: Toro (6 x 52)