 |
San Lotano Oval Habano Limited Edition Pigskin
Super Smoke Figurado XLVIII |
The San Lotano Oval Habano Limited Edition Pigskin Super Smoke Figurado XLVIII is a cigar that was quietly released by A.J. Fernandez Cigars. It was released to commemorate the Super Bowl XLVIII being held in the New York / New Jersey metropolitan area. As such it was a limited release and two retailers: Cigar Republic (Atlantic Cigars) in Elmsford, NY and Cigar Emporium in Lyndhurst, NJ each received an allocation. The cigar itself is a new blend in the San Lotano line and was made in a perfecto shaped like a football. The cigar itself also features the “oval press” design that has become a staple of the San Lotano Oval line. The San Lotano line is now about 3 1/2 years old and is no longer an unknown line. With the case of the San Lotano Pigskin, this proves to be another outstanding addition.
While it is listed as an off-shoot of the San Lotano Oval Habano, it is a different blend. According to Spence Drake, National Sales Manager for A.J. Fernandez Cigars, the blend that was used was one of the early candidates for the El Mayimbe.
Without further ado, let’s break down the San Lotano Oval Habano Limited Edition Pigskin Super Smoke Figurado XLVIII and see what this cigar brings to the table. As a disclaimer, this cigar assessment is based on a single smoking experience.
Blend Profile
The San Lotano Oval Habano Limited Edition Pigskin Super Smoke Figurado XLVIII is a multinational blend:
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano 2000
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Honduran and Nicaraguan
Vitolas Available
The San Lotano Oval Habano Limited Edition Pigskin Super Smoke Figurado XLVIII is available in one size – a 6 x 60 oval-pressed “football” shaped perfecto. The cigar is a limited production, small batch cigar sold in boxes of ten.
Appearance
The Habano 2000 wrapper of the Pigskin has a chocolate color to it. There is a light amount of oil on the surface of the wrapper. There ware some visible veins and some visible wrapper seams. The footer of the perfecto is open. The oval press is firm with no soft spots.
There are two bands on the Pigskin. The first band is the same as for the core line San Lotano Oval. It prominently features the text “San Lotano Oval” in gold font on a black background. Under the text “Oval” it says “by A.J. Fernandez” in black font on a yellow ribbon-shaped background. Under the yellow-ribbon shape, the color is burnt orange The rest of the band has gold trim around it. There is a small circular picture of tobacco leaves to the left of the band’s front. To the right of the band’s front is a small circular picture of some finished cigar product.
The secondary band sits below the primary band. It has the “AJF” logo in red outlined in gold on a white circular background. The remainder of the footer band is black.
Preparation for the Cigar Experience
Prior to lighting up the Pigskin, I went with a straight cut into the tip of the cigar. It was then on to the pre-light draw. The cold draw produced a mix of earth and floral notes along with a slight amount of cherry sweetness and a slight amount of pepper spice. Overall, I considered the pre-light draw of the Pigskin to be satisfactory. At this point I was ready to light up my Pigskin. I made sure to toast the footer completely to help get a good start on the burning process.
Flavor Profile
The start to the Pigskin yielded a mix of cherry sweetness and pepper. As the cigar moved through the very early stages, the pepper did increase in intensity. Once the burn completed past the narrower parts of the perfecto tip, a coffee/earth combination emerged. These notes along with the pepper and cherry were all even. The retro-hale produced a sweet spice and complemented things very nicely.
As the Pigskin moved through the first third, the coffee/earth combination became the primary notes. The pepper was a close secondary note. The cherry sweetness diminished into more of a tertiary note. The sweetness also diminished on the retro-hale and it became more of a classic pepper.
In the second third, the coffee and earth continued to be a primary flavor with the pepper a close second. The cherry had now become more of a citrus note. At times the citrus exhibited a sweetness and at other times it had a bit of sourness. These notes were still distant background notes, so this minimized the impact to the overall flavor profile.
By the midpoint, the pepper moved on par with the earth and coffee notes with the citrus now more of a secondary note. Toward the end of the second third, a woody note emerged with the earth and pepper flavors. These three notes became the driving force of the flavor profile. The coffee notes diminished into the background with the citrus. This is the way the cigar held until the end. I was surprised at the complexity even toward the end of the cigar as a lot of times, cigars get very one dimensional at the end. The resulting nub was excellent – cool in temperature and firm to the touch.
Burn and Draw
For a perfecto, the San Lotano Oval Habano Limited Edition Pigskin Super Smoke Figurado XLVIII scored very nicely – especially for an unorthodox vitola. I typically find artesian shaped vitolas do not perform well with burn and draw, but the Pigskin proved me wrong here. The burn line remained relatively straight from start to finish – requiring little in the way of touch-ups. The resulting ash was tight and firm with a salt and pepper color. The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.
 |
Burn of the San Lotano Oval Habano Limited Edition
Pigskin Super Smoke Figurado XLVIII |
The draw to the Pigskin was outstanding. It was not too tight and not too loose. The tip never got soft during the smoke. This made the Pigskin a low maintenance cigar to puff on.
Strength and Body
From a strength perspective, I found the Pigskin had some “kick”. I assessed the Pigskin as being a medium to full strength cigar from start to finish. As for the flavors, they had some depth – and weighted nicely on the pallet. I assessed the Pigskin as being a medium to full-bodied cigar for the first two thirds. In the last third, the cigar moved into full-bodied territory. Overall, the strength and body countered each other nicely. It was in the last third where I thought the body had a slight edge over the strength.
Final Thoughts
I was quite pleased with the overall smoking experience of the San Lotano Oval Habano Limited Edition Pigskin Super Smoke Figurado XLVIII. Being more of a fan of a traditional vitola format, I wasn’t sure if I would like the oval-pressed perfecto shape – however, I was quite pleased. This cigar also threw up a nice amount of complexity along the way. This is a cigar that I would probably gear more toward an experienced cigar enthusiast, but I wouldn’t discourage a novice from trying this. As for myself, this is definitely a cigar I would smoke again – and it’s one I’d recommend keeping five in my humidor.
Summary
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: High
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Medium to Full (1st 2/3), Full (Last third)
Finish: Good
Assessment: 3.0 – The Fiver
Score: 91
References
Price: $8.50
Source: Gifted
Stogie Geeks Podcast: n/a
Stogie Feed: n/a
