Lavida Habana (LH) Maduro LH52

Back in October, we reported on a company that would be entering the United States market called Lavida Habana (LH) Premium Cigars.  The company was founded by tobacconists Nick Syris and Omar Nasr.  The line of cigars started out as an offering for private clientele, but soon started making their way into the Middle East Cigar market.  Now after some time, the company has set sights on the U.S. market.  Today, we take a look at one of the company’s offerings – the Lavida Habano Maduro in the LH52 (Robusto) format.  Overall, I found this to be an excellent maduro offering and one to keep an eye out for as it starts to make its way to tobacconists in the U.S.

LH Cigars are produced out of the company’s factory in Costa Rica.  They offer three blends: Claro (featuring an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper), Colorado (featuring an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper), and a Maduro (featuring an Ecuadorian Criollo wrapper).  Syris and Nasr are said to have palates seasoned to traditional Cuban cigars – and this is the profile they sought to achieve with their cigars.

Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the Lavida Habana (LH) Maduro in the LH52 format and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profile

The Lavida Habana Maduro features an Ecuadorian Criollo maduro wrapper over a blend of tobaccos from Nicaragua, Peru, and Brazil.

Vitolas Available

The Lavida Habana Maduro is currently available in three sizes:

LH52: 5 x 52
LH55: 5 1/2 x 55
LH60: 6 x 60

Appearance

The LH52 Maduro has a cocoa colored wrapper.  There is some oil on the surface of the wrapper.  There are a few visible veins and most of the wrapper seams are well-hidden.  These factors all contributed to the smooth surface of the wrapper. The footer of the cigar is covered.

The band on the Lavida Habana Maduro is black in color with gold font.  On the center of the band are the letters “LH”. Surrounding the text are some shield like adornments.  There are two leaves on both the left and right side.  The top and bottom of the band have a gold-colored trim.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

As I usually do I went with a straight cut to remove the cap of the LH52.  After clipping the cap, I moved on to the pre-light draw.  Even though the footer was covered, I was able to get quite a bit of flavor from the cold draw.  The pre-light draw delivered notes of chocolate, earth, and floral spice.  Overall I was quite pleased with the pre-light draw experience.  At this point I was ready to light up the LH52 and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Flavor Profile

The start to the LH52 began with notes of chocolate, earth, and black pepper.  As the cigar moved through the early stages, I found the chocolate and earth moved into the forefront.  The pepper moved to a background note on the tongue, but I found it to be quite prominent and sharp on the retro-hale.

As the LH52 moved through the first half the chocolate and earth notes remained primary.  Joining the pepper in the background was a subtle cherry sweetness.  There also was a cream note present.  Meanwhile the pepper remained quite prominent on the retro-hale.

At the midpoint, I found the earth to be the primary flavor.  The cherry sweetness and pepper were secondary notes while the chocolate was a little more distant.  In the second half I found the cherry sweetness and chocolate had now diminished (but not totally dissipated).  The later stages had an earthy profile with pepper being secondary.  This is the way the LH52 cigar experience came to a close.  The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

Overall I found the burn of the Lavida Habana LH52 to perform quite well.  The burn remained on a slight path.  There was a slight amount of jaggedness on the burn line itself, but this did not prove to be a major problem.  The resulting ash had a salt and pepper color.  The ash was firm and came off the cigar in nice clean chunks.  The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.

Burn of the Lavida Habana (LH) Maduro

As for the draw, I found it excellent on the LH52.  There was a slight amount of resistance to the draw – which is something I like. This may the LH52 an enjoyable smoke from start to finish.

Strength and Body

Overall I found the Lavida Habana Maduro LH52 to be a cigar with some firepower.  From a strength perspective, I found this cigar to be on the upper end of medium to full – falling just short of full strength.  As for the body,  I found when factoring the retro-hale into the equation, the LH52 was very much a full-bodied smoke.  In terms of strength versus body, I gave a slight edge to the body throughout the smoking experience.

Final Thoughts

Overall I found the Lavida Habana Maduro to be a very impressive cigar.  This isn’t going to redefine what a maduro cigar is, but it is going to deliver a lot of classic maduro flavors – and very good ones at that. I also found the LH Maduro to deliver a nice amount of strength and body without overwhelming you with nicotine or very heavy flavors on the palate. Finally this is a cigar that proved to be a high quality product.  The factories in Costa Rica are producing some very good cigars, and the LH is another example of them.  This is certainly a company and a cigar worth checking out.  This is probably a cigar I’d steer more toward an experienced cigar enthusiast, but as for myself, this is a cigar I’d split a box of.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Full
Finish: Excellent
Assessment: 3.5 – Box Split
Score: 90

References

News: Lavida Habana (LH) Premium Cigars Arrive in U.S.
Price: n/a
Source: Cigars Provided by Manufacturer
Stogie Geeks Podcast: n/a
Stogie Feed: n/a