The LH Colorado Lancero is a new line extension introduced by LH (Lavida Habana) Premium Cigars in 2016 for its Colorado blend. This past year, LH Premium Cigars announced it was adding a lancero vitola to each of its three regular production blends. LH Premium Cigars is a company that was founded by tobacconists Nick Syris and Omar Nasr. The company started out offering cigars to Lavida Habana lounges in the Middle East and grew in popularity in that market. Over the past couple of years, LH Cigars turned its sights to the U.S. market where it has been steadily growing its market presence. With the launch of the lancero sizes, it marked the the first new vitolas to be added to the company’s portfolio since the U.S. launch. Today, we take a look at the lancero for the LH Colorado blend. Overall I’ve found the LH Colorado blend has been an excellent offering. With the new LH Colorado Lancero, I found this to be an excellent cigar and a wonderful representation of the blend.

LH Cigars are produced at Tabacos de Costa Rica 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). The lancero that has been added to each of the three lines is a  7 1/2 x 42 lancero vitola.

Without further ado, let’s break down the LH Colorado Lancero and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profile

The LH Colorado features an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. The specifics of the binder and filler have not been disclosed, but the blend is said to contain tobaccos from Brazil, Nicaragua, and Peru. As mentioned, the cigars are produced in Costa Rica.

Vitolas Available

The sizes across the three blends in the LH Cigars portfolio is consistent. The lancero becomes the fourth vitola in each of these lines.

Lancero: 7 1/2 x 42
Robusto: 5 x 52
Toro: 5 1/2 x 55
Gordo: 6 x 60

Appearance

The LH Colorado Robusto’s Ecuadorian Habano wrapper has a medium brown color to it with a slight cinnamon tint to it. The wrapper is one of the smoothest Ecuadorian Habano ones I have seen this year. It also is one of the smoothest wrappers I’ve seen on a 42 ring gauge cigar. The wrapper itself as a light sheen of oil to it. The veins and wrapper seams that are visible are quite thin. The cigar also features a covered footer.

The LH Colorado Lancero uses the new band design currently found across the LH Premium Cigars portfolio. This new band design features a black, red, and gold foil color scheme. The center of the band has the LH logo which consists of a black shield with the text “LH” in gold. Above the logo is the text “LAVIDA HABANA” in small white font on a red colored semi-oval shaped background. Below the logo is the text “PREMIUM CIGARS” – also in white font on a red colored semi-oval shaped background. The remainder of the band is adorned with red, gold, and black adornments.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

Prior to lighting the LH Colorado Lancero, I went with my usual selection of a straight cut. Once the cap was successfully removed, I moved on to the pre-light draw. The dry draw delivered what I considered to be the signature note of this blend – a licorice flavor. I also detected some notes of baker’s spice. Overall I considered this to be an excellent pre-light draw. At this point I was ready to light up the LH Colorado Lancero and see what this cigar would bring to the table.

Flavor Profile

The LH Colorado Lancero started out with notes of white pepper, wood, natural tobacco, and the signature licorice note. Early on, the licorice notes and wood notes became primary. The natural tobacco and white pepper notes moved into the background. On the after-draw, the pepper had a slight lingering effect. Meanwhile, I found the retro-hale produced a nice multi-layered effect of both white pepper and a slight fruit sweetness. This flavor pattern continued throughout the first third.

Later in the first third, a slight caramel note surfaced in the background with the pepper and natural tobacco. This note didn’t last long and on each of the samples was gone by the midway point. The licorice and wood notes remained primary, but as the LH Colorado Lancero moved through the second third, the licorice notes joined the natural tobacco in the background. Meanwhile, the wood notes remained the primary flavor.

As the LH Colorado Lancero moved into the last third, there was an increase in spices – which consisted of a mix of white pepper and bakers spice. By this point, the spices joined the wood notes in the forefront. The licorice and natural tobacco remained in the background and balanced out the spice with the right amount of sweetness. This is the way the LH Colorado Lancero came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

The LH Colorado Lancero is a well constructed cigar and this was reflected in the score of the burn and draw. This was not a total surprise as I have found LH Premium Cigars to excel when it comes to construction. The burn line and burn path of the Colorado Lancero remained relatively straight from start to finish – requiring very few touch-ups. There was a firm, salt and pepper colored ash produced from this cigar. Meanwhile the burn rate and burn temperature remained ideal throughout the smoking experience.

When I smoked the LH Colorado Robusto, I found it produced a nice amount of smoke. With the Lancero, I found this cigar to even produce more smoke than the Robusto – something that I consider a positive. Sometimes one can attribute large smoke production to a loose draw, but no such case with this cigar. I found the draw to be ideal – namely not too tight, nor too loose.

Strength and Body

In terms of strength and body, I found the LH Colorado Lancero to have a similar profile to the LH Colorado line as a whole. I found this cigar to be a solid medium strength cigar from start to finish. In terms of body, the Colorado Lancero also started out medium. The body increased along the way and by the second half, I found the flavors of this cigar progressed to medium to full.

Overall I found when it came to strength versus body for the LH Colorado Lancero, I found the body to have the edge.

Final Thoughts

There are some excellent cigars coming out of Costa Rica, and LH Premium Cigars is right up there among the best. I’ve found each of the cigars to deliver an excellent overall cigar experience. I’ve been impressed overall with the LH Colorado line – especially with the Robusto size. While I give a slight edge flavor-wise to the Robusto, I give the nod complexity-wise to the LH Colorado Lancero. If you are a fan of a nice, but not overpowering sweet habano in a thin ring gauge, this will be the cigar for you. It’s a cigar I’d recommend to a seasoned cigar enthusiast, but certainly would not discourage a novice from trying. As for myself, this is a cigar I’d smoke again – and it’s easily worthy of a box split.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: High
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full
Finish: Excellent
Assessment: 3.5-Box Split
Score: 91

References

News: LH Premium Cigars Adding Lancero to Portfolio
Price: $9.50
Source: Cigars Provided by Manufactuer
Stogie Geeks Podcast: Episode 174
Stogie Feed: n/a
Brand Reference: LH Cigars