Lamborghini and Horacio Cigars

I’ve smoked Bugatti cigars in the past, and I’ve been using the great Xikar Xidris lighter, which has super car inspired styling, so I figured I’d have to try the Lamborghini cigar line, which has recently been introduced in the US. I got a couple from www.cigarluxury.com   and they come cellophane wrapped in nice looking cardboard tubes. Circling back to the Xikar Xidris lighter, I’ve been using it exclusively for the past couple months and it works great. It has a large tank, lights every time, and while it’s pretty heavy, is comfortable in the pocket. I’ve discovered that while it’s symmetry leads me to often pick it up with the business end pointing down, it’s impossible to light the lighter if it’s tilted past 90 degrees. A wondrous design, it’s my favorite lighter now, and I have a drawer full of great lighters. Back to the cigars at hand. There are two varieties of Lamborghini cigars, both in a substantial 7″x 54 torpedo format. The black tube has the Lamborghini MCMXVIV Habano and the white tube contains the 1963 Lamborghini 350 GTV Maduro.

I started with the Lamborghini MCMXVIV Habano, I suppose the black tube reminded me of maduros and I grabbed that one first. MCMXVIV is 1994 in Roman numerals, and is significant because it’s the year that Lamborghini LatinoAmerica was formed. It has a dark Ecuador Habano wrapper that is beautiful and delicious. The fillers are from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. These are made at a factory in Esteli, which remains a mystery. I was quite impressed with this cigar, it burned perfectly, had great, rich flavors. It was medium bodied, had a nice spice and a savory flavor.  I was quite enamored with this large cigar and enjoyed it town to a finger-burning nub.

I moved on to the 1963 Lamborghini 350 GTV Maduro in the white tube. While the 1963 part appeals to me because it’s the year I was born, but it relates to the Lamborghini 350 GTV, which debuted at the 1963 Turin Auto Show. I missed the show that year, as I was only two months old.  Anyway, this maduro has a San Andrés wrapper from Mexico with over five years of age, and filers from the DR and Nicaragua. This cigar started out with a big spice and strength, which I love. It mellowed out a little after a while, but continued to be right up my alley. I’m not sure I could chose a favorite between the two varieties, the Habano was rich and sophisticated, and the maduro was bold and exciting.  Both are excellent cigars, and while they carry a reasonably hefty price tag ($15), given the generous size and excellent performance and flavor, these are winners.

Along with the two Lamorghini cigars, I also got a Horacio Colossos Reserva Especial, a 5½” x 60 cigar with a closed foot.  This brand is apparently available in Europe and does very well there, but it’s relatively new to the US market.  The only information I could find was that it was made in Nicaragua, and was formerly made in Costa Rica. According to Yunior Lopez, the CEO of Lord of the Cigars Corporation, who has the distribution for the Horacio line in the US, this is a very rare cigar to find in the US. This cigar started out with the blast of flavor from the closed foot. I never toast cigars with a closed foot because it would be a waste of the blast of flavor, just torch these badboys up. The cigar was on the mild side, with a decent flavor, and a great burn. While I wasn’t as blown away with this cigar as I was with the Lambos, it was a good smoke with a lot going for it. It was smooth until the end, when I put it down with about ¾” left.  I can see haw this would appeal to the European palate, and that’s not a dig at all.

I have a list of Secret Santa participants, I’ll match them up and e-mail people their recipient this week. I’m trying to think up an assumed name so I can join in too. That’s all for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig