Larceny by Ortega and El Primer Mundo Cigars

Eddie Ortega and Sean Williams teamed up recently and produced Larceny in two blends, with each blending the cigar to what they considered the other’s taste.  The cigars were made at Eric Espinoza’s La Zona factory in Esteli, a factory that has been cranking out some consistently great cigars in my opinion. These are really limited, they only made three hundred boxes, with each box containing ten of each blend.  The Ortega Larceny by Sean Williams has a beautiful San Andrés maduro wrapper with filler and binder from Nicaragua, and the EPM Larceny by Eddie Ortega has an Ecuador Oscuro wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler. Both cigars are 6½ x 52, a bit of a toro extra, and a very nice size for warm summer (almost) evenings. Will Cooper was kind enough to send me a pair of these, I haven’t seen them in my neck of the woods.

By the “oscuro” in the EPM Larceny by Eddie Ortega wrapper name you’d think it was darker than the maduro, but it is actually a milk chocolate brown.  I thought it looked reminiscent of Ortega’s Cubao line in appearance, maybe that’s just the power of suggestion and if I didn’t know who was behind this I probably would make that association.  I really enjoyed the cigar, it was well made and gave me no trouble while smoking it even though I managed to get caught in a brief rain shower while walking with this cigar.  The flavors were what I consider earthy, and to my palate that generally includes leather and wood, with a bit of sweetness. It started out medium, but ended up pretty darned strong.  I like Eddie’s work, so I figured I’d like this.  I don’t have enough experience with the El Primer Mundo line to be able to draw a comparison, but I’ve liked what I’ve smoked of Sean’s lines, especially his La Hermandad.

The Ortega Larceny by Sean Williams had a dark, San Andrés wrapper not unlike the Murcialago from years ago.  While I was continually confused about who blended which for who, I totally get where Sean was going with this, having enjoyed Ortega’s cigars for many years.  This cigar is a powerhouse, loaded with the bitter coffee and chocolate flavors that I like a lot.  Once again, great construction which I’ve found to be very consistent with the output of La Zona.  I see where Smoke Lounge in Manyunk, PA was on the list of shops to have these, I’ve been meaning to check that place out anyway, I’ll have to see if they have any of these and get some more.  While this cigar  was more in my personal wheel house, I really enjoyed both blends on their own. Unfortunately the packaging and marketing of these almost forces comparison and competition, and I’m not sure that’s fair as they are both quite excellent cigars on their own.  Thanks again to Coop for hooking me up with these!

It’s a short one today.  It’s Father’s Day, and I have planned my traditional Father’s Day cigar at some point, one I’ve smoked every Father’s Day for the last 16 years, a vintage Esperanza para los Niños torpedo, made by Christian Eiroa in the late 90’s to benefit the children orphaned by Hurricane Mitch in Honduras. I was almost out of these until my good friend Mike Perry sent me a handful so I can continue the tradition for a few more years! It’s always interesting to see how another year has treated this blend, which was pretty heavy to begin with and had mellowed over the years. Other than that, I have no plans as of yet beyond celebrating the first day of summer and longest day of the year.

That’s all I have for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig