Maria Lucia Cañonazo

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf

Binder: Ecuadorian Sumatra

Filler: Ecuadorian Habano

Vitola: Toro (5 7/8 x 52)

Review

Initially, when the cigar was taken out of the cellophane, the first thing I noticed was the aroma. It carried a lot of earthiness, a slight barnyard smell, and a hint of chocolate.

On the first light I was hit with a blast of leather. Once that faded, I began getting into the notes that defined the first third of the cigar. There was a note of toasted wood similar to what you might get from a nice bourbon, along with a touch of leather. There were also some subtle notes of black pepper that were present but not prominent throughout this section. Toward the end of this first third there were notes of dark chocolate that became the dominant aroma. This dark chocolate was creamy and had a slight sweetness that started to develop.

The second third opened up and immediately became more dessert-like, with a noticeable creaminess in both the texture and taste of the smoke. The chocolate, which had resembled dark chocolate in the first third, evolved into more of a milk-chocolate note, which was pleasant, and all of the leather notes had disappeared by this point. The toasted wood remained in this third and complemented the chocolate and creaminess in the blend. However, on the retrohale you could still pick up a small amount of black pepper, which helped round out the profile.

Approaching the last third, the creaminess started to level off, and the blend moved into its most intense section as the chocolate and creaminess tapered while the earthiness and woodiness picked up. This cigar showed a full evolution—wood and leather in the first third, creamy chocolate in the second third, and in the final third a heavy earthiness and woodiness with a slight return of leather. The retrohale shifted from the black pepper of the earlier sections to a red pepper spice, which combined with the wood and leather to create an intense and pleasing finish. Near the end of this final third, the chocolate note returned and helped balance the blend.

This cigar, from beginning to end, delivered constant enjoyment and will absolutely stay in my rotation. It has become one of my favorite blends from the Luciano factory. If I were to recommend any cigar from that factory, this would be a top contender and an overall fantastic experience.