For those of you that don’t know…

As you may or may not know, I am a sucker for a good background story on a cigar, and the Cain Daytona Lancero is one of the best I have heard in a while.

While at the IPCPR show in Vegas last month, I got a Tweet from Ian Hummel, Regional Sales Manager for Oliva (and Studio Tobac) that he had something for me that I might like. After I met him (for the first time, despite all the Tweets we have traded back and forth), he pulled a few cigars out of his pocket. Among them was the elusive (and by now somewhat infamous) Cain Daytona Lancero.

According to various people, these Lanceros were made on a lark (as many cigars are, just to test a blend in a specific size) and people inside the company liked them so much, they decided to produce a few bundles in order to hand out to specific people at the 2011 IPCPR Show.

However, while everyone was at the show, the word spread that this prototype Lancero had somehow won Cigar Journal’s “Nicaraguan Cigar of the Year”, nobody knew what happened for a short time (it was controlled chaos in the booth), until the details were finally figured out…

Says Ian Hummel (Regional Sales Manager for Oliva Cigars):

Apparently, European Cigar Journal was in Nicaragua and they wanted to try something new. Carlos Oliva handed them a few cigars that we were working on. Those cigars happened to be the Daytona Lancero. He had no idea that they were going to go back and review them, much less put them in the running for any awards.

Here is a photo of a what a bundle of the Cain Daytona Lanceros looks like:

(photo by Dave Wagner)

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But enough of that, let’s get down to business, shall we?

• Cigar Reviewed: Cain Daytona Lancero
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Tabacalera Oliva de Nicaragua S.A.
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Jalapa Valley Ligero
• Size: 7 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 38
• Vitola: Lancero
• MSRP: n/a
• Release Date: n/a
• Number of Cigars Released: 15-20 Bundles of 25 Cigars (375-500 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 2

This is a wonderful looking cigar, with a cinnamon brown wrapper that smells very strongly of manure, leather and sweet hay. It is a just a bit spongy when squeezed, but that is not unusual for a Lancero vitola. There is a bit of oil on the wrapper, but just enough to notice. Predraw notes include the same sweet hay, cedar and leather.

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The First Third starts with strong flavors of leather, hay, cinnamon and a hit of black pepper. There is a bit of spice on the retrohale, but it is far from strong. I can feel the strength building, and by the end of the first third, it is already firmly in the “medium +” category.

The Second Third shifts profiles almost totally, with a great maple sweetness that combined great with the hay and leather notes from the first third. Also an interesting nutmeg note that comes and goes, but never all that strong.

The Final Third combines many of the afore mentioned flavors. Leather, nutmeg (stronger than in the second third), hay, sweet almost creamy cedar and just a touch of manure. The strength is still “medium +” as well, and the finish is quite dry on the palette.

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Final Thoughts:

• Much like the Cain F Lancero, there is quite a bit more complexity in this vitola than in the other sizes in the line, most likely due to the change in blend for the size and the ratio of wrapper to filler.
• Having said that, the strength of the Lancero (while definitely present) is not as strong as the other vitolas in the line.
• The ash was well formed, but did not stay on the cigar for longer than about half inch.
• The burn and draw were perfect as a dream, just a joy to smoke.
• Much like the Cain F Lancero, this cigar produces a copious amount of smoke. Really great to see.
• The strength of the cigar is easily “medium+” for the entire cigar, and was pretty consistent for the entire cigar. Not as strong as a Cain F by any means, but it has an added sweetness (and thus complexity) that was really wonderful.
• The Final Smoking Time for both samples was 1 Hour and 28 Minutes and 1 Hour and 35 Minutes.

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The Bottom Line: I was quite impressed with this cigar, to say the least. Just like the Cain F Lancero, while it is obviously shares quite a few of same profile characteristics, the Lancero vitola in this line changes the profile TOTALLY from the other vitolas in the line. While I like most of the sizes in the Daytona line, this is easily the best out of all of them. How does it compare to one of our Top 10 Cigars of last year, the Cain F Lancero? Honestly, I liked the Cain F Lancero more (I think I just like the blend a bit better overall), but it is pretty close, and I would be perfectly happy to smoke either one of them at any point.

Final Score: 91