Just like in Highlander, there can be only one. And that one could very well be the Por Larrañaga Magnifico.

It has been called the most beautiful cigar in the world and I certainly agree with that sentiment. Specially produced in 2007 for Hunters & Frankau, the United Kingdom’s agent for Cuban cigars, it is a replica of the famous Por Larrañaga Magnum, albeit 2mm shorter. The original Magnum is thought by those who know more then I do to be amongst the greatest cigars ever made, all the way until it ceased production in the 1970s.

Simon Chase, marketing director for Hunters & Frankau,  decided to bring the Por Larrañaga Magnum back to life in the form of a Edición Regional, which as you may or may not know, are all the rage in Cuban cigars at the moment.

There was just one tiny problem. Chase could not use the name Magnum because H. Upmann was already using it on its Magnum 48 and Magnum 50. So, he was forced to use the slightly less historic, but slightly more pretentious, Magnifico.

Only 1,400 numbered boxes were produced using a stunning gold leaf bands that are a replica of one used by Por Larrañaga almost 100 years ago.

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So, let’s get to it, shall we?

• Cigar Reviewed: Por Larrañaga Magnifico Edición Regional Reino Unido (2007)
• Country of Origin: Cuba
• Factory: Miguel Fernandez Roig
• Wrapper: Cuba
• Binder: Cuba
• Filler: Cuba
• Size: 6 3/4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Vitola: Double Robusto
• Est. Price: $35.00 (Boxes of 10, $350.00 & Boxes of 25, $875.00)
• Release Date: November 2007
• Number of Cigars to be Released: 1,020 Boxes of 10 Cigars & 408 Boxes of 25 Cigars (20,400 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 2

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After lighting the cigar, there’s an intense amount of pepper for about 20 puffs, but after that, it calms considerably. Then other flavors start coming through: oak, earth and that wonderful Cuban sweetness that is so hard to describe, but so easy to detect.

At the start of the second third, the pepper calms down even more and I start getting a great floral taste, which combined with the creamy oak to produce an absolutely heavenly taste. It lasts for almost the entire second third, but suddenly turns bitter for about 10 puffs and then went back to the aforementioned taste — very odd, but I am just happy to get the flavor back.

The final third was about the creamy finish of the great flavors of the Por Larrañaga. Oak, creamy sweetness and pepper continue until the very end. There’s no harshness at all, even at the nub, and the Magnifico has one of the better finishes I have tasted in a while. Interestingly, the floral taste disappears after about the end of the second third and never comes back.

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Final Notes:

• The Magnificos turns a bit bitter in the second third for about 10 puffs. I can only chalk that up to the youth of the cigar.
• The draw was wonderful all the way through, but the burn was just ok. I had to touch it up a few times during the smoke but nothing major.
• Although there are some rumblings that there may have been a second release of 100 more humidors of 50, I have not been able to confirm that has of yet.
• The wrapper was a bit odd in that it had small bumps running down the length of the cigar — it doesn’t hurt anything, but I did notice it.
• The final smoking time was one hour and 52 minutes.

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The Bottom Line: This is probably one of the best tasting young Cuban cigars I have had. The Magnifico definitely needs time to develop, but even now you can taste the quality and the potential for greatness. I predict in five years people will be naming this cigar as one of the best in the past half decade. So if you run across one in the future, do NOT hesitate to buy, almost to the point regardless of price, the Por Larrañaga Magnifico embodies everything great about cigars.

Final Score: 93