Review: La Caridad Del Cobre Javelin (Prerelease)

Never heard of La Caridad Del Cobre Cigars? You are probably not alone. This small boutique brand is owned by Frank Herrera a Miami based Intellectual Property attorney. A few years ago he started LCDC Cigars as a side project. He quickly realized that if he was going to be successful in the cigar industry he would need to stop treating it like a hobby and invest the time that a small business requires. The result of this change in attitude was the successful launch at IPCPR 2010 of his La Charada line.

La Charada literally means “The Charade.” However in Cuba, La Charada refers to the lottery system. In this system all of the numbers correspond with a particular object, for instance the number 48 corresponds to “cucaracha” or “cockroach.” The idea in Cuba is that you are supposed to objects that you see in your dreams to their corresponding numbers when you pick your lottery numbers. LCDC’s La Charada vitolas are based around this corresponding number and object system. La Charada features seven different vitolas, three natural and four Maduro.

After that quick look at LCDC’s past lets look ahead to LCDC’s future, the Javelin. The  Javelin, a perfecto Lancero, is LCDC’s latest creation and is set to debut at IPCPR 2011 and will be a B&M exclusive cigar. The Javelin is not part of the La Charada line, rather it is a side project. The name is a tribute to Frank’s father who threw the javelin in Cuba. The cigar is free rolled, which means that they don’t use any molds in production. As a result it is a rather time intensive cigar to roll. My samples came with the regular LCDC band, but the Javelin will ship with a different label, which will look like this (below):

_______________________________________________________________________

 

Now that you know a little but about the LCDC and the Javelin let’s see how it smokes.

• Cigar Reviewed:La Caridad Del Cobre Javelin
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: La Tradicion Cubana
• Wrapper: Pennsylvania Broadleaf
• Binder: Criollo ’98
• Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
• Size: 7 1/4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 38
• Vitola: Lancero Perfecto
• Est. Price: $7 (Boxes of 10, $70.00)
• Release Date: July-August 2011
• Number of Cigars Smoke for Review: 2

The Javelin has a great appearance. The Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper has plenty of the color variation you would expect with broadleaf, moderate veining, and shows a slight amount of oil.The wrapper smells heavily of leather with a slight woody scent also present. As a result the of the free roll the cigar is a little spongy but not overly so.

 

_______________________________________________________________________

 

The cigar is closed at both ends and I thought briefly about clipping both. However, I left the foot closed and just lit it that way. The draw at the beginning was tight, as any closed foot cigar would be, but opens up soon enough and is neither too tight nor too loose.Initial flavors are of black pepper, salt and a charred wood that wavers between oak and pine. The spice is very sharp and up front, but surprisingly mellow through the nose.

Moving into the Second Third a bready note enters on the finish and the black pepper is transitioning to more of a cinnamon spice. There is also an underlying meaty flavor that is present. The smoke is medium in body and the Javelin produces plenty of it. The burn wavers but doesn’t require any touching up.

In the Final Third the spice comes back and slight bitterness emerges that reminds me a little of raw green pepper. The cocoa and charred pine have remained constant throughout the smoke. Finishing up the bitterness increases slightly, this is probably a sign of a young cigar and will likely not be present by the time the cigar is released.

_______________________________________________________________________

 

Final Notes:

• Overall this was a fantastic cigar. The flavors were interesting and meandered throughout. No doubt this is LCDC’s best cigar to date.
• I believe that the free roll results in a Lancero with a draw that is looser than many others and I believe that this cigar really benefited from this.
• At the end both samples I smoked showed their youth with some bitterness creeping in. I don’t think this will be a permanent trait of the cigar and I will be interested to see how these are smoking in 3-6 months.
• While the smoke is medium in body, the cigar overall is probably a full minus in strength.

 

_______________________________________________________________________

 

The Bottom Line: I loved this cigar. I am generally not a big fan of Lanceros, preferring to smoke either a corona or robusto. However, when this cigar is released I will definitely be picking up a box. The cigar will be sold in boxes of 10 and with an estimated MSRP of $70ish per box, this cigar is definitely worth it. If this is a sign of things to come from Frank Herrera and La Caridad Del Cobre, the future looks bright.

 

 

Final Score: 91