El Centurion Lancero

The El Centurion Lancero was the last cigar of the Lancero50 project and was one of the entries most had no clue about. Overall, the El Centurion line is one of the least talked about Pepín creations, even as it came on the tail end of his plethora of releases in the early part of his time in the U.S.

I documented the history of the El Centurion and the Lancero in particular fairly extensively in the review itself. The short of it is, it was part of the Lanceros Collection by Don Pepín García, a ten-count sampler of five different blends in the Lancero format limited to 2,000 boxes.

Here’s what else I had to say in the original review:

Where do I start? While I have not have had every cigar Pepín has put his name on, I’ve had a lot. Of those, I contended this to be the singular greatest. It is unbelievable testament to all that the Garcías are capable of. A flavor that is challenging and rewarding and construction that is singular in the sense that it is only found on this cigar. Smoke leaves the channel of the El Centurion flawlessly. And when you exhale, the thickness means that for a split second, there is a literal cloud of smoke that blocks your visibility. The El Centurion Lancero is in every way a work of art, and that’s about it. Like the My Father No. 4, it is a classic and complete cigar, leaving nothing in doubt. And like every legendary cigar, the El Centurion Lancero has a story, and unfortunately that story includes never making these again.

• Cigar Reviewed: El Centurion Lancero
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Tabacalera Cubana S.A.
• Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
• Binder: Nicaraguan
• Filler: Nicaraguan Corojo 99 & Nicaraguan Criollo 98
• Size: 6 7/8 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 42
• Vitola: Lancero
• Est. Price: $11.00 (Samplers of 10, $110.00)
• Release Date: December 2007
• Number of Cigars to be Released: 2,000 Boxes of 2 Cigars (4,000 Total Cigars)*
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Redux: 2

*Indicates total size of sampler release. 20,000 total cigars were released as part of the sampler.

The wrapper smells a bit like AGANORSA, in fact the entire cigar just wreaks of AGANORSA tobacco. Up for debate is what exactly is in the cigar, but the cigar has the classic sweet cocoa and black pepper mixture that is so heavily present on AGANORSA-rich cigars. In addition, there’s tons of dry leather and cinnamon. The foot of the El Centurion Lancero is even sweeter with a brownie sweetness and nausea-inducing pepper, it smells like a Viaje. Cold draw reveals a woodsiness that is totally absent on the aroma, sweet brownie cocoa, a classic white pepper and a bit of citrus, which by all accounts is a new development.

Unfortunately, the flavor has lost some of its edge. I smoked two of these in the past month and they definitely aren’t what they were eighteen months ago. Oddities like cotton candy, citrus and dark tobacco are still present, but they aren’t as crisp. The core of the El Centurion Lancero is still cedar, earth, cocoa, tobacco (either dark or sweet) and an array of peppers, it’s still full, but it’s definitely not as exciting or detailed as it once was.

Construction is as good as I remember. Utterly incredible smoke production with a unique density that makes it enjoyable. Burn is relatively consistent, even in a bit of light rain, which always seems to happen when I smoke an El Centurion Lancero. Draw is superb and the cigar remains perfect temperature-wise. Ash continues the trend of inch-long chunks, not record-setting, but amazingly consistent. I will say, this is noticeably stronger in nearly ever category than it was a year ago.

Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.