Bellatto Edition Brazil Lonsdale

The cigar world is littered with examples of brands that started out as either “personal blends” or as blends that were originally made to be smoked by friends and family of the people who made those cigars. Tatuaje’s Black Label line and the Eladio Diaz birthday cigars/Master Selection Series immediately come to mind, but there have been numerous examples of once-exclusive blends making the jump to limited—or even regular—production releases.

The Bellatto Edition cigars followed along a similar path: the line was actually created as a private blend for friends and family of William Ventura, who happens to be the man behind the Tabacalera William Ventura factory located in Tamboril, Dominican Republic. Tony Bellatto—who launched Bellatto Premium Cigars in 2022, but is perhaps best known for his La Barba line of cigars—says that after enough whisky and Sprite, he managed to convince Ventura to let him sell the blend.

According to the company, Tony Bellatto’s father Gene’s 50th anniversary of working in the cigar industry was the inspiration behind the brand’s name Bellatto Edition. Gene Bellatto is a partner in Bellatto Premium Cigars, the Bellattos also own a trio of cigar shops in Ohio named Havana House.

The Edition brand was launched with two versions: one is made with a Brazilian wrapper, while the other is covered with an Ecuadorian Connecticut shade wrapper. However, the filler blend has not been disclosed thus far, simply because William Ventura won’t tell Bellatto what tobaccos are being used.

So far, there are three different vitolas in the Edition Brazil line, all of which are packaged in boxes of 20:

• Bellatto Edition Brazil Lonsdale (6 x 46) — $12 (Box of 20, $240)
• Bellatto Edition Brazil Robusto (5 x 50) — $14 (Box of 20, $280)
• Bellatto Edition Brazil Toro Grande (6 x 54) — $15.50 (Box of 20, $310)

Interestingly, while the Bellatto Edition cigars were shown off during the 2022 PCA Convention & Trade Show, they did not actually begin shipping to retailers until September of this year.

That is because two months after last year’s PCA Convention, a fire broke out that destroyed the Tabacalera William Ventura factory, which is where these cigars were supposed to be made. As a result, the production of the Edition cigars was relocated to the Ventura family’s smaller factory named El Maestro, where production was already slowed because it is also tasked with making other cigars previously made at Tabacalera William Ventura.

• Cigar Reviewed: Bellatto Edition Brazil Lonsdale
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: El Maestro
• Wrapper: Brazil (Arapiraca Dark)
• Binder: Undisclosed
• Filler: Undisclosed
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 46
• Vitola: Lonsdale
• MSRP: $12 (Box of 20, $240)
• Release Date: September 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

From a visual perspective, the Bellatto Edition Brazil Lonsdale is covered in a rustic and mottled dark brown colored wrapper that features a bit of a reddish tint in certain light. Each of the three cigars is extremely smooth to the touch and features a noticeable amount of oil. In addition, there are numerous thin veins, and one of the cigars has a small soft spot about halfway between the main band and the foot. Aromas from the wrappers include sweet woodiness, black pepper, light nuttiness, barnyard and leather along with a touch of bitter espresso. Interestingly, a much stronger—albeit still generic—nuttiness leads the scents emanating from the feet, followed by dark fruity sweetness, toasted bread, creamy hay, oak and cocoa nibs. After a straight cut, the cold draws bring flavors of leather and powdery cocoa nibs followed by gritty earth, creamy oak, coffee beans and milk chocolate sweetness.

Starting out, the Bellatto Edition Brazil Lonsdale features distinct notes of pepper, anise and some light spice on my tongue. Within about 10 puffs, a combination of almonds and creamy oak takes over the top spot in the profile, easily outpacing secondary notes that include cinnamon, espresso beans, hay, sourdough bread, earth and leather. In addition, a combination of white pepper and raisin sweetness is present on the retrohale, along with a significant amount of mineral saltiness on my lips that seems to be strong enough to stick around for a while. The flavor ends the first third at medium-plus, while both the strength and body reach a solid medium. Construction-wise, there are no issues with any aspect of the construction, as the draw, smoke production and burn are working together.

The combination of almonds and creamy oak continues to top the profile of the Edition Brazil Lonsdale during the second third, followed by additional flavors of toasted bread, cinnamon, earth, leather and cocoa nibs that show up at various points. However, there is major change in the retrohale, where a floral sweetness has replaced the raisin note from the first third, though the amount of white pepper remains about the same. Flavor bumps up to medium-full, the body is at a solid medium and the strength hits medium-plus. In terms of construction, all three cigars run into minor burn issues that need correcting though there continue to be no issues with either the draws or smoke production.

Although the main flavors of creamy oak and almonds do not change during the final third of the cigar, the combination is so enjoyable that I am not complaining. Secondary flavors include toasted bread, earth, cinnamon, hay and leather along with slightly more of the mineral saltiness on my lips that does a good job of tying all of the flavors together. A new bready, graham cracker sweetness becomes evident on the retrohale, although the amount of white pepper remains constant compared to the second third. Flavor increases to pass into full territory, while the body remains at a solid medium and the strength ends the cigar at medium-plus. Finally, the burns of all three cigars feature no more issues, while the draws and smoke production continue on their excellent paths until I put the nubs down with less than an inch left.

Final Notes

• Tabacalera William Ventura is slated to reopen as early as next September.
• The classic Cuban size of a lonsdale vitola is called cervantes, 6 1/2 x 42, but non-Cuban cigars that are called lonsdales run the gamut from 6 3/4 x 42 to 6 1/4 x 46.
• I love the band on this release: thin and unassuming but with a great design that is instantly recognizable.
• Each of the cigars got a bit hot at the very end, but to be fair, I only had about 3/4 of an inch left before I put the nubs down.
• The last cigar I smoked for this review took a noticeably shorter time to finish than the other two, but the average smoking time for all three cigars came in at one hour and 19 minutes.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.