Falto La Pureza Lancero

Earlier this year, Falto announced that it would be releasing two new cigars to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Luis Falto’s company.

Unlike just about every other company that has created anniversary cigars, you’d never know that these two cigars are being produced to celebrate the 25th anniversary. They don’t say 25th anniversary, they don’t even say XXV or Aniversario. Additionally, the two cigars are two different blends with very different names.

One is the Falto Edición ELH Hato Viejo 2018, a 5 1/2 x 52 robusto extra that uses an Ecuadorian corojo wrapper over a Dominican binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic.

 

The other—the cigar being reviewed today—is called the Falto La Pureza Lancero. It’s a 6 7/8 x 40 version of the lancero vitola with an Ecuadorian HVA wrapper over a Dominican criollo 98 binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic.

This is the first Falto cigar to use the La Pureza name, which translates to purity. One of the unique things about Falto as a brand is that it only releases one vitola per line, meaning that this cigar was specifically blended for this size.

Like many other Faltos, it’s being made at the La Aurora Cigar Factory in the Dominican Republic. It’s also amongst the least expensive lancero-type cigars ever sold, priced at just $7.50 per cigar.

• Cigar Reviewed: Falto La Pureza Lancero
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: La Aurora Cigar Factory
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Corojo)
• Binder: Dominican Republic
• Filler: Dominican Republic
• Length: 6 7/8 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 40
• Vitola: Lancero
• MSRP: $7.50 (Box of 20, $150)
• Release Date: June 2020
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

Two of the cigars appear to be very well-rolled in La Aurora’s typical lancero size, a bit shorter and thicker than the classic Cuban size. One sample has a very visible waterspot, slightly smaller than a dime, and a physically rougher wrapper. Aroma from the wrapper is medium-plus with chocolate, coffee and some peppermint. The foot is medium-full with milk chocolate, sweet woods and some sawdust. The cold draw is good on two cigars with milk chocolate, a bit of woods, light amounts of salt and a touch of acidity. Unfortunately, the sample with the waterspout seems to have an open draw, far more open than what a lancero should be.

The La Pureza Lancero begins with a lot of smoke production and a heavy dose of saltiness. The latter is joined by earthiness, orange peel and some creaminess. My first and third samples are rather similar, while the second sample is notably different. Not surprisingly, it’s the one with the open draw. On the two that draw properly, there’s sweet woods, some raspberry and earthiness. The other cigar is drier with rice, earthiness and black pepper. Retrohales on the good cigars are a mixture of raspberry, leather and earthiness. Those finish with damp earth, some bread, a touch of citrus and some black pepper. The other cigar is also drier in the finish with rice, nuttiness, some earthiness and a mild spice mixture. All three samples have a fair amount of black pepper that leads to an extended harshness on the back of my throat. Flavor is full, body is medium-full and strength is medium plus. Outside of the open draw, the construction is good across the board.

I’m not sure how useful it is to keep documenting the second sample, so instead, I’ll mostly focus on the flavor of the other two. There’s nuttiness, popcorn, some toastiness and a bit of orange peel. Retrohales produce popcorn, sourdough bread and a bit of creaminess. The finish has a lot of creaminess along with a sourness and some kiwi flavors. While the harshness is notably weakened from the first third, the intensity of the rest of the flavors has also decreased so it seems the harshness is actually stronger than before. Flavor and body are now medium-full while strength has medium-plus. The open draw sample needs multiple touch-ups, one cigar avoids lighter assistance and the final sample needs a single touch-up.

All three cigars get substantially drier in the final third. For the two good cigars, I don’t really mind it, but the open draw sample has been dry for much of the second half of the cigar and it’s a bit much. The main flavor of the Falto La Pureza is now a mixture of dry pasta and nuttiness. Retrohales have creaminess, raspberry, sourdough and some more of that dry pasta flavor. The finish is earthy with pasta and leather behind it. The black pepper and its harshness are completely gone, a welcome sign for my palate. Flavor finishes closer to medium-plus than medium-full, while body remains medium-full and strength is medium-plus.

Final Notes

• I really want to spell the name of this cigar La Puerza instead of La Pureza.
• The one vitola per line approach is incredibly unique and certainly adds some costs when it comes to things like packaging. Another unique aspect of Falto is that it’s based in Puerto Rico.
• The box is interesting because the hinges are alongside the longer side of the box, not the shorter side where the top of the cigar is. That means that if a retailer wanted to place these on the shelf they would need to do it sideways, taking up a lot more space. While that may not be the best use of space, it probably looks better than a retailer ripping the lid off.
• There is a lot going on with this band including at least three different shades of yellow or gold on its front face. One small note is there are images of four small screws, one on each side of the Falto logo, that remind me of Cartier’s popular Tank design.
• Here’s your seemingly weekly reminder from me that poor construction will almost always affect flavor.
• There was a 10-point difference in scores between the two good samples and the one with a bad draw.
• Cigars for this review were sent to halfwheel by Falto.
• Final smoking time was two hours and 25 minutes on average.