Before I start, Dave Blanco is a friend of mine and I really enjoy a number of his cigars. That being said, if he made a dog rocket I would not hesitate to tell him, and he knows it.

So lets get to it:

I am a fan of the Nine. I think they are a great full bodied stick. When Dave gave me this cigar I was excited. As soon as I smoked my first Nine, I told him I thought it would be even better in a lancero format, which he said was already in the works. Fast forward a few months and here it is.

Appearance:
This is a pretty nice looking stick. The wrapper is extremely toothy and has quite a bit of an oily sheen. The cigar feels uniform with no soft or hard spots. The cap is neatly adhered. The veins are mostly small, but near the head there are a few medium sized veins that are farily prominent.

Cold Taste:
Nothing really jumps out at you here. There is some slight resistance to the draw, and there are faint hints of pepper and raisin.

First Third:

The cigar hits the ground running in the first few puffs. It started out very smooth. The draw was perfect, and the burn razor straight. It showed a strong earthy component, with cocoa, coffee, and a very strong leather flavor. The smoke volume was nuts on this stick. Larger plumes than I have had on cigars with damn near twice the ring gauge, which made the extremely slow burn all the more impressive. The cigar progressed within this third, eventually showing a bit of licorice on the finish. As I got closer to the second third, the coffee flavor picked up, but the leather remained dominant. The only negative at this point is a fairly weak ash, though there is no flaking whatsoever.

Second Third:

The coffee and cocoa picked up in this third, and what little spice there was in the beginning faded out almost completely. It was still very smooth, and had a great burn. As the cigar progressed further, the anise on the finish turned to more of a raisin. So far it is very enjoyable. The draw and burn were still perfect, and the ash began to hold a bit longer, averaging around 1″ before falling off.

Final Third:

The cigar was still mostly earthy with a strong leather component and raisin on the finish. The main thing that differentiated this third from the rest was that the spice started to build. The body had crept from the medium-full range to full. Towards the tail end of this third, the cigar began to show its youth a bit, and got a little bit acrid, though this did little to effect the overall experience. I don’t really foresee this as being a problem when the cigar hits shelves.

Overall Impression:

I loved this smoke. It was rich, hearty, complex, and dynamic. It is an entirely different experience from the others in the Nine line. The flavors are much more concentrated, though the body is not there. I don’t know the price point on these guys yet, but I would imagine it falling into the $6-7 range like most of the other Los Blancos products. If the cigar is in the $5-6 range, I think it will really give the Serie V Lancero a run for its money as my favorite lancero in the price range. I highly recommend this cigar if you are a fan of Lanceros, or the regular Los Blancos Nine.

Like it: Definitely
Buy Again: Once they are available
Recommend it: Without hesitation.

Thanks for reading!