(Note: This review originally appeared on CigarJack.)
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Brand: Los Blancos Cigar Company
Line: Primos Maduro
Vitola: Torpedo 6.5 x 52
Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaraguan (Habana Criollo Maduro)
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan and Peruvian
Body: Full
Strength: Full
Box Price: $2.50 per individual cigar
I recently wrote an article for a local magazine about the Los Blancos Cigar Company, which has recently made some waves in the cigar community. Los Blancos, based in my hometown of Chicago, has received some critical acclaim for its lines, especially its Primos Maduro bundle line, which was recently reviewed in the March/April issue of Cigar Aficionado. (Fellow CigarJack-ite Jesse reviewed its brother, the Primos Criollo line, a couple of months ago.)
Now, I like supporting local businesses and all of that, but they have to have a good product. Los Blancos does, as the Blanco family are cousins with the famed Plasencia family, pretty much the biggest tobacco growers in Nicaragua. I was talking to David Blanco, one of the Los Blancos heads, and he told me they have a big release coming up this year. Anyway, I’ll probably have a Q&A with him sometime soon.
Back to the Primos Maduro. With a wrapper aged for three years, it has a complex prelight scent that’s spicy and woody. It has a beautiful band and a toothy, veiny, rustic-looking texture. But through this, you can see it’s well-made.
Once lit, it settles down to have a woody, very earthy taste. In the second half, it spices up a bit, but not too much. I was able to get a good draw out of these suckers, but there were definitely some burn issues here. Like my fellow reviewer St. Jimbob, I had to touch it up a couple of times.
Verdict: The Blancos Maduro tastes good, and I really love its earthiness, but I’m not sure I want to wrangle the uneven burn each time I light one up. Because it’s local, I think I’ll try one again in a few months to see if the it’s gotten any better, and at a price point of $2-$3, it’s definitely worth a shot.
Similar cigars: Towards the beginning, its earthiness reminded me of the Perdomo Reserve Maduro, except the Primos Maduro isn’t as sweet.