This is a 10 year old lonsdale that I have been anticipating after hearing about them from a friend. He gave me this one to try tonight. The cigar presents with a ruddy appearance and prominent veining in the wrapper. The feel of the cigar is firm and well rolled, exactly as I would expect from this vitola. The pre light aroma is floral with some leathery notes touching the nose. The pre light draw also has floral notes and I can feel the tingle synonomous with high nicotine content, but is not tight as I have experienced with other cuban cigars of this size.
Upon lighting I am immediately intrigued by a unique floral essence that continues for the first two inches. Then a feeling starts to coat my palate, the tingling almost minty feeling that comes along with blasts of nicotine. The floral notes and the nicotine continue to almost the half way point of the smoke.
At the half way point a profile change emerges and I begin to pick up a strong leathery core with undertones of pleasing medium tobacco flavors. The burn stays strong and the burn stays razor sharp. The ash is a dark gray and the shoulder on the cigar is prominent.
The last half of the cigar is sneaky strong and catches me offguard. The leathery core intermingles with a re-emerging floral note and finishes with a flourish of leather, floral notes and tobacco flavors.
I was impressed with this cigar as I am aware of the difficulty in maintaining quality in smokes of this size. The construction and burn were superior.
Appearance- 84 the ruddy, veiny looks hurt the appearance
Taste- 92 the complexity of this cigar was above average and the profile changes were satisfying
Construction- 95 one of the finest examples of a lonsdale that I have smoked
Strength- 91 surprising nicotine notes made this stronger than expected
Overall- 90.5
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