Cigar Review: Rock A Feller Cigars Vintage Nicaragua Maduro Lancero – Rated 97

I was up visiting family in NY last month and was lucky enough to be able to spend some time with Kevin Schweitzer, owner of  Rock-A-Feller Cigars, while I was there. Those that follow me on Facebook know last month was hard on me and Kevin was kind enough to turn me onto his Maduro Lancero which I am told has been an incredible seller in every shop he goes into.

In fact Mr. Schweitzer noted:

“Demand has been so great that they are currently back-ordered!”

Kevin asked if I would give my take on it and I politely accepted the invite. I took that cigar home to Florida with the intention of sampling and reviewing it and all I can say is, I wish I had more – I just want to sit back and enjoy it and not think about it. Let me walk you through this outstanding variety of the Rock-A-Fella Nicaragua Maduro and you will understand.

I don’t always review other vitolas from a single line, but this particular cigar caught my attention with its dark gritty wrapper that had lots of tooth, minimal veins, and an oily sheen. The presentation is completed with a small pigtail cap. Pressing my fingers along the barrel there are no soft spots whatsoever indicative of the solid packing in this beauty.

The Rock A Feller Cigars Vintage Nicaragua Maduro Lancero is a 7 x 38 vitola and has an MSRP of $11.95. It comes packaged in 30-count boxes.

The full blend of the Rock A Feller Cigars Vintage Nicaragua Maduro Lancero is the same as the other vitolas in the line and is described as:

• Wrapper: San Andreas
• Binder: Ecuadorian
• Filler : Nicaraguan

You can tell the leaf in this cigar has been properly aged as it exuded sweet fermented leaf aromas along the barrel and a deep earthy aroma off the foot.

I went old school on this and bit off the pigtail to give it some cold draw puffs and was intrigued by the perfect restriction  and delectable earth, vanilla, pepper notes.

I am thinking to myself;

“If this is as good as the toro vitola I am in for a terrific journey!”

I could wait no longer as I rolled it around one more time, savoring the pre-light and then hit with the soft flame of a long wooden match.

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Cigar Review Notes

• First light graces the palate with pepper and vanilla bean
• The smoke is instantly full and creamy
• A solid white ash evolves with a crisp and even burn line
• Aroma is enticingly sweet 
• Terrific volume of smoke
• Pepper tones down after an inch
• Cocoa and espresso enters end of first quarter 
• Light cinnamon spice and nut joins the profile
• Dry fruit mixes in the second quarter 
• Ash fell after a long burn with a perfectly flat and centered burn cone
• Wrapper is oozing oils as it burns
• Strength is solid medium and growing 
• Aroma moves to a roasted acorn
• Shift in profile at the midway with notes of heavy spice and citrus 
• Profile pretty much maintains into final with 
• There was a spike of licorice near the nub – don’t ask me, it just did.
• Medium to full in strength
• Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 30 minutes

Overall, the Rock A Feller Cigars Vintage Nicaragua Maduro Lancero was better than I expected with an outstanding burn and flavors that would please the most discerning palate. The ash held longer than most lanceros I have smoked. I even let it rest for a few minutes and it was still lit when i picked it up, which is uncharacteristic of a lancero. Kevin Schweitzer informed me that these are currently available in New York, Delaware, and Texas with more accounts picking it up in the coming months including Maryland, and Pennsylvania.

Even if you are not a fan of lanceros I highly recommend picking one of these up, as I know you will not be disappointed. If you enjoy lanceros you may want to pick up a box once you try it. Excellent job on this Kevin, your team at American Caribbean Tobacco S.A. in Estelí, Nicaragua should be proud, as we all know a lancero is the hardest to roll and they did it perfectly!

With total transparency, Rock-A-Feller cigars is a proud sponsor of Stogie Press but in no way did that have an impact on this review.

Having smoked two more since this review, and each one performed identically. I decided to run this through the new Stogie Press rating formula and it scored a 97. Yes, it is that good. The only point I detracted was for the flat burn cone (it is a parameter so I have to be honest), but it got two bonus points, one for the razor sharp burn under the microscope and one because I would buy a box of these.

If you are a shop owner you should seriously consider bring this in for your patron, they will thank you for it. If you are a consumer, ask your shop to bring it in.