As part of my mission to help “Keep The Lights On“, I recently placed an order with one of my favorite cigar lounges in Troy, MI – Ambassador Cigars & Spirits. As part of the order, I purchased the CLE Eiroa Lancero.
Now I know many of you fans of CLE and Christian Eiroa, have tried one of the other vitolas in this line, but the lancero, well it’s a bit of a unicorn, so I learned. In fact, if you search for the line your will see only the 4 main vitolas; Corona Extra, Gordo, Robusto, and Toro.
I reached out to Christian and he informed me the lancero is in production, but in limited quantities and only to those lounges that have a demand for lanceros. It was originally created for a single shop, Spring Street Cigars in Tupelo, MS but the company still has inventory and will sell it to those that want it, such as Ambassador Cigars & Spirits.
The Eiroa is named after Christian himself and has been on the market since around 2014. Christian told me, the (7 x 38) lancero, like others in the line, is a Honduran puro. The Eiroa line itself includes a Jamastran, Dark Natural, CBT Maduro, and the one I am reviewing the Natural.
The CLE Eiroa Natural Lancero comes packaged in 20-count boxes with an MSRP of $12.92. Weird price, but it factors in the the FDA user fees and other excise taxes.
Pre-Light Examination
The CLE Eiroa Natural Lancero is a beautifully constructed tan colored lancero that is smooth to the touch and essentially no veins. It is a solidly packed lancero and is expertly finished with a swirled pig tail cap.
The cigar has two adornments on it. A band, that declares it as the Eiroa along with the words “SALUD AMOR PESETAS” which translates into “Health, Love, Money”, which is Christians motto for a successful life. There is also a white tissue paper sleeve that covers the cigar up to the band and has the same gold printing as the band numerous times on the paper.
Running the barrel along the nose I picked up an enticing, sweet curing barn aroma and as I moved the foot the aromas got even better with exuded notes of mild spice and sweet hay.
I sliced the cap straight, juts below the pigtail and proceeded to take some cold draw puffs that I would describe as Cubanesque floral. If you have had some Cuban cigars, you know the note I am talking about.
I opted to use a lit cedar spill to warm the foot and get the journey started. The initial puffs offered a medium pepper burn especially on the retro-hale. Follow along as I burn this one to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- Medium pepper burn to start, especially on the retro-hale
- Full volume of smoke
- White ash evolves on a slightly wavy char line
- Floral notes fill the palate as the pepper recedes
- Ash fell in a nice chunk revealing a decent burn cone
- Coffee notes joins the mix
- Delectable syrupy aroma wafts off the foot
- So far this is an elegant smoke
- Sweetness and pear notes intrigue the senses
- Aroma shifts to more of a rich maple syrup note moving into second third
- Mild spice has form the core of this blend
- Coffee re-enters deep in the second third
- Aroma morphs into a mild nut
- Spice increases moving into final third
- Medium in Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 45 minutes
The CLE Eiroa Natural Lancero was a terrific blend and especially in the lancero format. It was is an elegant smoke with a rich core of spice and shifting and evolving notes and aromas. I especially enjoyed the sweetness and pear notes that appeared deep in the first third. From a construction viewpoint, there was a mild wave and slight off burn but neither required a touch-up. With minor point deductions and well balanced and transitioning notes, I would say pick up a fiver of these if you can find them. I rate this a 92.
Point Deductions: (-1) Mild Wave; (-1) Slight Off Burn
