Today we take a look at another LH Premium Cigars blend – the Colorado. This is one of the three primary blends in the company’s portfolio that have been making their way across the US market since 2014.
If you have been following this growing brand here, you may have been to the company’s website where they describe their journey:
“Building a name synonymous with quality, crafting a flavor to rise up over the borders of Central and South America, developing a lifestyle to cross the oceans one cigar box at a time – the world of LH Premium Cigars provides far more than just a solid smoke. Carefully crafted as the international answer to the illustrious Cuban, each stick carries a strong legacy of tobacco from Nicaragua, Brasil, and Peru, all wrapped within the finest Ecuadorian leaf.
Born from the fly-by-night travels and increasingly distinguished palate of one man, hand delivered to far-flung lands for the most private clientele, and quickly assuming their place as the top shelf selection in the world’s most exclusive lounges, LH Premium Cigars are a departure from the ordinary, an exploration in flavor and prestige – a selection of unprecedented cigars hand crafted by the world, now brought to you.“
The blend is described as:
- Wrapper – Ecuadorian Habano
- Binder – Undisclosed
- Filler – Nicaraguan & Peruvian
The blend is expressed in 7 different vitolas so you can probably find one that fits your preference. I found some of them for sale on the Privada Cigar Club website and noted the prices:
- Robusto (5 x 52) – MSRP $8.50
- Toro (6 x 55) – MSRP $8.75
- Gordo (6 x 60)
- Lancero (7.5 x 42) – MSRP $9.00
- Petit Gordo (4 x 62) – MSRP $8.50
- Corona (5.6 x 44)
- Churchill (7 x 48)
My good friend and Brother of the Leaf, Lou Piscitelli, introduced me to this brand and gifted me some of the blends including the subject of today’s review – the Colorado Toro.
Pre-Light Examination
The LH Premium Cigars Colorado Toro is a reddish brown cigar that is silky smooth to the touch and firmly packed with just the right give when pressed between the fingers. The wrapper has a terrific oily sheen and is is pretty much devoid of veins. A simple cap and closed foot finishes the construction.
The cigar is adorned with a single band that uses a red, gold, black and white motif. The Company’s logo is boldly presented in the center along with the name “LAVIDA HABANA” on top and “PREMIUM CIGARS” on the bottom. One extra note on this blend is the reddish brown color on the bottom of the band that blends beautifully with the color of the cigar wrapper. Nice job guys on that.
Running the cigar across the nose, I strangely did not pick up any definite aromas along the barrel or the foot.
Using my CigarMedics Baller cutter, I opened the cap perfectly and moved on to some cold draw puffs that offered notes of cream and mild spice notes. A few more cold puffs and an added raisin note joined the mix.
I warmed the foot to even orange glow with my single flame torch and drew in the first puffs of spice, leather, and dry fruit notes to start the journey. Follow along as I burn this one to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- Initial notes of spice, leather and dry fruit
- Aroma is immediately enticing off the foot, though I could not quite place the note yet
- Delightful natural sweetness and vanilla cream joins the profile early in the burn
- A solid white ash evolves on top of a thick char line
- The cream notes maintain through the first third
- The aroma begins to evolve into a sweet nut
- There is lots of oiling above the burn line creating a beautiful blue smoke
- A mild jag develops on the burn line
- The ash keeps growing and holding tight into the second third
- Nut aroma intensifies and reveals itself as a sweet cashew
- Increased dry fruit notes please the palate
- The ash fell in a big chunk revealing a decent burn cone
- Cocoa notes appear midway through the burn
- Slight off burn but did not need a touch up
- A delicious array of almond, cinnamon, and citrus enter in the final
- Medium in Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 40 minutes
Final Analysis
The more I smoke the products from LH Premium Cigars the more I understand why these are some of the hidden gems on the market. This Colorado blend may well be the best I smoked so far. The profile was chocked full of balanced and enticing flavors and aromas from foot to nub. I especially enjoyed the moderately complex introduction off the first light and the evolution of flavor just got better as it burned. The late cocoa midway along with the almond and cinnamon late in the burn kept this interesting down to the nub. The ash held strong and long and there was just a mild jag in the thick burn line and a minor off burn but never needed a touch up or relight through the journey. This is most certainly a cigar any enthusiast would enjoy and I would say but bundle of these and add them to you daily rotation. I rate this a 94.
Point Deductions: (-1) No Discernable Aroma on the pre-light; (-1) Mild Jag in the burn; (-1) Slight off burn but did not require a touch up
Bonus Points: (+1) Long Solid Ash; (+1) Buy A Bundle; (+1) Excellent Oiling Above the Burn Line; (+1) Complex and Balanced
