Introduced in June of 2022, the Rock-A-Feller Habano Londsdale is the sixth vitola in the popular Rock-A-Feller Habano blend which has been a successful core line for the company since its introduction years ago.
Owner Kevin Gold stated:
“The NICARAGUA HABANO LONSDALE is bringing a tantalizing elevated example to the Habano core line. I really love how the flavor profile comes alive.”
The new Londsdale is expressed in a 6.5 x 44 vitola and like the others in the line it has a blend described as:
- Wrapper – Ecuadorian habano
- Binder – Ecuadorian
- Filler – Nicaraguan (Estelí, Jalapa and Ometepe)
They come packaged in 20-count boxes and bundles with an MSRP of $9.00/cigar and are hand crafted at American Caribbean Cigars in Nicaragua.
Pre-Light Examination
The Rock-A-Feller Habano Londsdale sports an oily, dark brown wrapper that has some deep marbling throughout. It is smooth to the touch and has just a few noticeable veins. It has a decent bunch and packing from looking at the foot and it feels solid to the touch. A simple cap finishes the presentation.
A single band adorns the cigar, keeping with the branding of the line. It uses a white, black, and gold motif and boldly displays the company’s logo in the center along with the name “HABANO” on the bottom. The band pops nicely on the dark background of the wrapper.
Running the barrel along the nose, I did not detect much, if any pre-light aromas, but the foot exuded pepper and nut aromas that I found to be quite enticing.
I used my double blade cutter to slice the cap straight across the shoulder of the cigar and proceeded to give it some cold draw puffs. The draw was pleasantly restricted and offered notes of nut, black pepper, and earth.
Using my single flame torch lighter, I warmed the foot gently to an even orange glow and drew in the first black pepper blast of smoke. Follow along as I burn this one to ash.
For this review, I sampled 3 of these which I received from the company for the purpose of reviewing on Stogie Press.
Cigar Review Notes
- Black Pepper burst off the first puffs
- Floral notes build on top of the pepper
- Medium grey ash forms on top of a medium thick char line
- The smoke is full, thick, and chewy
- Cocoa and citrus notes develop to round out the early profile
- Ash fell quickly revealing a flat but centered burn cone
- Espresso notes join the cocoa
- Burn line forms a slight jaggedness
- Sweet syrupy aroma wafts off the foot
- Touch of cream balances out the profile moving through the 2nd quarter
- Ash falls often
- Caramel sweetness enters midway with a hint of spice
- Strength ha been moving up and has now ratcheted up to medium-full
- Earthiness joins the mix in the 3rd quarter with a continued syrupy aroma
- Spice grows deep in third quarter
- Bittersweet dark chocolate and spice takes it down to end
- Medium-Full in Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 2 hours and 10 minutes
Final Analysis
As much as I enjoyed the original Rock-A-Feller Habano when I reviewed in back in 2017, I found the Lonsdale expression of the blend to be even more complex and pleasing. The deep array of flavors and sweet aromas had me sitting back for 2 hours of pleasurable solitude each time I smoked one. The evolution of the pepper to spice, and sweet syrup aroma to rich caramel sweetness all underlaid with nuances espresso, dark chocolate, cream, and earth made this a most satisfying experience. It did have a mild jag in the burn and the ash fell more often than I would prefer. This is one that is worth a box buy and I think they will age well. I rate this a 94.
Point Deductions: (-1) Flat but Centered Burn Cone; (-1) Ash Fell Often; (-1) Mild Jag in the Burn
Bonus Points: (+1) Complex and Balanced; (+1) Buy a Box; (+1) Pleasurable and Consistent across Multiple Samples
