Valentia Lucido
What do Ferraris and Cigars have in common? Valentia that’s what! This past year Valentia Cigars became the sponsor of the Ferrari Motor Club and it is only right that a fine cigar brand should sponsor such a high performance vehicle. It has been some time since I wrote about a Valentia cigar, perhaps that is because they are also a sponsor of Stogie Press and I did not want to sound biased or anything; but this past weekend I was rotating my cigar collection and picked up the Valentia Lucido. I thought to myself, “you know Jimmie, you need to write a review on this” since they have been in the humidor since July 2015.
I had to go back to the Valentia Cigars website to get the background and to my delight the Valentia team has revamped the site and did a nice job on it. The opening page exudes everything the cigar lifestyle is about, veritable class and indubitable style. The Lucido from Valentia exudes those qualities, from the smooth and silky Ecuador Desflorado wrapper with its slight reddish-orange hue, to its deliciously spicy tobacco pre-light aroma.
The word Lucido has been used to describe the brightest star in a constellation and the Valentia Lucido may be just that – a cigar that stands out in the Valentia collection. Here’s the blend if you had any doubt:
- Wrapper: Ecuador Desflorado
- Binder: Indonesia Besuki, Nicaraguan
- Filler: Santo Domingo Seco, Ligero Habano
The 25 count box is gorgeous and keeps with the theme of style and class. And remember what I said in our article on box manufacturing, can a box get some respect?
Valentia Lucido
The band on the Lucido follows the standard theme for all Valentia cigars. This time with a dark grey background with a golden Valentia Cigars logo centered in it. The top and bottom are white with two scrolls on the top.
Lucido Band
OK, the box looks great, the cigar itself looks terrific, the band is classy, and they have a cool website, now it’s time to take it for a run around the track.
I took the Lucido out to the back deck of the Stogie Press Lounge to relax in the late morning sun. I examine the Lucido a little closer and can feel the above average weight to the cigar and the firm packing it has. The foot shows the well packed tobacco.
Valentia Lucido
Slicing the cap and taking a few cold draws, it revved up some earth and pepper notes to start. Looks like it will be a pleasurable morning after a long flight home from my trip overseas.
Leaning back on my patio rocker I toasted it up with a four flame torch lighter and puffed away enjoying the sounds of the morning blue jays and the rattling of palm leaves in the cool springtime breeze. A respectable dose of pepper works the nasals on the retrohale.
A touch of citrus tang enters after the first few puffs followed by cedar and woody notes. The draw is excellent but there is a slight wave to the burn. The ash is whitish grey and firm. The citrus is at the front of the profile with a long finish on the palate. The foot is exhausting sweet cedar and wood scents.
Touch of leather develops as the citrus begins to fade after the first third. The smoke volume is full and the strength is medium at this point. But it is just getting started keeping pace nicely.
A morning rain started and I had to shift inside to the lounge. Sadly the ash fell but it was respectable just the same, holding true to form for a good half of the cigar. I noticed the wrapper has oiled up nicely during the burn.
A spice component enters at this point and the burn has long corrected itself with no assistance from me. Interestingly, the fruit appears in the final third wrapped in a delicate spice note. Like a lead guitar with that sweet underlining bass riff. I had to use that metaphor as I was listing to some Stevie Ray Vaughan in the lounge and it was the perfect explanation. Just as Stevie’s guitar wails, the strength jumps a notch to a medium plus for the finish.
Overall the Valentia Lucido was a bright star and delivered some interesting flavor notes with a full body of smoke and fairly decent burn. The strength was not overpowering. This would be a great cigar to pair with a light hoppy beer in the mid afternoon or a highland malt scotch in the evening to further bring out the fruit and citrus notes.
I would like to thank the team from Valentia Cigars for the samples and for sponsoring Stogie Press. In no way has that influenced my notes on the Lucido as every cigar deserves an honest review.
Valentia Lucido