La Flor Dominicana Cameroon Cabinet Lancero
Every once in a while, a cigar is produced in such limited quantities that word of its existence never even gets out. Maybe a select few retailers will receive a box or two in one of their shipments, but many times they are just handed out as gifts. They might be made with leftover leaf, off-size leaf, or simply created in a drunken stupor that turned out to be the greatest late-night decision ever made. Whatever the case, Ben and I recently smoked the best cigars that never existed: La Flor Dominicana Cameroon Cabinet Lanceros. Oh, you’re intrigued? Well here’s the deal. Empire Cigars contacted Litto Gomez, head of La Flor Dominicana, to produce a 15-box run of the Double Ligero Cameroon Lanceros (an exact reproduction of the 100-box run back in 2007). At the factory, something got mixed up and La Flor ended up producing 15 boxes of the Cameroon Cabinets in a lancero size. They shipped them out early this year with the Cameroon Cabinet bands, but in a Double Ligero box. After smoking one, Hal & Pals over at Empire (who have exquisite palates, by the way) immediately noticed that these were the Cameroon Cabinet blend and shipped them back to La Flor. La Flor sent the majority of the returned cigars out to Jack Schwartz. Jack Schwartz sold them as Double Ligero Cameroon Lanceros and quickly ran out of stock. Another retailer got two boxes and fortunately noticed that they were indeed the Cameroon Cabinet blend. So basically these are the cigar industry’s version of a Golden Ticket — randomly produced and randomly distributed. And the shop that provided us with these gems? Good Karma Cigar out of Amarillo, Texas. Todd Dailey has been running Good Karma like an exclusive cigar society – and so far, it seems to be working. You can go to their website, but it won’t do you much good. Instead, shoot him an e-mail and get on his mailing list. Then check your e-mail constantly. And when (not if, but when) once-in-a-lifetime deals pop up, call him right away to get your order in. Todd’s shop is perhaps the best-kept secret out there, and Todd himself is a class act. He’s got premier accounts with all your favorite boutique cigar manufacturers – Tatuaje, Illusione, La Flor, Viaje, and many more. The bottom line is that if you’re not hooked up with Good Karma, you’re missing out on the rarest cigars at the best prices. Shipping is hella quick (yeah, I said ‘hella’
, and the sticks arrive smelling like they just came out of the humidor. I feel as though this is getting pretty long for me basically telling you that these cigars don’t exist, so without further ado I present you with our review:
Pre-Light: Not too much in this pre-light. What we can pull out of this cigar, though, is a sweet, musty clover. It’s a very refreshing scent, and without wasting any time we lit these beauties right up.
First Third: The Lanceros start out very peppery and spicy, with cedar notes backing them up. A gooey caramel comes around, too, which is the perfect companion to the black pepper. I got some very muted floral notes for a few puffs, which disappeared almost as quickly as they showed up. The pepper is now turning sweeter, and this cigar is a solid medium-bodied flavor bomb. Floral notes dominate the last part of this third – forcing the sweet peppers to the background.
Second Third: A macadamia nut soon pops up and shares the stage with the spectacular floral tastes. The peppery spices are gently pushing their way to the front of the line, and the combination of them and the floral notes is truly harmonious. Answering our question as to whether or not this cigar could get any more complex, a sweet molasses emerges into the background. As the pepper backs down, the macadamia nut flavors ramp up and join with the floral notes again.
Final Third: Macadamia nuts are not something we often taste in a cigar, and definitely not something we often taste in a fresh cigar. This, along with the floral aromas, makes for a near-perfect combination. I have been enjoying this Lancero so much that I have slacked somewhat on my note-taking. A mild, white pepper finishes this stick off, and we both agree it tastes like an aged Cuban Partagas. Final smoking time was 2 hours and 45 minutes.
I’m not sure what else to say about this cigar. The regular Cameroon Cabinets are phenomenal, but there was something different about the Lancero. It tasted like a finely-aged cigar, not one that had just come off the truck. The complexity amazed us, and we are pretty sure they are one of the best (if not the best) fresh cigars out there. Once again, thanks to Todd from Good Karma Cigar for these! Without him we never would have known about them (and neither would anyone else except a select few over at Empire). I also need to thank Hal at Empire Cigars for being so helpful to us and explaining the background of the Lanceros. Ben and I both are hoping these will become regular-production at some point, as they were absolutely spectacular. We agreed that $23 would be a very fair price for the Lanceros, which is just about double their going rate of $12. By far the best value we have ever found in a cigar!
where to find: Good Karma Cigar is your best bet. Shoot Todd an e-mail (todd@goodkarmacigar.com) or call him (806-373-8116) to see if there are any more coming in(by our count, there are still two boxes floating around in an alternate dimension somewhere). Todd has a Litto account, which is La Flor’s version of a premier account. Call other Litto account holders too, as there may be some other boxes out there.
expect to pay: $12 or more.
Every once in a while, a cigar is produced in such limited quantities that word of its existence never even gets out. Maybe a select few retailers will receive a box or two in one of their shipments, but many times they are just handed out as gifts. They might be made with leftover leaf, off-size leaf, or simply created in a drunken stupor that turned out to be the greatest late-night decision ever made. Whatever the case, Ben and I recently smoked the best cigars that never existed: La Flor Dominicana Cameroon Cabinet Lanceros. Oh, you’re intrigued? Well here’s the deal. Empire Cigars contacted Litto Gomez, head of La Flor Dominicana, to produce a 15-box run of the Double Ligero Cameroon Lanceros (an exact reproduction of the 100-box run back in 2007). At the factory, something got mixed up and La Flor ended up producing 15 boxes of the Cameroon Cabinets in a lancero size. They shipped them out early this year with the Cameroon Cabinet bands, but in a Double Ligero box. After smoking one, Hal & Pals over at Empire (who have exquisite palates, by the way) immediately noticed that these were the Cameroon Cabinet blend and shipped them back to La Flor. La Flor sent the majority of the returned cigars out to Jack Schwartz. Jack Schwartz sold them as Double Ligero Cameroon Lanceros and quickly ran out of stock. Another retailer got two boxes and fortunately noticed that they were indeed the Cameroon Cabinet blend. So basically these are the cigar industry’s version of a Golden Ticket — randomly produced and randomly distributed. And the shop that provided us with these gems? Good Karma Cigar out of Amarillo, Texas. Todd Dailey has been running Good Karma like an exclusive cigar society – and so far, it seems to be working. You can go to their website, but it won’t do you much good. Instead, shoot him an e-mail and get on his mailing list. Then check your e-mail constantly. And when (not if, but when) once-in-a-lifetime deals pop up, call him right away to get your order in. Todd’s shop is perhaps the best-kept secret out there, and Todd himself is a class act. He’s got premier accounts with all your favorite boutique cigar manufacturers – Tatuaje, Illusione, La Flor, Viaje, and many more. The bottom line is that if you’re not hooked up with Good Karma, you’re missing out on the rarest cigars at the best prices. Shipping is hella quick (yeah, I said ‘hella’
, and the sticks arrive smelling like they just came out of the humidor. I feel as though this is getting pretty long for me basically telling you that these cigars don’t exist, so without further ado I present you with our review:
Pre-Light: Not too much in this pre-light. What we can pull out of this cigar, though, is a sweet, musty clover. It’s a very refreshing scent, and without wasting any time we lit these beauties right up.
First Third: The Lanceros start out very peppery and spicy, with cedar notes backing them up. A gooey caramel comes around, too, which is the perfect companion to the black pepper. I got some very muted floral notes for a few puffs, which disappeared almost as quickly as they showed up. The pepper is now turning sweeter, and this cigar is a solid medium-bodied flavor bomb. Floral notes dominate the last part of this third – forcing the sweet peppers to the background.
Second Third: A macadamia nut soon pops up and shares the stage with the spectacular floral tastes. The peppery spices are gently pushing their way to the front of the line, and the combination of them and the floral notes is truly harmonious. Answering our question as to whether or not this cigar could get any more complex, a sweet molasses emerges into the background. As the pepper backs down, the macadamia nut flavors ramp up and join with the floral notes again.
Final Third: Macadamia nuts are not something we often taste in a cigar, and definitely not something we often taste in a fresh cigar. This, along with the floral aromas, makes for a near-perfect combination. I have been enjoying this Lancero so much that I have slacked somewhat on my note-taking. A mild, white pepper finishes this stick off, and we both agree it tastes like an aged Cuban Partagas. Final smoking time was 2 hours and 45 minutes.
I’m not sure what else to say about this cigar. The regular Cameroon Cabinets are phenomenal, but there was something different about the Lancero. It tasted like a finely-aged cigar, not one that had just come off the truck. The complexity amazed us, and we are pretty sure they are one of the best (if not the best) fresh cigars out there. Once again, thanks to Todd from Good Karma Cigar for these! Without him we never would have known about them (and neither would anyone else except a select few over at Empire). I also need to thank Hal at Empire Cigars for being so helpful to us and explaining the background of the Lanceros. Ben and I both are hoping these will become regular-production at some point, as they were absolutely spectacular. We agreed that $23 would be a very fair price for the Lanceros, which is just about double their going rate of $12. By far the best value we have ever found in a cigar!
where to find: Good Karma Cigar is your best bet. Shoot Todd an e-mail (todd@goodkarmacigar.com) or call him (806-373-8116) to see if there are any more coming in(by our count, there are still two boxes floating around in an alternate dimension somewhere). Todd has a Litto account, which is La Flor’s version of a premier account. Call other Litto account holders too, as there may be some other boxes out there.
expect to pay: $12 or more.
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