It's not every day that you come across a cigar that is named after a guy's mum. But Maria Lucia by Luciano Cigars is that sort of smoke, and there's quite the intriguing backstory to go with the naming behind the cigar, and the band placed on each stick. As the story goes, Luciano's daughter awoke one morning and sketched down an image of a wonderful woman who was kind to her in a dream. When Luciano saw the image, he was flabbergasted, for the profile of the woman was a mirror image of his mother, who had died when he was very young. A woman, whom his daughter had never met, or even seen an image of for that matter. And so, a cigar band was born, and with it a blend that was meant to be just as magical as the backstory behind the smoke. With its Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, dual Sumatran and Habano '92 binders, and Dominican, Nicaraguan, and Peruvian filler leaves, this potent concoction looks to be a lip-smackingly good smoke session. So... let's get to it, shall we? 🔥 Buy 5-Pack 🔥 Unlit Impressions Nearly immaculate in box-pressed form, and looking rather snazzy down its barrel, the reddish-brown wrapper on the outside of this stick shines with medium amounts of oil. Smells are sugary and smooth, with an intriguing mixture of milk chocolate and coffee cake. This outer leaf provides a fantastic contrast to the elegant artwork scrolled across the band, which is sketched in periwinkle blue upon a milk white paper. Foot snorts send forth a spice-rich mixture of nutmeg and clove, with cherry-studded date nutbread backing it all up. Not smelling spicy or sharp at all, secondary scents of molasses and the funk that this sticky syrup embodies provide extra potency. Tasting a lot like chai tea, and combining the winning trifecta of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove, a cold draw delights the tongue with a teaser of tastes. Medium in sweetness, and already quite creamy, unlit tobacco tastes remind me of milk tea the more I pull, and I cannot resist taking an extra tug or two before lighting up the foot. Digging the Sound of This Cigar? You Might Also Like... Espinosa 601 Blue Label Maduro Caldwell Forever Fresh Shorty RoMa Craft Tobac CroMagnon Initial Smoke But set that foot afire, and big, leathery broadleaf tobacco tastes suddenly swarm, and a clean, earthy finish unfolds. Smoke a bit more, and the Sumatran binder suddenly comes to life, and both baking spices and tea flavors emerge alongside some salted nut notes. The draw is smooth, smoke feel is medium and balanced, and the finish tastes clean. All together, an excellent start. 1st Half Unloading top notes of split hardwood and their textbook dry tannin touches, the backend of the blend begins to bulge at the seams with stronger flavors of milk tea and that traditional British taste of cream and bitter black tea leaves. As spiced dried fruits and aged rum roll about on retrohale, flavors and body begin to build to medium-full in potency. Although the beautiful broadleaf leather belt holding the whole shebang together has been tightened somewhat, the earthiness of the wrapper has begun to show more bittersweet chocolate than soil in this section. Creamy, tightly controlled in its acceleration and combustion, and boasting a sweet, lengthy finish, smoke formation in the second third, and center of the cigar is exceptional. So much so that I found myself appreciating the feel of the smoke just as much, if not more, than the tastes and smells I encountered at times. 2nd Half As the body builds, the spiced tea tastes get overturned, and that taste of date and fruit-studded nutbread finally arrives. But, it's a bit more complicated, and in a way, convoluted than just a slice of dessert bread. There's a peculiar pumpernickel taste, and with this unique spice comes the dry taste of palm bark boxes, which reminds me of the tercio-aged Encore from EPC. With a shaving of cedar here and there, and the creaminess of the blend remaining consistently medium-full, there is more lightness to the final third of this cigar than darkness. Yes, there is still some broadleaf earthiness and chocolate milk to be savored, but by now that is more of an afterthought than a primary cigar flavor profile. It's an unexpected evolutionary step that works, even if it does leave your taste buds feeling a bit befuddled. Parting Puffs Sadly, I found the very last of this smoke to be a complete mess both times, with a funky mixture of salt, acidity, manure, and a bitter, burnt paper taste turning me off entirely. So much for additional parting puffs points. Ash / Burn / Smoke / Draw Despite having a picture-perfect, bright white ash for much of the time, there was an issue with the combusted substance falling on the bar, across the floor, all over my freshly pressed Versace linen suit... But the burn was even and not a bit hot, and the draw was right on the money, and I really enjoyed the medium-full feel of that creamy smoke that formed. I was also impressed with how the cigar burned through not one, but two splits in the wrapper that had materialized without the need for a touch of the torch. Final Thoughts For the vast majority of the 2+ hours that are required to smoke this sizable cigar in its entirety, flavors and aromas roll out a refreshing mixture of creamy, sweet, well-planned puffing perfection. That secondary Sumatran binder really does make a difference, especially on retrohale, and the Habano '92 layer seems to lighten the whole blend up quite a bit. Broadleaf buffs are also going to love all of the leather and earth that bind this blend together, with bittersweet cocoa and that dried fruit-filled nutbread note topping it all off with a dab of molasses. The cigar also has a fascinating story behind its formation, and the band is an absolute gem of creation, and is a real standout in the humidor, as well as when in hand. What I found to be the most interesting aspect of this blend, though, was its ability to remain right in the center lane. Somewhere between bold, dark, and heavily spiced. And milky, refined, and somewhat dry at times. Together, this earned Maria Lucia an all-star score as one of the best broadleaf smoking options in the Klaro collection, and a permanent place in Klaro's Big, Brawny, Broadleaf Bundle. Flavor, Aroma & Transitions Depth & Complexity Construction, Burn & Physical Appeal Backstory & Branding Overall Balance & Repeatability Stogie Specs Cigar Luciano Cigars "Maria Lucia" Wrapper Connecticut Broadleaf Binder Sumatran & Habano '92 (Ecuador) Filler Dominican Republic, Nicaragua & Peru Factory Nicaragua Size 6½″ x 50 (Double Robusto, box-pressed) Strength Medium-Full Pairing Drink Homemade Hot Chai Tea Rating 4.4/5
