BACKGROUND: Cesar and David Blanco founded The Los Blancos Cigar Company in 1998 in the City of Chicago. Their heritage is not limited to the United States, as their family has long been rooted in the Pinar del Rio region of Cuba, and tied to the Plasencia Family of Honduras.

Originally in Fire and Law Enforcement, the Blanco's took time from their fledgling cigar business in the early 2000's to serve their Country in the Armed Forces. After returning from duty, they concentrated their efforts in growing their business. With the help from their family and the Plasencia's, they are moving towards becoming a household name.

The Criollo wrapper and binder are grown in Danlí, Honduras, while the fillers are from Estelí, Nicaragua. All tobacco production and cigar manufacturing is done by the Plasencia Family.

TASTING NOTES: The Los Blancos Premium Selection Criollo is wrapped with a medium-brown Criollo wrapper grown in Honduras. This wrapper has developed a waxy sheen and is slightly bumpy due to the leaf veins. Some of the samples that I smoked also displayed a slight "toothy-ness" on the wrapper. Overall, this cigar appeared well constructed with no soft spots, or defects noted.

The nasal interrogation of this cigar started with some light musky aroma along the wrapper, while the foot of the cigar gave off the aroma of nuts and alfalfa.

The pre-light draw on this cigar was firm, while light notes of nuts and alfalfa were detected.

After lighting this cigar, I let it sit for a few moments to allow the burn to progress somewhat past the initial light. This was to allow the combustion of the tobacco to progress past the area that I just super-heated with my torch lighter. It was an attempt, as feeble as may be, to keep from introducing a charred flavor into the cigar.

This cigar began with initial notes of toasted oak, with little or no spice detected. As it progressed into the first inch, it produced a muddied mix of astringent and woody notes that continued to the end of the first inch. After that first inch, this cigar began to define itself somewhat with a light cedar flavor and leather notes.

At the end of the first third, this cigar took on a slightly "soapy" nuance. It was detectable in the initial aftertaste before light cedar and hickory notes replaced it. Although a slight "soapy" nuance isn't necessarily bad, I just wasn't used to that flavor in a cigar. (And yes, I'm old enough to remember what soap tastes like.)

At the 1/2 point, this cigar finally settled down with cedar and leather notes. A chili pepper spice was noticeable on the palate and continued to build as the cigar progressed. By the last third, this cigar produced a grassy bitterness that competed with the primary flavors and nuances, but they held firm in the aftertaste.

This cigar finished full in flavor and medium in body with leather, cedar, and chili nuances on the palate.

This cigar produced a charcoal-gray ash that was somewhat loose. The burn-line on most of the review samples was thin with no real issues, but one in particular developed a thick burn-line, and had some difficulty remaining even (I smoked 3 samples for this review). I will also add that this cigar did correct itself well during its issues.

Although I think this cigar is somewhat challenging, I also think that it's best enjoyed with little aging. Although the past reviews have shown this cigar to be consistent, it has changed somewhat in its character in the past few months and is showing a lack of consistency in definition as the cigar ages. Because of that, I believe that this cigar should be assigned an Aging Potential Score of "C" = this cigar may age beneficially for the first two years, but we recommend smoking within the first two years.

~Blake