Don Lino Africa Kifaro (Belicoso) Review

[tackleberi]

Smoked one of these last night. I've read some pretty mixed reviews on these, and my experience with the Africa cigars has been hit or miss. The lonsdale I had was a nightmare, wouldn't stay lit, burned uneven, and tasted terrible. It took a leap of faith to light up the Africa belicoso I picked up at the same time, but with 12 inches of snow last night, I holed up in the shed, fired up the heater, poured some whisky and had at it. Sorry for no pics....I was half expecting to chuck this one in the snowbank before I headed out, and even had the backup Perdomo ESV at the ready in case this happened. Never did.

Here are the vitals:
Don Lino Africa "Kifaro" (belicoso/torpedo shape)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder/Filler: Cameroon/Mexican/Nicaraguan/Dominican
Size: 6 1/4 x 52
Price: $5 at a Don Lino event at the B&M

For starters, the cigar has tremendous visual appeal. The dark, streaky wrapper glistened with oils and seamlessly held the cigar together. It was solid the entire length, and had a substantial "heft" to it. SO substantial, in fact, that I worried about how the draw might be.

Pre-light draw: Quick clip from the Xikar, and the pre-light draw was perfect. Best described as a honeyed/barley/cocoa flavor, with just the perfect amount of resisitance. On to the light.

Light/first third: Gave it a good light with the Ronson, and it came to life. Mouthfuls of spicy, peppery, off-white smoke that finished with a good leather flavor. A perfect circular burn ring began to appear, and the ash was a streaky, solid gray color.

Second third: The smoke production diminished a little, although the aforementioned flavors became richer, with the pepper advancing quite a bit. The ash held on TIGHT, and remained through nearly the entire second third before falling to the floor (in one piece). Still perfect burn ring. At this point I really regretted not taking pics...it was a beautiful cigar at this point. Still a great smoke.

Final third: A switch must have been flipped, because halfway into the last third keeping it lit took some work. This necessitated a touch up with the Ronson (scorching the brim of my new Trijicon hat DOH!), which introduced a whole host of nasty flavors to what remained, best described as "tar" (as in roofing) and tire smoke. Into the snowbank it went, a quick mouthrinse with some whisky, and no complaints.....for over 1.5 hours, it was a great smoke.

All in all, it was nice to have my prejudices destroyed in this instance. I really thought I was in for a nasty smoke, but was pleasantly surprised. After my experience with the lonsdale I will always be on guard against inconsistency with this brand, but the belicoso gave it a chance in my book. I'd give it a try if your first experience with the Africa line was less than great.

[Cigar Man Andy]

Thanks for the review and sorry about the brim. I am glad that you had a good experience with the Kifaro. The Tembo (Churchill 7.5" x 50) is one of my everyday back ups. But my fave is the Duma (Robusto 5.0" x 50). This has been the most flavorful and most consistent. Try one and let us know what you think.

[tackleberi]

Thanks for the advice; I've actually got a Duma in the humidor, as well as another Kifaro. Robusto is by far my favorite size, with my favorites being anything Perdomo/Robusto (esp. the Habano Corojo). Between my experience with the Kifaro and your recommendations on the Duma/Robusto size, I'll be sure to follow up with another review.

[heavyd]

Thanks for the review. Good job

I have some Africa Kuro (4x45) and a fiver of Duma. Haven't tried the Duma yet, but with the Kuro I'm 3 for 4 so far (three good, one D rocket). The three that were good were very good. Don Lino is made by La Aurora, is that correct?

[simpleman6]

Thanks for the review. I was curious about this line and purchased the toro size. My only complaint was that finish tasted just like the start. It wasn't boring but it wasn't memorable either.