LGC Reserva Selectos de Lujos Maduro

[Herf N Turf]

Brand: La Gloria Cubana EP-C
Shape: Figuardo
Vitola: Selectos de Lujos
Size: 7.25 x 54
Wrapper: Maduro
CoO: Dominican Republic
Construction: Excellent
Draw: Firm
Flavor: Sweet, creamy, complex
Body: Med-Full
Strength: Med
Drink: Water, followed by Dewars Blended Scotch Whiskey
Setting: My Sofa
Price paid: $6.25 ($125/20 box)

Once again, apologies for the lack of pics, but I still can't find that damn cable. And again, it's a shame since this is one of the prettiest cigars I know.

I've had most of a box of these sitting in my humi for 9mos. That's a small miracle considering how much I love them and that they're hard to find now. The rest has done them good though. The wrapper has smoothed out tremendously and taken on a delightfully oily sheen. This is really a beautiful stick to look at.

Prelight impressions: Smelling the body of the cigar is delicious. The nearly black maduro wrapper hints to brown sugar and chocolate. The same flavors appear on the tongue when moistening the cap pre-clip. Don't expect to get much from a prelight draw on these figgies, since my only rub on the EPC examples is that the tip is rock hard. It's like sucking on a rock. You only get enough air passing through it to get it lit, then youre in for a chore until you get back to the full ring guage. I guess that covers light and first impressions, heh.

I find these to be the best examples of EPC's maduro efforts. LGC's tend to have a pretty consistent flavor profile throughout the line (with the exception of the Artesanos), but the Reserva's benefit from more age and the fact that they are all rolled by his tippy-top torcederos. This has to be taken into consideration, days before you smoke this vitola. They are absolutely crammed full of tobacco and are consistently rolled tight. I learned after smoking a few that the benefits of dry boxing from my usual 70, to just under 65% were tremendous. Do not, I repeat, do not attempt to smoke these things at 70%! Your cheeks are no match for an angry master torcedero.

Burn was even, from about the first inch. My experience with figuardos is that they all seem to light pretty willy-nilly at first, but the best self-correct fairly quickly. Such was the case with the SdL.

Flavors of creamy chocolate, espresso and toasted nuts were consistent throughout the smoke. If you like pepper and lots of spice, stay away, it's not here. If you love a chewy, chocolatty ligero, climb aboard! The finish on these is just magnificent. Since the vitola tapers to the end, a few purges really help in keeping things clean and sweet. While the profile didn't change a lot, the power of it did. The already wonderful flavors gained momentum and concentration, making for a simply fantastic finisher.

If you can find them, I highly recommend taking one of these beauties for a ride. They are far mellower and more complex than the sister, Serie R, so clear your schedule for 2hrs and sit back and savor every puff.

[azpostal]

Thanks for the great review.

[Rubix^3]

Sounds interesting. Thanks for the review.

[ghost]

Great review Don!

Now you have me interested in another smoke.

I have not had a LGC for a while. Might be the perfect time to try again...

[golfermd]

LGC's are one of my favorites. Turned a fellow worker on to them. Thanks for your review...

[orca99usa]

Thanks. I'm a big LGC fan, especially Serie R. I will have to find one of these.