Elogio Serie LSV

9 / 10

Quick Review

I’ve heard of the Elogio company before but honestly didn’t know much about them. After Siz gave me this Elogio Serie LSV to review, I did a bit more research and found out more about the company. Well, it turns out that Elogio Cigars is family owned and run in Nicaragua and their master blender is Carlos Robaina; grandson of the great (and late) Alejandro Robaina. The latter is often referred to as the ‘Godfather of Cuban Cigars.’ There was a great article in Cigar Aficionado some time ago written about this man just after he died. I highly urge you to check it out: http://www.cigaraficionado.com/webfeatures/show/id/3871 The article also mentions Carlos and how he learned so much from his Grandfather about cigars. Anyway, just a bit of back story about this Elogio cigar. Knowing the history and who was involved, I was anxious to light this stick up!

Stogie Specs Made By: Elogio

Wrapper: Nicaraguan sun grown (small farm in Somoto, which means ‘Valley of the Geese’)

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Nicaragua

Average Price: $7

Ring Gauge: 50

Length: 5"

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Initial Thoughts

On Elogio’s website, they state that they only use select long filler Nicaraguan tobacco grown exclusively in Candega and Jalapa. This gets my engines going; there’s nothing I like more than a bold, Nicaraguan taste! The site also talks about this specific Serie LSV wrapper, which is grown on a small farm in Somoto by Carlos and his uncle, Armando.

The more I learned about this cigar, the more eager I was to try it out. So…let’s do just that!

Looks

The wrapper on this Elogio Serie LSV is a beautiful, dark brown with a very oily sheen, even to the touch. I noticed two good-sized veins and a few soft spots as well. At the foot of the cigar, there were a few small chips in the wrapper.

The band on this cigar was gold in color and in the center, written in a cursive writing was the brand name, ‘Elogio,’ followed underneath by ‘Hand Made In Nicaragua.’ There were also red and green accent colors on the band.

Function

The oily wrapper intrigued me and I was anxious to get my nose on it to see what aromas it presented. After taking a few smells, the wrapper gave off an oily leather smell with some earth and tobacco. On the foot, there was a strong sawdust smell.

Using my vintage cutter, it clipped perfectly and the cold draw was packed medium. I got a sweet maple and soil taste; there was no spice on the cold draw.

Smoking

After toasting the foot some with my torch lighter, I placed in my mouth (that’s what she said) and took in several draws to get this thing warmed up. The stick immediately produced a large amount of blue/gray smoke that was palpably creamy in my mouth.

The ash was tight and snow white; very pretty. From the first third to the end of the second third, the ash only held on for about a ½ inch and then dropped. In the first third and again in the second, I noticed some pretty significant tunneling down the center of the ash but it didn’t affect the burn or the flavor at all. I also noticed a few cracks in the wrapper show up and follow one of the veins in the cigar.

As for the actual smoke, there was a light ammonia and earthy smell to it.

Flavor

Despite the tunneling and the cracks in the wrapper, I really enjoyed the flavor this Elogio Serie LSV produced. Immediately after lighting, it was very earthy accompanied by a strong floral aftertaste.

About halfway through the first third, some spice showed up in the retrohale. It was very complex and balanced flavor. Speaking of a balanced flavor, on a whim I decided to pour some Bacardi Gold rum to have with this cigar. It wasn’t intentional but it ended up being a very nice compliment to the flavors of the cigar.

Towards the end of the first third the overall flavor started to mellow some. It started out a strong medium and then dipped to a mild-medium.

In the second third there were even more floral notes and a little spice on my tongue. Not too much change in the mild-medium flavor. The strength at this point was a solid medium to medium-full.

Into the final third, I was surprised that the flavor was lingering still due to this cigar’s tobacco being from Nicaragua. However, the flavor it gave off was really enjoyable. About halfway into the final third, the spice came back and the entire stick was giving off a strong flavor.

At this point in the cigar I was at the nub and the flavor just kept getting better and better; lots of floral and then a sweetness/molasses taste introduced itself at the halfway point of the nub. I didn’t want to put this thing down; not only was the flavor incredible, the nub wasn’t hot at all and the burn was still even.

Is It An Every Day Smoke?

If it was readily available, I could smoke this cigar everyday.

Would I Buy A Box?

Yes I would.

Conclusion

Despite the few construction flaws in the Elogio Serie LSV, I really enjoyed the flavor and liked how it changed throughout the different thirds and into the nub. If the flavor (and sometimes the burn) isn’t affected by a flaw in construction, I’m still gonna enjoy a cigar and give it a good rating.

I smoked this guy down way more than I normally do. I just couldn’t get enough of the great flavor it produced. If you haven’t already tried this cigar, I recommend it, especially in the morning or early afternoon.