Las Calaveras 2017 LC46 7/15/17

 

Appearance 

A medium brown colored wrapper with a couple prominent veins. The seams are tight and difficult to find. There is a matte finish but it feels oily(that's a good thing). It also has a bit of tooth. The filler bunch appears well packed with no soft spots. 

The band is beautiful with nice contrasting colors.

Aroma 

Earthy, cedar and a hint of spice on the wrapper. Cedar, earth and a hint of spice at the foot. 

Prelight Draw 

Earthy cedar, dried fruit and spice.

1st

The initial draws bring bold notes of earth, cedar and black pepper spice. The draw is perfect and the burn is off by 15* due to a small tunnel just under the binder on one side. Burn is already self correcting with a little help from simple physics. The black pepper fades a bit coming into balance with the earth and wood. The ash is light gray and stacked. Smoke production is at high. The dried fruit notes from the Prelight are beginning to surface. The ash has been tightening up. The ash held firm till removal.

2nd

The finish is long with notes of earth, cedar, dried fruit, creamy cashew, a pinch of cinnamon and some black pepper spice. The Ligero cone is just off center contributing to the erratic burn. Some nice espresso notes join the profile. The cinnamon spice ramps to a full note. 

Final/3rd

The aforementioned flavors continue into the final/3rd. Cinnamon tapers down midway in the final/3rd. The profile remains consistent through to the nub. 

Overall

The Las Calaveras 2017 LC46 provides a very enjoyable smoking experience. A well balanced and complex flavor profile with a perfect draw and mildly erratic burn. 

I found it to be almost identical to the 2014 version which is probably the most favored of the Las Calaveras blends. 

A big thank you to Kevin at Stag/Scottsdale for the sample for review.