El Rey del Mundo Flor de Llaneza (M)

Having just smoked a youthful (but improving) ERDM Robusto, it seemed a good time to revisit a well-aged FdL for comparison. Complex and medium strength. A nice amount of sweetness. Woody, a touch nutty, with some chocolate and black coffee. Absent are the strong peppery notes from the newer robusto. Heaps of good stuff in a mature, balanced package.

This smoke rocks! Loads of flavor wrapped in a beautiful maduro wrapper. Spice and chocolate galore.

This one's as solid and consistent as they come. Bought a box of 35 in 2000, still have about eight left. They smoked like champs on Day One, and they're at least as good today. I've never experienced the harshness noted by other tasters. Core flavor is sweet wood, with a distinct undertone of dark chocolate. Medium bodied, but extraordinarily rich. They turn slightly charry at the end, but never enough to bother me. Essentially, it's a slightly cheaper Punch Gran Cru #2. I can't swear I'd be able to tell them apart in a blind taste test. Not exactly a budget smoke, but still a staple, IMO.

Burn was pretty good and aroma was nice, but this was a very dry tasted, burned wood kind of cigar that many may like, but not me. I prefer some hint of sweetness. There was lots of smoke, and this was obviously a well made stick.

I enjoyed the smoke, but would only buy more if they were cheap. This stick has a lot of flavor, though mine had some big veins. Constructin was no problem, and burn was great as well. There are better cigars however, as this is not really anything very memorable. It is good, but not great.

A typical dark brown wrapper from Ecuador without shine or refinement in a box press. Beneath the surface is perfection of construction. Flawless draw and burn to dark gray ash. Don't rush this one and you'll nub it. Flavors start with cayenne, then loam and coffee. A rough, harsh edge rounds out mid-smoke into a little cocoa. Very well made, but the Honduran heart is more rough and bitter than I'd hoped for.

A work of art. The wrappers are dark and oily, and the points sharp and even. The cigar burned straight and even and the flavor was rich and full. Very nice!

An awesome smoke and to think it came as a bonus smoke that was better than what I had purchased.

This is a first time experience for me: the torcedor apparently rolled some type of debris into the cigar, it looked like strands of a plastic fiber (from twine?). Very strange. Too bad because the cigar looked beautiful. I tried my best to pick out the debris and take a couple of puffs. A good cigar, but for the same money there's a better option: Punch Grand Cru No II Maduro.

These come in a impressive chest, holding 35 cigars, and each row is packed snugly (even going so far as to use soft foam to cushion them; a.k.a.: Sancho Panza Dulcinea). The maduro wrapper is bordering on obscuro, and although the wrappers are a tad rough looking, every cigar is uniform. High tribute to Villazon Torceodors. The cigar is solid to the touch, but despite the firm roll, upon sparking up, the draw is almost effortless. The burn is fairly even, and the flavor is pure Honduran; full flavor, but without the ligero OD that one experiences so often these days. A truly honest cigar.