Illusione Holy Lance

[Don Fernando]

This 7 ½ x 40 lancero is the only Illusione lancero so far, and even though it is a Nicaraguan puro, it is produced in Honduras. The cigar is made from first generation Corojo ‘99 and Criollo ‘98 seeds and has a nice dark and oily Cafe Colorado wrapper. The cigar is a bit oval shaped, not round or box pressed. The construction feels good and the predraw is fine, with a mild spicy flavor. The cigar doesn’t produce a lot of aroma.



I taste a lot of spices, hot & spicy and a little bit of coffee. After about half an inch I also get some cacao as a supporting flavor, very mild and the spices are still the dominant flavors



The cacao flavor fades away and leaves room for sweetness. The sweetness fades away in a few puffs and I am left with the full spices that are persistent in staying the dominant flavor. Halfway I get some chocolate and even some coffee to support the spices



At 2/3rd the spice flavor suddenly drops in strength for just a few puffs and then returns in all its glory and power. The spices get so strong that I get a bit of a burning sensation on my tongue. At the end the cigar gives me a high chocolate boost and then reaches the turning point.



I get lots of smoke, the smoke isn’t thick but neither thin too. I had a bit of a crooked burn in the beginning but the burn corrected itself. The ash is light gray and crooked. This is a full flavored stick, medium to full bodied.



Would I buy this cigar again? I think so, I like this cigar but I am not a big lancero fan, although the vitola is growing on me a bit.

Appearance: 8 / 10
Construction: 7 / 10
Draw: 7 / 10
Smoke & ash: 8 / 10
Burn: 7 / 10
Aroma (first part) 7 / 10
Aroma (middle part) 7 / 10
Aroma (last part) 8 / 10